The Bangkok Podcast

Greg and Ed confess to their past as Dungeons and Dragons-loving young geeks. Who would have thought? The boys take inspiration from an old blog post of Greg's where he applied D&D's famous moral alignment chart to Bangkok. Moving through the list, Ed provides his feedback as each example is presented.  Greg begins by explaining the system (for those of you who were less geeky or simply missed D&D...

On this episode Greg chats with his buddy Jesse Davis. You might not know Jesse's name, but if you have kids, chances are they know his daughter.  About four years ago Jesse and his daughter started Brianna's Secret Club , a YouTube channel aimed at kids where Brianna and her pals do things like unwrap gifts, play with toys, build stuff, and do other kid-related things. The channel took off, and s...

Greg and Ed discuss the concept of expat 'merit badges': those experiences that all long-time expats in Thailand tend to have that really remind you that you are in a unique place, distinct from where you grew up. These 'badges,' for lack of a better term, function as a loose type of seniority system. They are generally earned after some amount of time in the Kingdom, when you become comfortable w...

Greg interviews returning guest Stu Jay Raj - polyglot, expert language teacher and man about town. Greg begins by asking Stu about his recent series of videos analyzing the second language capabilities of various celebrities, including Jon Cena and Robert DeNiro. Stu responds by explaining his MindKraft program, which is kind of a general learning system that can be applied to languages of all ty...

Greg and Ed sit down with old friends and travel experts Trevor Ranges and Scott Coates of the Talk Travel Asia podcast. The guys run through a whole range of questions:  How do you first come to Thailand?  How did you meet each other?  How do you adapt to Thai food? How did you learn (or not learn) Thai language? What Thai cultural rules have you learned?  How long did it take to feel as if Thail...

Continuing the series on the 7 Deadly Sins, Greg and Ed address the envious Envy. Of course, we love Bangkok, but no place is perfect - so, what are some things in other countries that we are envious of from our perch here? Greg begins by looking over the fence at coffee culture in Vietnam. Presumably due to French influence, Vietnam has an insane number of local cafes that take coffee (and ice cr...

Greg interviews Mark Siegel, the director of Golfasian , one of Asia's largest golf tour operators. Greg opens with the caveat that neither he nor Ed are golfers and leaves it up to Mark to do his best to sell us on a golf holiday in the Land of Smiles.  Greg begins by noting that his first thought of a relaxing holiday would not be to spend 4 hours walking around in the scorching sun, but Mark (i...

In this episode, Greg fills us in on all the special concerns of being a parent in Bangkok. As if being a parent on its own didn't have enough surprises, it turns out there are several things to keep in mind if you are expecting or even just bringing a child to the Big Mango. Pre-eminent is of course the issue of proper schooling, be it Thai or international or some combination of both. Greg expla...

Greg interviews Kru Nan from the "You Too Can Learn Thai" podcast. Greg begins with the theory of the 'critical period,' that the human brain is primed to learn languages early in life but not later. Kru Nan notes that the research is not final and that adults might actually have some advantages over children. For example, adults may be able to absorb more information more quickly and also to cont...

Greg and Ed discuss some negative expat stereotypes - roughly the person you (probably) don't want to become while living in Thailand...at least forever. We all fall prey to stereotypes sometimes - they have to come from some where - but if you're not careful, you can become comfortable with some of these lifestyles and before you know it, they come to define your new identity in your new home, an...

Greg interviews Khun Panarat Anamwathana about the bombing of Bangkok during World War II. Beginning with a discussion about how Thai people today perceive Thailand's involvement in the Second World War, K. Panarat notes that many Thais' attitudes are actually shaped by popular culture and specific romantic stories about that time period in Thai history. Most Thais today don't realize the tragic n...

On a suggestion from listener Emily, Greg and Ed go back to basics with book and movie recommendations for people new to Thailand and Southeast Asia, or old-timers looking to refresh their knowledge after being disconnected during all this covid hullabaloo. Ed begins with three foundational books: the all-time classic 'Lonely Planet Thailand,' written by friend of the podcast Joe Cummings, the ins...

Things are not so great right now, and they're even more desperate for people who live on the edge, which is why we're pleased to chat with Friso Poldervaart, Greg Lange, and Kerv Chittaropas about their organization Bangkok Community Help .  The three are instrumental in providing the community of over 100,000 with food, medical supplies, living essentials and care packages in Khlong Toey, Bangko...

Ed relates his 4-day adventure in the much-reported-on Phuket Sandbox. But spoiler alert: It wasn't a great trip, mostly due to bad luck: it was gray and rainy almost the entire time, thus denying him quality beach time. Oh well.  But what was not bad luck was the way that the Thai government has marketed the Sandbox. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has repeatedly stated that Phuket is 'open' to...

Greg and Ed bare their souls and discuss how living in Thailand has changed them for the better - and for the worse. Greg begins by noting that since being in Thailand he has a much greater appreciation for the life struggles of the average person, in Thailand as well as the rest of the world.  Raised middle class in the West, it is easy to see yourself as 'normal,' when in reality you are quite l...

It's a dream of many to move to Thailand and start their own business - be it a spiffy e-commerce site, a beer bar on a beach, or some type of consultancy. But navigating the tricky cultural and bureaucratic hurdles isn't something to be taken lightly. We're joined by Derek van Pelt , a Thailand resident for 24 years and someone who has had a number of successes in a variety of different arenas. C...

Diving into one of their more complex topics, Greg and Ed explore some of the questions that arise when raising a child with an appreciation for skepticism and science in the middle of a culture known for its superstitious beliefs. With Ed teaching a critical thinking class to Thai college students and Greg's son asking questions about ghosts and praying, the boys have some interesting insights. G...

Greg interviews Chin Chongtong, the founder of Chili Paste Food Tours , a food-based tourism company in Bangkok. Khun Chin first relates her difficult early days as an untrained tour guide, giving informal tours around Bangkok, having to negotiate both massive floods and military coups that shut down half the city. After getting a formal tour guide certificate from the Thai government, she and a f...

On this show the guys keep it real by discussing things they do not like about being an expat. Plus, patrons and listeners write in with their own pet peeves about being a stranger in the strange land of Thailand.  Ed begins with his number one complaint: being mistaken for a tourist. Even after 20 years in Thailand, he is still clearly not Thai, and Thais (especially those looking to make a buck)...

Greg and Ed interview Dr. Sarah Taylor, the Canadian Ambassador to Thailand to discuss her role in Thailand, Thailand's role in Asia, and what Canada and Thailand have in common...and don't have in common.  Ambassador Taylor comes from a long line of diplomats, with parents who met while on mission overseas. Once bitten by the travel bug, she ended up majoring in archaeology but later began a care...

The guys return to their 'Seven Deadly Sins' series to discuss the sin of 'Sloth.' Greg notes in an introduction that sloth can be a little hard to define in that all the other sins involve actively doing something, whereas sloth of course can refer to simply being really lazy. The guys agree that for the purposes of the show they will rule out simply staying home and being a slug on the couch to...

Greg and Ed interview Oliver Ackermann, one of the co-producers of the Thailand-based Netflix series "The Serpent," about 1970s era serial killer Charles Sobhraj. Oliver is a partner in Living Films, a prominent production company based in Thailand famous for shepherding large foreign productions (such as Hangover 2, which our buddy Chris Lowenstein talked about on season 1 ) through the maze of T...

This is the second episode of Greg and Ed's interview with Joe Cummings, expat extraordinaire. This episode begins with a bang as the guys discuss the future of cannabis in Thailand and then goes right into the kind of story that has to be heard to be believed, but basically it involves an attempted recruitment of Joe into the CIA while he was a graduate student at the University of California at...

Greg and Ed do a tag team interview of legendary Thailand expat Joe Cummings, a renaissance man and expert on Thai culture if there ever was one. Joining us during a break on his latest film role, Joe and Greg discuss how they met in the jungles of Mae Hong Son 18 years ago, and discuss how Joe went from being known primarily as a writer (most famously founding Lonely Planet Thailand) to being an...

Hey there! This type of content usually goes out to our patrons only, but we figured it was important and relevant to everyone, so we're putting it out to y'all! Our buddy Kevin and his wife Tip have just landed in Bangkok from the US after getting vaccinated and doing a whackload of paperwork. We check in with him to see what the process was like and get an idea of what people may have to deal wi...