Episodes - Page 14 | The Bangkok Podcast

Oct. 23, 2018

Neighborhood Focus: Victory Monument [Season 3, Episode 31]

The Victory Monument area of Bangkok is unique in that it combines the old - the monument itself is of a Thai victory against the French in WWII - and the new - the skytrain and multiple modern condo developments. Greg uses…

Oct. 16, 2018

Expat Insights: Owning a Restaurant in Bangkok [Season 3, Episode 30]

A common dream for many expats in Thailand is to open their own bar or restaurant. Ed interviews Matthew Fischer, a local restaurateur and bar owner, who has successfully started two bars in Bangkok - Fatty’s on Rama IX, and…

Oct. 9, 2018

Thai Ghost Stories: Myth and Terror [Season 3, Episode 29]

This week’s subject is the fascinating mythology of Thai ghosts, which, as anyone who has spent any time here knows, are a pretty big deal in Thai culture. In the west, ghosts and the supernatural are met with skepticism by …

Oct. 2, 2018

Gay Rights in Thailand [Season 3, Episode 28]

Ed interviews Thanita ‘Ninar’ Wongprasert, a former UN employee and long time activist in the LGBTQI community in Thailand. Ninar talks about what it’s like to be gay in Thailand in general and points out that every individu…

Sept. 25, 2018

Bangkok History Highlight: Phlaek Phibunsongkram [Season 3, Episode 27]

Greg and Ed try something new with the first in a series of episodes that look at interesting events in Bangkok’s history. For this one, they delve into one of Thailand’s most interesting personalities - Phlaek Phibunsongkra…

Sept. 18, 2018

Insight into Bangkok’s Mobile Street Vendors [Season 3, Episode 26]

Greg interviews Kisnaphol “Keng” Wattanawanyoo, an expert in the informal aspects of urban life, and in the case of Bangkok, the plethora of mobile street vendors. While Bangkok is in a rush to modernize and clean up its str…

Sept. 11, 2018

Permanent Residency in Thailand: Worth It? [Season 3, Episode 25]

Greg and Ed jump into the tricky issue of whether it is worth it for expats to gain permanent residency status in Thailand, also known as PR. It’s a good topic, because while Greg is still a stateless savage, Ed actually doe…

Sept. 4, 2018

Author Patrick Winn on Organized Crime in Southeast Asia [Season 3, Episode 24]

The podcast is very pleased to welcome back journalist , who previously appeared on the show in its very early days - , to be precise. Patrick recently authored a book called “Hello Shadowlands: Inside the Meth Fiefdoms, Reb…

Aug. 28, 2018

What Are People Asking Google About Thailand? [Season 3, Episode 23]

Google searches have become a treasure trove of information on modern cultures, and something that everyone from students to seniors use to find information. One interesting feature is Google’s autocomplete, which makes gues…

Aug. 21, 2018

Endangered Languages & Evolving Thai with Linguist Rikker Dockum [Season 3, Episode 22]

What if you got into a time machine and jumped forward a few hundred years, only to discover when you arrived that no one spoke your language anymore? It’s happened plenty of times (not the time machine thing, but languages …

Aug. 17, 2018

Jobs You Can’t Do, and Drugs You Can (Maybe) [Bonus 21]

Just for a bit of fun, we're releasing this week's bonus episode for all our listeners! Patrons of the Bangkok Podcast get the regular show + a bonus show every week. To learn more, go to Greg and Ed - still trying to diges…

Aug. 14, 2018

Neighborhood Focus - Ari [Season 3, Episode 21]

Another in our continuing series on Bangkok’s coolest and most notable places to live or visit! This week we focus on the Ari neighborhood, which roughly surrounds the Ari BTS station. Greg recounts the four years he lived i…

Aug. 7, 2018

Thai Work Permits: What Just Changed? [Season 3, Episode 20]

If you’ve even a passing interest in living in Thailand, you’ve likely heard of the recent changes to the Kingdom’s work permit laws - the legal requirements of being employed here there are written in stone which, it turns …

July 31, 2018

Trainspotting: The Past, Present & Future of Rail Travel in Thailand [Season 3, Episode 19]

This week your intrepid hosts discuss all manner of rail travel in Bangkok and beyond, and the role that the train system plays in Thai society. For most foreigners rail is a convenient alternative, but for many Thais (and o…

July 24, 2018

Unique Perspectives: Thailand's Third Culture Kids [Season 3, Episode 18]

What do you do if the culture you grew up in isn’t your own - or even your parents’? You adapt, dammit, and become what’s known as a , or TCK, if you’re cool. Ed interviews his recently graduated student Mook Ishimura, a hal…

July 17, 2018

The Risks and Rewards of Biking in Bangkok [Season 3, Episode 17]

On this episode, Master Yoda Biker Greg counsels young padawan Ed in the ways of biking in Bangkok, focusing either on the casual rider looking for some exercise or adventure, the commuter looking for a way through Bangkok’s…

July 10, 2018

Talking With Phra Pandit: What's Up With Buddhist Novices? [Season 3, Episode 16]

Have you ever seen those little kids walking around a temple dressed as monks? Well guess what - they ARE monks! Sort of. Mostly. Well, probably more than you are, anyway. Definitely more than we are. On this episode, Greg t…

July 3, 2018

Neighborhood Focus: Ekkamai [Season 3, Episode 15]

As all expats know, Bangkok is a gigantic, sprawling metropolis, but it does contain dozens of identifiable neighborhoods, each with its own personality, vibe, and reasons to go (or not to go) for a visit. On this show, the …

June 26, 2018

Teaching Critical Thinking in Thailand [Season 3, Episode 14]

In a culture where most people have seen ghosts, visit fortune tellers, and where questioning authority is kind of, sort of, not really cool, critical thinking may seem like a foreign concept. However, we happen to have an e…

June 19, 2018

How Has Bangkok Changed Us? [Season 3, Episode 13]

Something a little different this week - a host swap! Greg is joined by co-host Scott Coates, one of his oldest friends in Thailand. Scott co-hosts the podcast with Trevor Ranges, and, if you head over there, you will be ab…

June 12, 2018

Talking Overtourism With Stuart McDonald from Travelfish.org [Season 3, Episode 12]

From a cute lil’ gazebo on the rooftop of a newly-renovated hotel in Chinatown, Greg, Ed, and Stuart from Travelfish.org jump into the complex issue of “overtourism” in Thailand. Beginning with a definition of the term (roug…

June 5, 2018

Finding the Groove: Live Music in Bangkok [Season 3, Episode 11]

We start off with some good news! Throwing back to episode 2.18 and guest Sawang Srisom, a disabled rights activist, Greg is happy to report that the city just gave a huge chunk of change to to the BTS so that they can final…

May 29, 2018

Reverse Culture Shock with Evo Terra [Season 3, Episode 10]

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 le…

May 22, 2018

The Good, the Bad, the Cuddly: Raising a Kid in Bangkok [Season 3, Episode 9]

Episode links: My interview with the guys at This Strange Life 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 question…