Taking a personal turn thanks to an idea from Wes, one of our patrons, Greg discusses his dating experiences in Thailand and what it’s like to be married to a Thai woman. From early dating stories as a clueless n00b to strange stories of getting used to Thai culture Greg (and Ed!) both start off with a few funny stories Next, Greg tells the story of meeting and eventually marrying his wife. Their story was a traditional one of a dinner with several groups of friends, a flirty Greg...and the rest...
Mar 24, 2020•37 min•Season 4Ep. 23
Thailand’s food tastes have changed a lot since Greg and Ed first got here two decades ago, and in that time, things have gone international, yo! With this in mind, Greg interviews Nick Wattanavekin, who opened the first Tim Hortons, the iconic Canadian donut shop, in Thailand just a few short months ago. The journey from investment banker to restauranteur is a long one, but Nick explains how he transitioned from his early career to franchising restaurants in Thailand, discusses how much Bangkok...
Mar 17, 2020•34 min•Season 4Ep. 22
The big news of the day is of course the coronavirus, something Greg and Ed have talked about frequently on the bonus show, which goes to our patrons. But on this show, though, the guys dive right in and address the Thai government’s bizarre and inconsistent public declarations about the virus and the government’s policy towards it. Ed does his best to recount the government’s statements of the last few days: first, an apparent mandatory quarantine of all travelers from nine countries, followed ...
Mar 10, 2020•38 min•Season 4Ep. 21
Greg interviews Cod Satrusayang, editor-in-chief of ThaiEnquirer.com, one of Thailand’s newest news sites. Cod explains that after a decade of experience in the foreign press in Thailand and abroad, he felt that Thailand’s English-language press had been somewhat diluted by corporate meddling and special interests. What the country needed was true independent media from a Thai perspective. Greg and Cod discuss ‘woke’ culture and the similar role that comedians and journalists play when pushing b...
Mar 03, 2020•42 min•Season 4Ep. 20
People are often quick to call Thailand ‘developing’ or even ‘third world’ - but what do those terms even mean? We decided to find out. Ed interviews Dan Honig, a professor of international development at Johns Hopkins University. After explaining Dan’s unique educational background and world travels, the guys dig into some basic questions about the Thai economy. Right off the bat, Dan notes that when compared to the entire world, it is not accurate to consider Thailand poor. Instead, it would p...
Feb 25, 2020•46 min•Season 4Ep. 19
You might be surprised to learn that two fellows as cool as Greg and Ed can be a bit nerdy, but it’s true! So, in keeping with that theme, this week your hosts jump into a potpourri of Bangkok statistics. Do you know how many sqkm Bangkok is? Or how big Thailand’s GDP is? Or how many airports or kilometers of rail track the kingdom has? In a wide-ranging discussion about the numbers that make up Bangkok (and Thailand), the boys cover geography, population density, population demographics, religi...
Feb 18, 2020•29 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Greg and Ed interview Michael Messner, long time expat, Patpong bar entrepreneur, and the founder and curator of the Patpong Museum. Opened this year, the Patpong Museum is meant to educate the public on the entire history of the Patpong area, stretching from its earliest development more than 100 years ago until today - and there’s way more to it than just go-go bars! Michael exemplifies the ‘interesting expat,’ having first come to Thailand to expand his art business only to meet a Thai woman ...
Feb 11, 2020•39 min•Season 4Ep. 17
In another Neighborhood Focus, the guys revisit an area discussed in Season 2: Thonburi, roughly defined as the ‘other side’ of the river from downtown Bangkok. ‘Revisit’ on the show that is, cause both Greg and Ed have lived in Thonburi for a while - we never left. :) So why talk about it again? Well, a lot has changed on our side of Bangkok in the two years since we first covered it. The mega chic complex at Icon Siam has sparked a lot of development in the area properly known as Khlong San. T...
Feb 04, 2020•38 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Everybody knows that intercultural relationships in Thailand are most likely a Thai woman with a foreign man, but things are changing! It’s not as common, but there are plenty of farang women in relationships with Thai men - partnerships that carry their own unique set of challenges! Greg interviews Sam Ormond, an Australian and long-term Bangkokian who has been married to a Thai man for many years. Greg and Sam discuss stereotypes of Thai men that may tend to scare away western women, although ...
Jan 28, 2020•37 min•Season 4Ep. 15
Your hosts get a little deep with the topic this time by kicking off a discussion on expat identity. Can expats reinvent themselves and become someone new in their new country? Should they? Ed chimes in with some immediate support for people doing what they can to get out of a rut or ‘stretch their personalities,’ but also offers concerns about people acting superficial or fake. Greg clarifies that he’s not talking about lying or just making stuff up, but rather breaking free of old, bad habits ...
Jan 21, 2020•32 min•Season 4Ep. 14
Greg interviews Tony Joh, an old friend and co-host of Season 1 of the Bangkok Podcast to reminisce about their true noob status as pioneer podcasters and re-living their early successes (and screw-ups). Tony then explains his move to Japan and how he liked his job (at first) due to his ability to work from home (and avoid Japanese corporate culture). Lo and behold his small company was bought by a big corporation, and Tony was required to work in the office, significantly decreasing his job sat...
Jan 14, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 13
In a first for the podcast, the boys decide to review a part of the Bangkok Podcast website - the relatively new for Season 4 ‘Resources’ section. A few weeks back we posted a page called ‘ Some Thoughts on Thai Culture ,’ and it elicited some responses from friends of the podcast, so we decided to dig into it. We don’t want to rehash what’s already there, so if you haven’t read it yet, mosey on over and check it out. In brief, the page lists 5 key characteristics of Thai culture: 1) Respect for...
Jan 07, 2020•41 min•Season 4Ep. 12
It’s been a long time since we sat down with our most returningest guest ever, so we’re psyched to chat with Phra Pandit for our first show of 2020. We’ve all seen monks going on their daily alms rounds, walking slowly and stoically as laypeople put food and other items in their บาตร, or alms bowl. But how many of you know the history of giving alms? Phra Pandit gets into the details of the practice and answers a few questions - why only go in the morning? Why do monks look so sombre when they d...
Dec 31, 2019•36 min•Season 4Ep. 11
A new annual tradition begins with a discussion of the cost of living in Bangkok. Greg cites a recent study that puts Bangkok as the 47th most expensive city in the world for expats to live, which might not seem so bad except Bangkok has moved up 43 places (!) from last year. Ed notes that while things do seem to be getting more expensive, the cost of living is notoriously difficult to measure because it really depends on the specific good or services that you measure. Greg concurs, noting for e...
Dec 25, 2019•29 min•Season 4Ep. 10
In our ongoing series about living in Bangkok with a disability, Greg interviews Sai Techawongtham, a Thai citizen who is blind, and who has something very rare in Thailand - a guide dog (his name is Luther and he’s a very good boy). Sai has recently received a lot of social media attention due to the fact that many Thai people are unaware of the purpose of guide dogs and often fail to accommodate their use. Sai discusses the difficulty of being blind in Thailand, and compares Bangkok to the U.S...
Dec 17, 2019•38 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Greg tells the true story of the ‘Samut Prakan Radiation Incident,’ which happened in Thailand in 2000. A piece of medical equipment that contained the highly radioactive isotope Cobalt 60 was improperly disposed of, and after a series of transactions ended up in the hands of everyday trash collectors. Unaware of its true nature, the men cut open the container with an acetylene torch, unwittingly releasing deadly radiation into the atmosphere. Those involved soon started showing up at local clin...
Dec 10, 2019•31 min•Season 4Ep. 8
We’re happy to welcome to the show John Brown, the CEO of Agoda, one of the world’s largest online accommodation platforms. Headquartered in Singapore but with a large support office in Thailand, John explains how the company began and how it’s grown. Greg and John also discuss what difficulties arise when trying to hire top-tier talent from around the world to come and work in Bangkok, a city not known as a hub of high-tech companies. How do they prove that the move is worth it, and what type o...
Dec 03, 2019•37 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In a lighter episode after a few weeks of serious guests and topics, Greg and Ed trade ‘hard to believe that happened’ stories about living in Thailand. Ed begins with a call of nature nightmare that required an impromptu stop at Lumpini Police Station that ended with a terrified woman and a very relieved Ed in the female toilet. Greg follows with a cultural ‘no-no’ in one of the least expected places - a go-go bar - where he innocently used his foot to get the attention of one of the girls. Aft...
Nov 26, 2019•35 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Director/producer Tom Waller has made a lot of films, but his latest movie might be his most important yet. The Cave tells the story of the rescue of the Wild Boars football team from a flooded cave in northern Thailand. On a special extended show, Greg and Ed are happy to have Tom on the show, as well as two special guests, diver/actor Jim Warny, who helped rescue the boys and starred as himself in the film, and composer Olivier Lliboutry! Tom tells us how he walked the line when writing the sc...
Nov 19, 2019•55 min•Season 4Ep. 5
A bit of news first - the Bangkok Podcast has LINE stickers! Go here to check them out and increase your expressiveness. Sadly, Thai-based users only. On this show, Greg introduces a fascinating question for expats: to what extent should they see themselves as ‘ambassadors’ who represent the country they come from - or indeed, expats in general? Ed opens a bit contrarian, arguing that expats only have a duty to obey the law and not act like jerks, the same as if they were at home. Greg counters ...
Nov 12, 2019•32 min•Season 4Ep. 4
This episode is the second half of our interview with Taopiphop Limjittrakorn, beer advocate and member of Thai Parliament from the Future Forward Party. Ed asks Tao about his decision to run for parliament and how his life has changed since taking his seat. Turns out that once Tao decided to run, he chose Bangkok Yai, a district in Bangkok that is traditionally a stronghold for the Democratic Party. With no experience and a low budget, Tao had to develop his own grassroots campaign strategy, Hi...
Nov 05, 2019•38 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Greg and Ed are very happy to welcome to the podcast Taopiphop Limjitrikorn, a beer entrepreneur and current member of Thai parliament from the Future Forward Party. In this first of a two-part interview, Greg and Tao discuss Tao’s background as a lawyer and how he transitioned from that into brewing his own beer, which - believe it or not, he got arrested for! Greg explains, with Tao’s help, that Thai law is shockingly unfair to small brewers, essentially making it impossible for anyone but lar...
Oct 29, 2019•46 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Greg and Ed discuss the absolutely EPIC beginning of season 4 of the Bangkok Podcast. Why start a new season? Well, it turns out that seasons 1 and 2 were in the 70ish episode range and 80 seemed a good round number. Plus, the guys were just ready for some changes! But first - a book giveaway! Listen in to learn how you can win a copy of Working in Thailand by our buddy Karsten, who co-authored. So, what are all these changes about, you ask? First, more content for our Patrons, especially photo ...
Oct 22, 2019•34 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Big News: This show will be the final episode of Season 3! We figure 80 episodes is the right number given the length of previous seasons, so the Bangkok Podcast will be taking a week off next week before commencing Season 4, which will include a few interesting changes to the show. (Spoiler Alert: Ed is coming back, woo hoo!) And a quick note - if you want to read the esoteric-yet-fascinating Harvard study on Bangkok’s khlongs that we talk about in the show, you can get it here . So in the last...
Oct 08, 2019•41 min•Season 3Ep. 80
Greg interviews Rex de Koening and Johanna de Koening Schaaij from New Counseling Service , who have been working as therapists in Thailand since 2001. Rex and Johanna begin by explaining that traditionally in Thailand there was no concept of mental health other than the idea that a person is either fine or crazy - nothing in between. Slowly this idea has been changing, however, sparked significantly by the tsunami crisis of 2004, which caused large scale trauma. Johanna notes that traditional s...
Oct 01, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 79
Greg and Ed dive into the flooding crisis in Thailand. (Get it?) Ed begins with some sobering statistics on the recent spate of floods that have affected 34 provinces, including Bangkok, which kicks off some not-so-nostalgic discussions about previous Bangkok flood stories, from wading down the soi in flip flops or simply being trapped at home on an ‘island’ until the water subsides. Granted, considering the flooding issues that some people have dealt with, this is small potatoes. But have thing...
Sep 24, 2019•32 min•Season 3Ep. 78
Greg interviews Palm, a professional translator of English to Thai, but in a very specific context: subtitles for film and television. Palm begins by explaining that she literally learned English by being a couch potato and watching a lot of Western TV shows and movies, surviving by figuring out the subtitles word by word. This led naturally to an interest in doing it for a living, and lo and behold, her dream came to when she got a job translating for MTV Thailand. Eventually, this led to trans...
Sep 17, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 77
Greg and Ed discuss one of their old stomping grounds - Sukhumvit Soi 11, perhaps the most famous destination on Sukhumvit that doesn’t involve a red light district! Beginning with stories of their early days on the soi, when it was primarily known as home to swanky Q Bar and Bed Supperclub, it’s gone through several iterations since then. Indeed, Greg notes that it always seems to be going through a transition, and not just construction-wise. The identity of the soi also seems to change over ti...
Sep 10, 2019•31 min•Season 3Ep. 76
Readers of the Bangkok Post will need no introduction to this week’s guest. Roger Crutchley - or Old Crutch, as he’s known - arrived in Bangkok in 1969 by accident, never intending to stay. Yet here we are, 50 years later, and after a multi-decade career at the Bangkok Post and adventures too numerous to count, he sits down to riff on the past 5 decades in Thailand. From bullet-riddled visa runs to Cambodia, to Vietnam-era beer bars on Phetchburi Road, to Thai protests and coups, Roger has seen ...
Sep 03, 2019•58 min•Season 3Ep. 75
Sooner or later, we all spend some time in the hospital, so Greg and Ed riff on their myriad experiences in Bangkok hospitals over the years. But before we get into that, we should note - due to Thailand’s strict defamation laws, some of the places we talk about will remain nameless. But with that out of the way, we can say that Thailand in general has pretty good medical care, and it is standard advice for travelers in neighboring countries to get over the border into Thailand if they have any ...
Aug 27, 2019•45 min•Season 3Ep. 74
