The Bangkok Podcast | Expat Life In Thailand Via Expats From Canada & America

Greg welcomes former co-host Evo Terra back to the podcast after his repatriation to the good old U.S.A. Evo describes his new life in Phoenix and his many adjustments, including trying to drive on the right (that is, not left) side of the road. He also recounts the difficulty of finding a furnished apartment at a reasonable price and laments the relatively decent cost of living in the City of Angels (Thai version). Shopping for food has also been a challenge, due to the fact that Evo actually knows what everything is, and hence, takes forever to decide what he wants. Luckily, he found an Asian market and stocked up on all the spices he fell in love with in Thailand, including the foul effluent known as ‘fish sauce.’ Greg then walks Evo through the 9 factors that determine the seriousness of reverse culture shock to see how many he’s faced, and talks about other strange things, like understanding what everyone is saying, and the surprising ways he’s able to use Thai, Khmer, and even Mandarin in Phoenix. Final

Episode links: My interview with the guys at This Strange Life podcast https://soundcloud.com/this_strange_life/tsl04-tsl04-from-surviving-to-thriving-in-bangkok-with-greg-from-the-bangkok-podcast Bangkok may be great for the childless among us, but what about those expats who want to raise a family here? As a married guy without kids, Ed questions Greg about the pros and cons of being a parent in Bangkok. The conversation starts with a peek into the insane cost and stress of deciding which school the little angels/devils will attend, where tuition can sometimes hit $20,000 per year for first grade (coughINSANEcough). Unsurprisingly, it’s one of the top factors in deciding how long - or even if - an expat family will stay here. And yes, that’s Greg’s kid on the episode artwork, cunningly disguised as Batman. But thankfully for the bags under Greg’s eyes, there are lots of other stress points to having a kid in Bangkok! These range from the difficulty of building a social circle, how to approach language lear

Key links for this show: StuJay.com Hey, do you know the difference between ใ and ไ? What about เ and แ? Well, we sort of do, but you know who really does? This week’s guest, Stu Jay Raj. What started as a simple question from Greg to Stu about Thai vowels gets turned around as Stu - noted linguist, polyglot, and all around swell dude - starts asking questions of Greg, slowly revealing a method of thinking about Thai vowels that isn’t so obvious. Thai language learners will be mouthing along with Stu as he delves into the very DNA of the base sounds that make up most Thai vowel combinations. Not only that, you’ll begin to understand the very important connection in the Thai language between what a vowel sounds like, and the position your mouth, throat, and tongue need to be in to arrive at the correct sound. Also, did you know that the Thai language is abugida? We didn’t even know that word existed until this show, but Stu gives us a crash course on what it means. In Love, Loathe, or Leave, Ed - Mr. Taxi hims

Greg and Ed have each been in Thailand for more than 15 years, and along the way have done a lot of things right - but also a lot of things wrong. So in the spirit of the almighty do-over, they each thought of three pieces of advice they would give to their early Thailand selves. First of all, the boys skip the obvious piece of advice - learn Thai - which should be #1 on the list of everyone planning to spend more than 6 month here. From there they get into the nitty-gritty - from dating advice to how to avoid stressing out over Thai politics, to leaving Bangkok in the rearview, to making a point to visit some of its lesser-known cultural resources, Greg and Ed think of a few important points that would have made their early Thailand experience not so much better, but possibly richer and more rewarding. And in this week’s Love, Loathe, or Leave, Greg asks Ed his thoughts on the weak, bendy, nearly useless forks and spoons at Thai food courts (and, most frustratingly, in Greg’s kitchen). It’s safe to say neith

You may remember a month ago Greg and Ed invited our wonderful listeners to write in with details on how long they have been living in Thailand. Listen in to hear the boys discuss the results - or if you’re more disposed to pretty colors, check out the neat-o pie chart on the website.   Greg then begins a conversation about Thai funerals with frequent podcast guest Phra Pandit, a British-born Buddhist monk here in Thailand. Greg notes that Thai funerals seem to be less serious and emotional than funerals back home, and Phra Pandit points out that Thai funerals are typically stretched out over several days, somewhat muting the emotional intensity of the event. Pandit also stresses that many of the rituals seen at Thai funerals are not set in stone, and there is considerable variety in the specifics of each funeral - like throwing coins (really), knocking on coffins (really), and man-handling a corpse into a more convenient position for funeral rites (yikes...really). Greg also gets schooled on why reincarnati

Continuing with a series started in season 2 on some of Bangkok’s more interesting neighborhoods, the boys discuss one of their favorites: Banglamphu. But before they can chat about that, exactly what is Banglamphu? It’s not an official district, but it’s probably best known for Khao San Road, with its borders hitting Ratchadamnoen in the south, the river to the west, north to Krung Kasem Canal, and east to Ratchadamnoen Nok. Not a huge chunk of land. Is Banglamphu a good place to live, or just to visit? Despite the area being dominated by hotels, guesthouses, and hostels, there are still some good places to hang your hat - you just need to know where to look. (Hint: try just across the river for a steep drop in price) The guys then wrestle with the elephant in the room (so to speak), by discussing Khao San Road. Awesome party road with bars and shopping, or awful hippie ghetto with gross “Thai” food? It’s pretty subjective, but both Ed and Greg agree - don’t eat the scorpions. All of this, plus a few persona

Useful links: The Surprising Reason There Are So Many Thai Restaurants in America Hot Thai Kitchen We’re happy to have Pailin Chongchitnant as our guest this week, creator and host of Hot Thai Kitchen, a popular YouTube channel based in Vancouver, Canada that shows people how to cook delicious Thai food recipes in their kitchens. A handful of places - Italy, Japan, Vietnam, India - have food that’s so tied to their culture that the food itself is somewhat of an ambassador, and Thailand is no exception. The question then becomes how much Thai culture can a foreigner absorb simply by watching how the national cuisine is prepared? Pailin also gives some insight into how Thai food is perceived overseas & how “hipster Thai” joints are taking over, and describes how she comes up with ideas for shows. She also describes some of the insane ways foreigners try to give their native food a Thai spin by splashing peanut sauce on it - or even using - (ugh) - peanut butter! And in a post-interview email that Greg reads

Ahhh, Songkran, a waterfight so insane that people in other countries know all about it. Love it or hate it, it’s THE holiday on the Thai calendar, and unless you’ve got a (probably damp) ticket in your (probably damp) little hands, it’s hard to avoid. Greg starts off showing how poorly he can recollect the origins of Songkran off the top of his head, before he and Ed discuss the infamous “Ministry of Culture Gets Pissed at Topless Dancing Girls” episode of Songkran 2011, which left people alternately laughing, livid, or losing face. (Read Kaewmala’s excellent insight into that episode here, and a NY Times story here) Ed also shares his belief that Songkran might be the perfect Thai holiday, where old and new, conservative and liberal, and reserved and raucous clash in the most Thai of ways. You’ll also get to hear them recollect stories about friends getting soaked despite not wanting to, how a pitcher of beer was poured over Greg’s head one year, and why two (now)-jaded dudes might head out again this yea

Going vegetarian in Bangkok has always struck Greg as somewhat of an inconvenience - I mean, how many vegetarian street food stalls do you know? But guess who’s been on a full-on vegan diet for the past year? That’s right, Ed. And guess who is going to give Greg some insight on actually how easy it is to be a vegetarian in Bangkok? Well...yes, of course, also Ed. You’ve been here before, I see. Ed - a noted vegan - dishes a bit on what he thinks of the politics and clique-iness of strict diets, as well as the role that religion may play for some people, while Greg - a noted carnivore - recollects a few tales of searching for food in Bangkok with vegan friends. Let’s just say it wasn’t his favorite dining experience. We also spin up Love, Loathe or Leave, where Ed wants to hear Greg’s thought on the (ongoing...maybe?) effort to clean food vendors off of Bangkok’s sidewalks. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we’ll keep our Fa

Welcome back! For the first show of season 3, Greg introduces you to the new co-host of the Bangkok Podcast, Ed “The Truth” Knuth. Together they have a combined 35 years in the Big Mango, so they reminisce a bit about what the city was like when they first got here, how it compares to now, and what they think the city will look like in 10 or 20 years. Purely based on conjecture, of course, they have no real experience with this, but since when has making uneducated predictions been a bad idea? One of the things Greg and Ed discuss is the future of Bangkok's train network - click here to see a map that Greg made that shows what Bangkok will (hopefully) look like in 10 or so years. We also thank Patreon supporter Mike Herrin, who hides his steamy real life Bangkok adventures behind a veil of boring office work. And don’t worry about losing one of the favorite parts of the show - Greg surprises Ed with a Love, Loathe, or Leave that has to do with motorbike taxi drivers who might be trying to kidnap you...or jus

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Though various types of pestilence plagued all of your hosts, two of of us managed to muster the necessary strength to record the episode this week. You’re welcome. (Hi again, Ed!) We’ve a special guest on this week that anyone into in finance in Bangkok probably knows, Mr. Andrew Stotz, Ph.D. He’s an award-winning equity analyst, the current President of the CFA Society Thailand, and the founder and CEO of A. Stotz Investment Research. Prior to that he spent 20 years working global investment banks in Asia, and has been a university lecturer in finance for more than two decades. Voted the #1 investor in Thailand by his peers several times over, he's also a co-founder of CoffeeWORKS Co. Ltd., Thailand’s specialty coffee roaster. He and Greg chat about investing in Thailand at the lay-person level, since many of us aren’t the most well-versed in financial options. And for Love, Loathe, or Leave, comes from listener Other Ed. He wants to know how we feel about ไม่เป็นไร. If you don’t recognize the script, you’v

Key links for this episode: Map of Thonburi On the first show in our new series that digs into some of Bangkok’s better-known ‘hoods, we ask: did you know that Bangkok (that is, Thailand’s modern capital) is not the original Bangkok? Nope! The first Bangkok (that is, the new capital after Ayutthaya was thrashed by the Burmese) was a little town called Thonburi. But, that didn’t last long. Another little village called Bangkok became the new, new capital and Thonburi became a sleepy suburb. But after only 236 years, Thonburi is about to step into the limelight in a big way. How, you ask? Malls! Trains! Hotels! Markets! Craft beer! And...cable cars? But before we get into that, we need to thank ErQing Hui, our latest patron at the show shoutout level (who we simply call EQ (because we’re not that good with Chinese), as well as Han Choi, who became our 50th patron and will be rewarded with one (or more!) snazzy postcards. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get

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Key links for this episode: Nomadic Matt Plume App Our patrons know a secret. You can know it, too. One of the OG travel bloggers, Matt Kepnes, AKA Nomadic Matt, joins the program with all kinds of stories, tips, and reflections on travel on his site NomadicMatt.com. He even has a NYTimes best-selling book on how to travel the world on a budget! He's a hard guy to pin down, but he recently came through town on his way to New Zealand, and he very kindly let Greg to discuss an important question: Why do people (him included!) keep coming back to Bangkok? Speaking of catching up with friends, but on a much sadder note… the Bangkok expat community is a little smaller and sadder, with the recent passing of Eric Seldin. He was funny, warm, entertaining, and wise, and always had a good story to tell from his decades of working around Asia. In his memory, go spend some quality time with those you love but haven’t caught up with recently, OK? You are flat out not going to like this week’s Love, Loathe, or Leave. And

Support us and get cool stuff! The thought of spending a few days on an island in Thailand sounds about as close to paradise as a westerner can get: blue water, white sand, the works! But the reality of it is a little different than the picture in your mind, and you might want to adjust your expectations a bit when visiting an island in Thailand. And speaking of Thailand as a great vacation destination, we really do want to meet you when you come through Bangkok. Please reach out and we’ll see if we can get our schedules to align so we can grab a beer, coffee, or even a meal together. We love it! Of course, we love the listeners who support us with a small financial contribution most of all. People like Jeremy Winterson, an actual race car driver and illegal taxi driver. (One of those statements is true). If you want to get the show early, get some cool swag, and even have Greg come up with fantastical tales of your life, support us if you can! And on Love, Loathe, or Leave: long-time expats who still can’t p

Key links for this episode: Sign the Change.org petition to put the pressure on 7-11 Donate to support the fight against plastic waste in Thailand Greenpeace’s position on Thailand’s plastic problem Support the Bangkok Podcast on Patreon Yes, there are too many plastic bags floating -- literally -- around Bangkok. But rather than you listen to just more expat bitching, we brought on a local Thai person who’s doing more than just bitching about the problem. Joey Liptapanlop is roping in his fellow citizens to start a grassroots movement aimed at… 7-11? Did you know that Thailand is the 6th worst plastic polluter in the world? That’s thanks to the 1.03 million metric tons of plastic Thais release into the water. Joey and his crew want to do something about that, and this seems like the generation to (finally) get it done. This is something we can get behind. Slacktivists can join the almost 25,0000 people who have signed the Change.org petition to put the pressure on 7-11. There’s also a Weeboon page to s

Key links for this episode: Support us on Patreon to get the show early You’ve probably heard of “the Thai smile”, or know that Thailand is referred to as “the Land of Smiles”. Both of those phrases are well-earned, but that whole smiling thing is more than something done just in the hospitality space. For many Thais, smiling in a situation is a default reaction, even when the experience they are smiling at is a negative one. Like when a dog almost eats a small child and the owner’s reaction is to smile it off. Oh, and that’s not a hypothetical. It happened to Greg’s kid. Or when a Thai driver almost hits a pedestrian and just smiles and waves. Also not hypothetical, as our special guest Ed Knuth (filling in for Evo Terra this week) will tell you. But what looks like a blow-off really isn’t. It’s a cultural difference, and those of us who’ve been here a while learn to self-correct our immediate emotional response when we encounter the Thai smile. Or at least, we try to. It’s hard to break those old social c

To help us ring in 2018, we’re bringing back a prior guest on his annual pilgrimage to Bangkok. Frank Smith from UC Berkeley teaches Khmer to children of Cambodian refugees. We caught up with him in person at Bangkok’s Central World mall… before we got kicked out by security. Yes, again. Not just because one of us made a foot faux pas. What’s it like for a Thai speaker who doesn’t live in Thailand to plop back into Bangkok, suddenly surrounded by other Thai speakers? There are actually lot of ways to keep up with the evolving language, thanks to the pervasive nature of the internet. Or what’s it like when your a young person, with parents speaking their native tongue and all your friends and the world around you speaking English? Frank faces that every day in the classroom, and shares some interesting tidbits from his students. Also, Frank reports the Bay area of California has a sizeable and well-knit Thai population, so we press him for some impressions (from the outside, obviously) on how that contingent l

Before we start, we have to mention a recent news story from Bangkok, which is rather appropriate considering the topic of tonight's show. You may recall we discussed traffic on episode 2.27 -- Blood on the Highway: Thailand’s Seven Deadly Days of Songkran. On that episode we mentioned that Thailand was the second-most deadly country in the world for road fatalities. Well, not anymore. We’re number one! And that’s a good way to set up the rest of the program, as it’s all about an accident we (yes, both of us) were recently involved in. Explaining what happened is tricky, but it involved doubling-up on a motorbike taxi without helmets, a possibly illegal Uber driver, three different quasi-cops, a crazy chicken lady, and someone high up in the taxi mafia (Probably. Possibly. Actually, we have no idea who he was). It’s a story you have to hear to understand, so listen up. We even stuck with the theme on Love, Loathe, or Leave! Someone told Thai drivers to turn on their hazard lights to signal intent to drive s