About Jon Canton
I have lived in Southeast Asia for over 20 years. Most of that time in Thailand, where I worked for Thai companies, BOI companies, built my own company, held numerous work permits, and dealt with every challenge that comes with building a life in a country that was never designed for you to stay in permanently.
I am not a travel vlogger. I am not selling a dream about life in the tropics. I am someone who has been here long enough to know what works, what does not, and what catches people out.
Why I Started This
Over the years I watched too many Western foreigners arrive in Thailand and the Philippines full of optimism, only to run into the same problems over and over again. Bad decisions about location. Money lost to scams. Relationships that destroyed them financially. Visa rules that changed without warning. The same stories repeating themselves, year after year.
Some left with nothing. Some are still stuck. Some just wished they had spoken to someone who actually knew what life here was really like before they committed everything.
That is why I started making this content, stories told with real context. No clickbait and no recycled AI content. Just honest, long-form work from someone who has actually lived it.
What This Is Now
What started as a YouTube channel documenting life in Chiang Mai, has grown into something bigger – a platform covering Southeast Asia from a Western perspective, with news, analysis, mini-documentaries, and stories across multiple channels and this website.
The editorial position is simple. I am Western presence in Southeast Asia. I am critical of governments that make life harder for the foreigners who contribute to their economies. I write with an interest in the history, institutions, architecture and political development of the region, including the Western presence that shaped big parts of Southeast Asia. And I believe in honest, source-backed journalism that tells people what they actually need to know.
This site is written from a Western long-stay perspective, with opinion, reporting, and analysis clearly shaped by lived experience in Southeast Asia.
YouTube Channels
Jon Canton – Personal channel, here I talk about things that matter to me about Southeast Asia, opinion lead.
Talks of Thailand – Human stories, long-form, narrative-driven content with real context.
Let’s Talk Philippines – The same honest approach applied to the Philippines.
Talks of Thailand: Deep Dives – Source-backed mini-documentary investigations into Thailand. Corruption, governance, policy, and the systems that affect Western foreigners.
Let’s Talk Philippines: Deep Dives – The same mini-documentary approach applied to the Philippines.