Top Apps You NEED for Visiting or Living in Southeast Asia

Top Apps You NEED for Visiting or Living in Southeast Asia

Hey guys, uh today we are going to break down some of the top apps that you need for traveling or living in Southeast Asia. Now, these apps will save you money, save you time, keep you safe, and make everything from transportation to banking way easier, and these are some of the top apps that I put together that will make your life easier. So, stick around for today’s video. Gio, let’s go before it’s too late. All right, guys. I’m back at the mall again. This This is again turning into one of my favorite workplaces. Um, again, if you didn’t see it in the last video, um, I mean, I’m just here sitting and chilling out on a sofa, you know, with my own personal workspace. And this is all available, you know, um, way back there. There’s a big workspace. There’s some back here, there’s some over here. It’s basically it’s just all over the mall that uh people just come here and set up shop with their laptops and uh just work and uh it’s fantastic. So yeah, so that’s what I’m doing here today. Making a video. I’ll do some editing and then go grab lunch. It just uh it makes for a good day. Gets me out of the condo. So the first one that I want to start off with, guys, is Gra and Bolt. These are for transportation. Now, Grab is going to be for the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and I believe even Singapore, uh, Bolt, also Thailand, the Philippines, and, uh, Malaysia. There might be others. Uh, if I’m missing, please comment down below. Now, Grab is a fantastic app to download because you’re going to get inexpensive rides, no taxi scams, no haggling over the price. Food and grocery delivery is kind of built right into it. I use Grab to order food all the time. It’s safer and easier than dealing with random drivers. And again, I don’t care if you get stuck in traffic. It doesn’t matter. It’s a fixed price. And taxis also they are known to take long ways around or turn up not turn on the meter or you know say their meter is broke and try to come up with a fixed price or that the uh regular taxis are the air conditions don’t work as well. They’re not as clean. Maybe they smell a little funny. Um I’ve had that before where I’ve wanted to bail out of the taxi because it smelt bad. But the Grab, they really are worried about their rating. So, I mean, I step into it. It’s usually immaculately clean. They really care about it. Often, it’s their own personal car, so they want to take care of it. And, you know, in most cities, uh, a 20minut ride could cost you anywhere from $1.50 to $3. And honestly, once you start using these apps, you’ll probably never go back to taxis. I don’t. I simply use Grab. And Bolt is pretty much the same thing. It doesn’t do the food and the groceries, but it’s usually a little less expensive. And so that’s actually what I use most of the time in uh Thailand. And also, it pays to go ahead and connect your card to it. I recommend a credit card so you can dispute charges easier than a regular bank account like debit card. And it just makes it easier. You can add the tip on or you can pay the exact price. and you don’t have to worry about them having change or you having change. Number two is going to be a plusbooking.com. Those are both great. Now, you can also download Airbnb. I’m finding more and more that I can find long-term stays through a booking as well. AOD probably has the best prices in Southeast Asia. I have found booking great uh for cancellations. I found it a little bit better on cancellations. And Airbnb is more ideal for long-term stays, monthly stays in also in condos, but more and more you can find that stuff on AOD and also uh booking as well. Always compare it with AOD in booking. And the prices the prices, believe it or not, can sometimes differ 20 to 30% I’ve discovered. And on Airbnb, uh, message the hosts and ask about long-term discounts. Say, “Hey, if I were to go, you know, a month, uh, sometimes you can meet them in person or maybe work out a deal in person.” Um, you they won’t do it on the Airbnb site, but if you were to meet them in person, maybe to see the place for a long term, which I recommend if you’re going to book someplace for long term, you definitely want to check it out first. You don’t want to just book a whole month without seeing it or checking out the neighborhood. And number three is going to be Google Maps or Maps.me. Both are great. And these are both great for offline navigation. And often sometimes, especially in like in the Philippines, you may not have a signal. And if you’re trying to find your way around or, you know, it’s nice to download maps ahead of time, often for the whole entire island or even the country, to be honest. Yeah. I mean, Google Maps is pretty solid. It’s gotten me through all kinds of remote places in the Philippines. Sometimes it t it’s taken me down wrong ways, but for the most part, it works pretty well. But in rural areas, sometimes it can be a little off. I remember in Dumageddi there’s a lot of one-way streets and it doesn’t recognize that. So, it’s got you turning right when it’s a one-way street. But download the entire maps offline and then even if you don’t have a cell signal, you can navigate. You know, you can follow trails, beaches, and back roads and it’s going to help. And especially if you’re motorbiking around islands, you’re definitely going to need this. Wise and local e-wallets. Now, I tell people this all the time. Wise is probably your number one tool for traveling or living out in Southeast Asia or anywhere in the world. To be honest, it is the number one. I recommend signing up ahead of time and getting the debit card. That also comes in in really handy. And there is a link down in the description. That way you can get your first transfer for free. Check it out. But it’s definitely probably the most uh the most important on this entire list of apps that I’ve given you today. wise. You can pay for hotels, transfer money internationally, withdraw cash with low fees, convert currencies at great rates, and send rent or deposits directly to landlords. I did it in the Philippines. I do it here in Thailand. And then even if I go back to the States for a month, I go off to Cambodia, Kenya, wherever, I can still continue to pay my rent. I don’t need to pay any cash. I don’t need to go to their bank. direct deposit and they know instantly they get an email. If you get their email address, you can put it in there and and you can pay it. Just you just need their full name, the name of their bank, and their account number. And you could also do it if let’s say you have a girlfriend maybe you support. You could also just direct deposit right into herk. Now even better, I’ve discovered that many stores now accept Wise QR payments. It’s something new on Wise and it’s not everywhere, but I have seen it now on on the Wise app pop up and I was curious on what it was. But yeah, Wise has the Kiwir payments now, especially in Thailand and Malaysia. And I don’t know how widespread it is, so don’t think you can just use it everywhere. I think it’s still kind of rolling out, still pretty new. Uh, then you’ve got your local e-wallets. Uh, you’ve got GCash, uh, Pay Maya, Casicorn, SCB easy. Those are for Thailand and a lot of like local like street food and stuff. You’ll see the Thai people pull out their phones and just do the QR payment and uh it seems to work good because you’re not constantly having to get your cash out. Now, Moretta Pay works great as well. Uh they don’t usually do personal QR codes. You have it has to be like a business, but Moretta Pay also works great. And again, as I always say, always have multiple ways to access your money. And don’t carry all your cards on yourself at one time. Keep a credit card and another bank account, debit card in another location locked up in your bag somewhere and maybe have one debit card and one credit card with you. That’s what I do. It works well. Don’t need your passport on you as well. Real quick, huge shout out to today’s sponsor, Surf SharkVPN, who has a crazy Black Friday sale going on right now. For just a $169 a month, plus 3 months extra free, you get full protection on every device you own. And why do you need this, you ask yourself? It protects you from viruses and malware, blocks annoying ads and trackers, keeps your data safe at hotels, airports, cafes, helps reduce scams and spam, and lets you access your banking and your streaming apps from anywhere in the world. Now, I’ve personally used Surf SharkVPN probably 5 years now while living out here in Southeast Asia. It’s one of those apps that you install once and it saves you from headache after headache. Click the link in the description to grab the Black Friday deal before it ends. Again, this is almost one of those imperative apps up with wise that you really need to have when you’re traveling or living out in Southeast Asia or honestly anywhere in the world when you’re traveling. All right, the next one is Food Panda and Grab Food. Now, if you download the Grab, you’re automatically going to have that for the food. Uh there’s also Food Panda, which is also very popular in the Philippines, but I’ve used Grab food in Vietnam. I’ve used it in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines. Food Panda I’ve used sometimes in the Philippines, but mostly Grab is my go-to. I mean, food delivery in Southeast Asia is next level, and it’s very inexpensive. Delivery fees are usually around a dollar. uh sometimes free if you’re catching the deals on and you spend a certain amount. You can grab yourself local dishes, coffee, milk, teas, groceries, medicine, household goods, and everybody uses it out here in Southeast Asia. It’s just so common place. Um my condo, there’s a big table set up for food grab deliveries and they put your room number down and it’s kind of like an honor system. nobody steals your stuff and you go down and you grab it and you go back to your condo. You It’s not even uh it’s contactless delivery and the table is loaded all the time with grab food deliveries. Nobody even uh cooks in their condos it seems like here in Thailand. But students, families, workers, travelers, everybody uses it. So if you don’t feel like going out in the heat or the rain, this is going to be your best friend. Trust me, I use it all the time. Next is Halifly International ESIM. There’s also a link in the description for this and this is what I personally use like if I go to Cambodia, Kenya, uh places like that that you know I have a local eSIM for here because I live here. But if you’re just traveling somewhere, this makes it much easier. The reason why it’s great is there are unlimited data packages. No throttling, no need to swap SIM cards, activates instantly after landing, works perfectly for multi-country trips, which I do often. And if you’re visiting several countries in a row, then this is essential. And again, you can grab a 5% discount off of it by using my code, geo in the Philippines. Yes, I haven’t updated the code, but Gio in the Philippines to get an additional 5% discount. Now, if you want to keep in touch with people and you want to make contacts out here in Southeast Asia, line for Thailand, WhatsApp for basically everywhere. Everybody seems to be using WhatsApp now. That’s the most popular one. So, definitely get WhatsApp Messenger. Zo is uh for Vietnam typically. So again, Line for for Thailand, Zalo for Vietnam, WhatsApp Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, everywhere. Everybody’s using WhatsApp now. And Messenger for the Philippines is very popular. But again, WhatsApp seems to be the one that kind of encompasses all of it. But uh still popular in Vietnam and line is very popular in Thailand. But you’re going to need it for landlords, delivery drivers, customer support, dates, local friends. Download all four before you go. Trust me, if you’re going to be traveling around Southeast Asia, download all four. It’s good just to have them. And then we have one to go. Like if you’re traveling long distances or crossing borders, one to go Asia is the best platform. You can book fairies. You can do this in the Philippines. trains, long-d distanceance buses, border crossings, airport transfers for routes like Thailand to Cambodia, Vietnam to Laos, Malaysia to Singapore. No scams, no confusion, just super reliable. In fact, I would just actually use the one to go Asia. So, couple last ones. We have Google Translate. You’re definitely going to need that. You know, I used to be a fan of like buying a a translator. I don’t really think that’s necessary anymore. I think Google Translate does a fantastic job and, you know, make sure you have it downloaded. And you can also take pictures of menus and stuff and it’ll translate it into English or whatever your native language is. So, communication is a major part of living here. Now, Bangkok, Thailand, I don’t really have any issues. Philippines, you usually don’t have any issues. And uh Vietnam, you’ll have some issues. Malaysia, not too bad. Indonesia maybe a little bit, but uh for the most part, Google Translate will solve all those issues. You can again translate text by using the camera, use two-way conversation mode, read signs, menus, and documents. And it’s going to be super useful whether you’re dating, renting apartments, or even just going out shopping locally. And the last one, guys, is weather plus air quality apps. Southeast Asia has some serious weather shifts, especially in the Philippines as of late with the typhoons and earthquakes, flooding, typhoons, monsoons, and seasonal pollution and seasonal burning up in Chiang Mai and Thailand. Windy, Acue Weather, IQ Air, those are all great apps. It’ll help you avoid storms, floods, and bad air quality days, especially in Vietnam and the Philippines and again here in Thailand, too. But the Philippines in Vietnam, they get some pretty bad weather. They get some pretty bad weather. And you may be just enjoying life on a beach in uh Barakai and you don’t even realize there’s a uh big typhoon coming in, a big super typhoon until it’s upon you and you you’re already stuck. If you know ahead of time, then you might be able to fly to another island or something and go elsewhere and avoid it. So, in closing, guys, that’s the full list of apps that will make life out here in Southeast Asia much easier. So, let me know down in the comments which country are you planning to visit or move to next. So, if you found this useful guys, hit the like, subscribe, and I will see you in the next video. Again, don’t forget uh the apps I recommend. The some of them are down in the description in the pin comment. And this is Gio on the go and I am out for today. I’ll see you next time. Ciao. Sick of dreaming on something more. Pack your bags. Don’t hesitate. Gio, let’s go before it’s too late. Time keeps away from us. Keep living like this. away from us.

🌏 Top Resources for Expats & Travelers in Southeast Asia

My go-to tools for living, dating, traveling, and staying prepared abroad.

⭐ Featured Must-Have Tools (My Top 3 Picks)
🔐 Surfshark VPN – Online Security

Protect your data, stay safe on public Wi-Fi, and unblock sites abroad.
https://get.surfshark.net/aff_c?offer_id=934&aff_id=17091&url_id=1320

💸 Wise – International Money Transfers

Low-fee global transfers and multi-currency accounts.
https://wise.com/invite/dic/giovannis229

📶 Holafly eSIM – Instant Mobile Data

Unlimited data in most countries.
Code: GIOINTHEPHILIPPINES
https://holafly.sjv.io/POrKr6

💸 Money & Essentials

Traveling Mailbox – Manage your U.S. mail online anywhere in the world.
https://travelingmailbox.com/?ref=1384

Onward Ticket – Instant proof of onward travel.
https://onwardticket.com/giointhephilippines

🎒 Essential Travel Gear

All my must-have travel gear in one place:

GIO’S ESSENTIALS

📞 1-on-1 Consultations

Relocation, dating, and lifestyle support for Southeast Asia:
https://calendly.com/gioonthego

💘 Dating

ThaiFriendly → https://www.thaifriendly.com/?affid=3494

PinaLove → https://www.pinalove.com/?ai=3494&cid=1

Christian Filipina → https://bit.ly/RecommendedDatingSite

💉 Travel & Health Insurance

Ekta – Affordable, visa-friendly travel insurance.
https://ektatraveling.tp.st/fO4cVbN1

Michael Onstad / LOC Consultants – Custom expat health coverage.
https://www.facebook.com/monstad1

🏨 Flights & Accommodation

Agoda – Hotels, condos & long-stay deals.
https://bit.ly/38CvDgr

Skyscanner – Cheap flights worldwide.
https://skyscanner.pxf.io/EK0dVP

🌍 How I Save on Travel & Living Overseas

Capital One Rewards Credit Card – Earn points for flights, hotels, restaurants & daily expenses.
https://i.capitalone.com/JehWGNx51

📲 Follow Me Online

Website:

Home

https://gioonthego.net

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⚠️ Note:

Some links are affiliate links. I only recommend products and services I personally use.