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

In a special listener voicemail show, Greg and Ed discuss what listeners miss most about Thailand. The guys go through a bunch of different messages, each expressing a unique characteristic of the Land of Smiles that keeps them pining for more. Starting off is Erich, with classic praise for Thai people themselves, which may be the country’s greatest asset. A little further down the list is Jett from Los Angeles, with a unique lament for the Ministry of Rural Roads (actually Department of Rural Roads, but same same), which keeps Thailand’s country roads in excellent shape for his motorcycle adventures. Another interesting take comes from Paul, who misses the intensity and colorfulness of the Thai promotions that dot Thailand’s malls and commercial landscape. At the end, our old friend Evo and podcast master himself gives a heartfelt call out to his days as the co-host of the Bankgok Podcast! Awww! (Sniffle, sniffle). Check out all of our listeners’ takes on the full episode, and many thanks to everyone who sen

We dive back into history with the remarkable story of Chang and Eng Bunker, more famously known as the Siamese Twins. Born and raised in Samut Songkhram province just south of Bangkok, they had a fateful encounter with a Scottish trader by the name of Robert Hunter - himself an interesting fellow - and their lives were never the same. Siam at the time was little more than a vague backwater “somewhere in Asia” and because of their unique condition, the twins agreed to follow Hunter to the US and go on tour. It was not an easy life, as they fought against racial stereotypes and the fear that people of the time had against anyone with such an unusual condition, but they persevered, learning English and eventually striking out on their own to control their own destinies. This was just the beginning of a remarkable adventure that saw them get into bar brawls, argue with doctors, travel the world, and find fame, fortune and love. Check out the episode of Mobituaries here, which visits one of the Bunker family reun

In Part Two of Ed’s Thai lesson with guru Stu Jay Raj, the two push through Ed’s sample Thai conversation. Stu continues to emphasize the importance of proper pronunciation of vowels, even going so far as to say it is more important than tones themselves. But Stu also gives several examples of Ed using sentence structures borrowed directly from English that, while grammatically correct in Thai, do not sound natural to native speakers. Additionally, Ed has a habit of using phrases that could tip off a Thai person to the fact that Ed learned his early Thai in the bars of lower Sukhumvit Road, which is not exactly known as a bastion of erudition among Thais.:) The lesson concludes with a discussion of the value of learning Thai from a teacher that speaks English and understands how native English speakers form sentences. Native Thai speakers have obvious advantages, of course, but that doesn’t mean they are the best teachers in every situation. Listen in for some expert advice on learning Thai as a second langua

Ed goes back to school and gets a Thai lesson from the master himself, Stu Jay Raj. Ed recounts a common backstory, wherein he made serious effort to learn Thai during his first two years in Thailand - and even ended up marrying his Thai language teacher! But after that, he more or less plateaued and is looking for a way to jump start (or jump ‘re-start’) his Thai language learning.  In Part One of a two part series, Stu analyzes a short conversation Ed recorded with a Thai friend, Anna from Lampang. Stu brings out the microscope and focuses on Ed’s failure to grasp the ‘glottal stop’ and its function in Thai language. In short, many Thai consonants are voiced in the back of the throat and don’t involve pushing air out of the front of the mouth. After practicing a bit, Ed makes some headway, but he’s got a lot of work to do. Next, Stu points out that Ed’s Thai vowels are haphazard in length, when precision with vowels is a key to Thai comprehension. Stu notes that often foreigners get obsessed with tones, whi

Greg interviews Bangkok-based lawyer Dave Lawrence about the ins and outs of foreigners owning land in Thailand. Dave begins with his backstory: he went to law school in Ohio where he met his future wife while she was getting a master's degree (also in law), and upon graduating they returned to Thailand for what was expected to be two years. That has now turned into 12 years, and in the meantime Dave has worked several different legal jobs at law firms as well as private companies. Dave then explains his current venture: Pegleg, a company that matches foreigners in Thailand with Thai lawyers and law firms.  Dave then introduces us to the basics of foreigners owning property in Thailand. As for condos, it’s possible as long as less than 50% of the ‘saleable land’ in the building is owned by foreigners. However, in general, owning real property (actual land) is forbidden to foreigners - but there are some well-known (but questionably legal) workarounds. Some foreigners start a company with majority Thai ownersh

In a show fueled by a visit by Greg’s mother, the guys discuss first impressions of Bangkok, and whether or not they have become jaded as long term expats. Greg includes a short interview with his mom, but bases the show on all of her insights over the last few weeks as a relative newbie in Bangkok. First, Greg mentions that his mom finds Thailand very colorful, whether it’s clothes, art, taxis, or restaurants. At first the guys are a bit skeptical, but as they run through the examples they realize that Ma’s got a point. Next, the boys discuss the newbie take that Thailand is filled with individualism and creativity. On this point, Ed disagrees directly, noting the number of shops and restaurants that are essentially copies of each other, but Greg notes that his mom was focusing on fashion and art, with many small boutiques and stalls focusing on small collections of uniquely designed products.  The next issue gets a general agree from both Greg and Ed as his mom has been struck by how consistently friendly T

Ed interviews Max and Jo Hellier of Root the Future, a small social enterprise based in Bangkok that promotes sustainable living and plant-based diets. Max and Jo begin with their origin story: Jo, a vegan and former model, and Max, a ‘video dude,’ developed a business concept for a boutique hotel in Thailand that had to be abandoned during COVID. Subsequently, they combined their talents and started producing social media content expressing their concerns over climate change and their preference for a plant-based diet. One thing led to another and soon ‘Root the Future’ was born. (Don’t ask about the name - just roll with it.) Their Instagram-friendly content soon developed a large following among expats in Thailand, and over time they developed relationships with Thai partners, including vegan restaurants and local producers of plant-based food. Max and Jo explain that their driving ethos is ‘accessibility’: showing that being planet friendly is quite an easy thing to do, simply by moving what you eat more

Greg and Ed discuss a topic first brought up in a bonus show back in season 2: what to do about taxi drivers who won’t take you where you want to go? Although there are no doubt many larger problems in Thailand, on a day to day basis, perhaps recalcitrant taxi drivers are the most annoying.  Ed runs through a gamut of possible solutions. The first is simply to somehow enforce the current law, which already requires taxis to accept all riders. The guys admit that simple enforcement may be the biggest obstacle to overcome, because no solution is viable without it. But Ed has some twists that could be added to the current regulations. Why not have two types of cabs, one that must accept all riders that gets paid at a higher rate, and one that can deny riders but gets a lower rate? Greg and Ed debate the pros and cons of this solution. Another option would be to simply allow drivers to switch the color of their light during the last hour of their ride, signally that they now have the right to refuse riders. Greg

Greg interviews Tim Koncewicz from electric tuk-tuk company MuvMi to chat about their mission to provide a safe and environmentally clean alternative to gas-powered tuk-tuks. Unlike normal taxis and old-school automobiles (pfft), MuvMi focuses on ‘microtransit,’ which means moving people within local communities instead of across town. So MuvMi might take you from one part of your neighborhood to a nearby location, or to the BTS or MRT for a longer ride. The company already has 300 vehicles around Bangkok and hopes to expand to 600 by the end of the year.  Greg asks Tim a number of questions about what obstacles the company has faced, where and how they charge their vehicles, dealing with competition, what it’s like dealing with Bangkok’s, er…somewhat rambunctious existing groups of transportation drivers, and educating customers about the service which not only doesn’t include long trips but also involves ridesharing, in which others may join along in your ride if they are going in the same direction.  The g

Greg and Ed bare their souls with ‘expat confessions’: things in Thailand they are embarrassed to say they have never seen or done, but that they should have, given their years in the Kingdom.  Ed begins by admitting he’s never travelled to Laos, Burma or Malaysia, despite them being right next door and highly recommended. Greg talks about some of his trips and agrees, it’s a pretty startling omission, especially Laos, which almost everyone agrees is worth a visit. Ed vows to make it right. Greg confesses he’s never been to legendary late night establishment Wong’s, which may have lost some of its luster but which used to be a MUST go - just not for Greg, apparently. Ed follows that he’s never been to Sukhothai, despite his love of ancient temples and all the photography opportunities. Greg then talks about never having scuba dived, even though it is on the list of almost all expats and a lot of tourists. Ed discusses his PADI class and argues that it lives up to the hype. Ed last laments he’s never been to P

Greg interviews Buddhist scholar Justin McDaniel on the topic of Buddhism amulets. Justin is a true scholar of religion, especially Asian religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, but he developed a strong interest in Buddhist amulets after he visited Thailand for the first time when he was a young man.  Greg asks Justin what actually makes an amulet special, and Justin goes into a lengthy explanation of the ‘recipes’ and ‘ingredients’ that go into an amulet’s construction, from very specific types of soil to various prayers and incantations that are made when it is created. Some amulets even contain flakes of gold from statues of famous monks or in some cases, even the blood of the monk himself.  Greg and Justin continue and discuss such interesting topics as how the value of amulets is determined, the relationship between amulets and relics, the role that myth and mystery play in the popularity of amulets, and the sometimes crass commercialization in the amulet industry.  Listen in for a fascinating discussi

Every Bangkok newbie has places that are near and dear to them, and which play a role in their early days of getting settled and finding your groove in Bangkok. Greg and Ed discuss some of these Bangkok institutions that meant a lot to them in their early days, but have since been torn down and paved over. Ed notes that Bangkok is famous for turnover in the restaurant and bar space, but certain places do stand the test of time: Saxophone Pub on Victory Monument for example. Unfortunately, a bunch of places Greg and Ed THOUGHT they would be enjoying forever subsequently closed.  Ed begins by discussing the somewhat eccentric Check Inn 99, a ‘cabaret’-style bar that used to be on Sukhumvit between Soi 3 and 5. An entire show would be needed to explain its unique place in Bangkok nightlife; suffice it to say both Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra once partied there. Greg then talks about the classic pub The Dubliner, that seemed to embody all the positive traits that Irish pubs are famous for.  Listen in to this som

Greg interviews Khun Weena from the Thailand Clean Air Network, a guest who previously appeared on Episode 66 of Season 4, when Thailand was in the middle of a crazy air pollution crisis. Since then K. Weena and her organization have been hard at work preparing reports for the government on the status of air quality in Thailand. In fact, her group has recently finished a 700 page green paper outline solutions for the Thai government to pursue. Weena outlines the extensive research she helped organize to prepare the report, which involved consulting with experts in multiple fields and trying to find realistic solutions that suit different entities. She explains that the report outlines steps for the government and private sector companies to take, but also responsibilities that best lie with the general public.  Greg compliments K. Weena on the almost insane comprehensiveness of the report, but plays devil’s advocate: How do we know that the government will take the advice in the report seriously and actually

Greg and Ed open up a can of snakes (this is Thailand after all) and discuss whether Thailand is a ‘woke-free’ zone. The guys begin by realizing that the word ‘woke’ itself does not have a very clear meaning. Depending on who you are, ‘woke’ could mean a woman being paid the same as a man, being cool with varied genders, races, and religions, or someone who has taken victimhood to an extreme and become worse than the problem it’s trying to solve.  That being said, the guys do have some takes. Ed thinks that in many ways Thailand will prove to be immune to the extreme forms of ‘wokeness,’ simply because Thais by their nature do not take offense very easily. As has been discussed many times on the podcast, Thais are very easy going by nature and tend to laugh off almost everything, outside of a few narrowly defined ‘no go’ zones. It’s hard to play the victim card if you simply don’t care much what people say or do and leave them to their devices. Greg largely concurs and notes that Thailand has been making prog

With interest in Thailand returning to pre-pandemic levels and the podcast getting an increasing number of emails asking for advice on living and working here, Greg interviews old acquaintance Amy Lefevre, a half-Thai British woman, on her unique career journey in Asia and what they’ve both learned about finding (and keeping!) a job in Bangkok.  The two begin with the importance of language skills and the difficulty of competing with educated Thais who typically have decent English, and then segues into an interesting topic: Is it easy for foreigners to get jobs inside Thailand outside of the cliched fields of teacher, IT staff, NGO staff and digital nomad? Amy argues that in Bangkok, foreigners who work in these fields tend to socialize together, almost creating cliques that can be difficult to break into (or out of). Further, expats often hit a ‘ceiling’ in their late 20s or early 30s where they feel they cannot advance their careers without leaving Thailand. Greg notes that the Thai bureaucracy that govern

Greg and Ed dive into the crowded App and Play stores to discuss the various phone apps that make living in Bangkok easier. Greg begins by giving props to our excellent listeners who submitted a whole bunch of recommendations - so much, in fact, that we simply weren’t able to cover them all! Ed confesses that he relies primarily on Google Maps and Google Translate for countless day-to-day functions, but he mentions that he recently stumbled upon an app called BMA Traffic that has live feeds from traffic cameras around the city. Worth checking into as an addition to Google Maps traffic info. Greg then runs through a myriad of different applications from transportation apps such as Bolt, inDriver, and ViaBus to social apps such as Meetup and weather apps like Rainviewer and Ventusky, each of which make it easier to navigate the chaos of Bangkok and get to a worthy social event. Greg then notes numerous apps for ordering food, helping others find your exact location, and even identifying those cool-looking plant

Greg interviews James Fahn, the Executive Director of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. Greg begins by opening a discussion about James’ book “A Land On Fire,” which was published in 2003, after James worked as the environmental editor at The Nation newspaper in Bangkok in the 1990s. James explains that at The Nation, he wrote extensively about environmental issues in Thailand and Southeast Asia, including doing investigative reporting on corruption and corporate malfeasance that damaged the environment. James even tells a story of how he narrowly avoided interviewing a Burmese strong man who likely would have put James on his hit list. Greg then asks James about how Thailand has changed over time, and whether there is any reason to be optimistic. James notes several things that have gotten better, from public transportation to air pollution to public parks, but then also raises several areas where Thailand still needs a lot of work, such as protection of coral reefs and in the excessive use of plastic. Ov

Ed reminisces on 22 years in Thailand and tries to summarize exactly why he has decided to stay for so long. It’s hard to sum up, of course, but Ed manages to come up with five positives and three negatives, and Greg helps to clarify things as he goes along.  On the positive side, Ed mentions Thailand’s depth and variety, with many niches and subcultures that it would take a lifetime to explore. As Greg notes, if you are bored in Bangkok, the problem is not Bangkok. Ed also talks about how some things DO change and get better in Bangkok, despite frequent grumblings from most who live here - new weed laws, expanded public transportation and more public parks to name a few. In addition to other points, the boys also agree that there is a very supportive community of expats to ease foreigners’ transition to living long term in the land of smiles.  As for negatives, Ed cannot resist bringing up classic persistent problems in Thailand that NEVER seems to get properly addressed no matter how predictable they are (s

Greg interviews Jyri Järviaho, Finland’s Ambassador to Thailand. Although Greg makes a valiant attempt at pronouncing the Ambassador’s name, the two begin by discussing the difficulty of Finnish, with the Ambassador explaining that it is a unique language that it is completely different from its neighbors, especially its western ones, such as Germany and Sweden. Next, the Ambassador recounts his diplomatic journey from a small village in Finland to university and later to a job with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and eventually various diplomatic postings around Europe and central Asia. Suffice it to say, he’s happy to be in the warm weather of Thailand. The Ambassador next tells the fascinating story of Thailand and Finland’s first diplomatic contact. Finland’s first ambassador to Asia was on a trip to establish relations with Japan when he received a telegram in Singapore indicating that the country of Siam had recognized Finland as it had recently declared independence from Russia. The intrepid ambassador

Greg and Ed discuss the fascinating topic of old Western pop songs that enjoy a shocking degree of popularity in Thailand. For those foreigners who have spent any amount of time in the Land of Smiles, there are just certain songs you are likely to hear over and over again in restaurants and bars. Why these particular songs? Well, the guys just don’t know, but do their best to offer some theories. The big three have to be “Hotel California,” “Country Roads,” and “I Will Survive.” Greg suggests that the 1960s and 70s were a seminal period in Thai history when American pop culture was first being absorbed by Thais (see also the Cambodian surf rock sub-culture and its tragic end). Even though much more was to come, perhaps this first wave left an indelible impression on Thai society. Ed likes this explanation, but also suggests that Thais’ penchant for folk and country pop and rock music may be due to their melodic catchiness and ‘heart on the sleeve’ sentimentality. Why else would Thais like a song about going