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

Greg and Ed interview Dave Lawrence of Pegleg Legal about the technicalities of divorce in Thailand. Although Ed previously discussed his big ‘D’ on an earlier show, his situation was so simple that it’s probably not representative of the typical divorce. Dave begins with his process for new clients. First, he asks if the marriage was registered in Thailand. Many ‘couples’ actually never get legally married in Thailand, which of course changes your legal rights. Second, he asks if the couple has any children. As one would expect, kids tend to significantly complicate matters. However, Dave makes clear if a couple is not legally married, then the mother automatically becomes the sole custodian of the child, and the biological father has no automatic rights.  Next, Ed asks Dave about ‘common law’ marriage, the idea that a couple can be deemed legally married just by living together for a certain number of years, but it turns out that concept doesn’t exist under Thai law. If it ain’t on paper, it ain’t real, at

Greg and Ed perform an interesting test of the current state of AI: can you actually trust what different AI’s have to say about Bangkok and Thailand? Greg uses ChatGPT, while Ed is a Google guy through and through, so Gemini it is. The first question involves a bit of Thai history: exactly when and for how long did Thailand use a red flag with a white elephant? Proper research reveals the correct answer is 1855-1917, but ChatGPT misses by a wide mark, with an answer of 1917 to 2017 (!). Gemini does considerably better, with an answer of 1855-1916.  ChatGPT does better with the next straightforward question: Is Bangkok a province of Thailand? The technically correct answer is ‘no,’ because Bangkok is designated as a ‘special administrative area’ in the Thai system of government. Both AI get the answer right, with Gemini possibly providing a more thorough explanation.  The challenge continues, with questions about Japan and Thailand in World War II, directions in Bangkok, and the history of Southern Thailand.

This is Part Two of Greg and Ed’s interview with Paul and Yuangrat Wedel, returning guests to the show who previously talked about their book “Radical Thought, Thai Mind.” This time around the fascinating couple discuss their two novels, “Beads On A String” and “Dark Karma,” each historical fiction based in Southern Thailand. In this part of the interview, the couple focus on the historical characters and events that are interwoven into the fictional narrative. Greg asks about the sensitivity of dealing with certain high status characters, but Paul and Yuangrat make clear that they very closely followed historical records about public statements and acts.  The interview continues to address such matters as the technology changes that swamped Siam at the turn of the century, the delicate political relationship between Bangkok and the southern sultanates/provinces, and plans for the next episode in the narrative which will encompass the 1932 coup that ended absolute monarchy in Thailand. Listen in for a fascina

Greg and Ed interview Paul and Yuangrat Wedel, returning guests to the show who previously talked about their book “Radical Thought, Thai Mind.” This time around the fascinating couple discuss their two novels, “Beads On A String” and “Dark Karma,” each historical fiction based in Southern Thailand. The two begin with a discussion of the origin of the novels. In short, Yuangrat grew up in the deep South of Thailand with a family of mixed ethnicity, including Thai, Malay, Mon, and Chinese ancestry. This rich family tree provided the raw material for the characters who populate the story. Then the couple did serious historical research on the epic changes that the South of Thailand went through in the late 1800s and early 1900s. With the character and the historical framework, they then wove a fictional story that intersects with actual historical events.  Greg, having dug into the first novel, attests to the pull of the story, which is a fascinating (and surprisingly horny!) look into a part of Thailand that w

Continuing our regional focus of late, Greg and Ed discuss Ed’s recent trip to Hong Kong and how it compares to big, bad Bangkok. Ed begins with a big caveat: he’s not really much of a traveler, and he spent only 2 ½ days in Hong Kong, so his take is that of a true noob. That being said, Ed begins on the positive side, noting how geographically beautiful the city is, being situated on mountainous islands that present incredible photo opportunities.  However, when compared to Bangkok, Ed found a lot of shortcomings. First, Hong Kongers tend not to smile much, including customer service staff. After years in Thailand, Ed realized how spoiled he has become. Second, the LOCAL cuisine was almost comically bland, with food literally being served unspiced and with no condiments on the table. (Both guys agree though that when you factor in all the international cuisine there, the food options overall are great.) Third, money and social status was discussed openly and almost constantly by Ed’s tour guides, which to Ed

Wrapping up our short series on our regional podcast peers, Greg interviews Joah McGee from the Insight Myanmar Podcast. Joah begins by explaining his early life in Myanmar and how he initially went to the country to study meditation and later secured a proper job doing training for an American Embassy-related organization. He managed to juggle professional life dealing with politics, with a personal life in monasteries practicing meditation. This eventually led Joah to making a documentary about a famous monk and writing a guidebook for foreigners wishing to study meditation in the country. As his expertise increased, a podcast focused on spiritual aspirants was the logical next step. All was not to stay rosy, however, as the country suffered a military coup in 2021. At that point, Joah and his partners made the decision to transition the podcast to more general stories about on-the-ground realities in the country, which of course necessitated dealing with the complex political situation in Myanmar. Greg que

In a possible new series, Greg and Ed discuss things that have become less important or meaningful since they began living in Thailand. In short, stuff that we used to value a lot that just seems not to matter as much anymore. Ed begins with the somewhat obvious: clothes in general just matter a lot less. Never a fashion guy, Bangkok’s ‘uni-season’ is perfect for him since he can basically wear the same thing all year round. Greg - famous for his consistent shorts/t-shirt/vans outfit, concurs that it’s just much easier here to get dressed in the morning. No need for ‘winter clothes,’ giant snow boots, nor rainwear either - rains come and go so quickly, it’s simply better to wait them out. Greg starts out with a much more complex topic: he thinks sex and perhaps even romance are given less significance in Thai culture, and it has rubbed off on him in the last twenty years. Many factors could be at play: Thais seemingly casual nature about just about everything, the advantage that foreigners seem to have in the

Greg interviews Mike Tatarski of the Vietnam Weekly podcast. Mike begins by explaining the podcast originated out of his Substack newsletter of the same name. After taking a course in ‘entrepreneurial journalism,’ he got motivated to fire up the podcast, and the rest is history. He manages to produce a show per week as a one man band operation but has reached a substantial audience.  Greg and Mike then go on to talk about similarities and differences between his show and the Bangkok Podcast. On the one hand, both are in English and therefore have a lot of listeners that are neither Thai nor Vietnamese and also have a lot of interviews, but on the other hand, Mike’s background is in journalism and his show tends to focus more on serious news stories. The BP of course is two clueless dudes trying to make each other laugh with an occasional dose of useful information. The guys go on to address topics such as the podcast communities in Vietnam and Thailand, how to find good topics for shows, and the delicate prob

Greg and Ed revisit the 2006 coup in Thailand and reminisce about the oddness but also impactfulness of the experience. Ed begins with a quick recap of the career of Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire business tycoon who swept to power (democratically) in 2000 on a promise to fix the Thai economy which was still reeling from the 1997 financial crisis. He did in fact manage to stabilize the economy and easily won re-election in 2004. Although controversies did mar his terms, his ability to repay loans to the World Bank and IMF lent him significant credibility.  However, in 2006, a constitutional crisis ensued in parliament, and eventually, while Thaksin was away in New York giving a speech to the United Nations, the military seized control of the government. Ed relates his utter shock at waking up to headlines of “COUP D’ETAT,” and Greg talks about the strange expectation of tanks rolling through the streets and whether or not it was even going to be safe going outside. Alas, the coup was real but also almost

Greg interviews Clif from BangkokBeerGuide.com about the ever evolving craft beer scene in Thailand. Cliff begins with the basic premise for the website and related social media: to act as a guide for locals and visitors to all the beer drinking opportunities in Bangkok, especially craft beers made by locals. The guys then review the famously restrictive Thai laws governing beer and alcohol in general, such as the prohibition on purchasing alcohol from 2 pm to 5 pm in the afternoon, and high minimum requirement for brewing beer that effectively shuts out all but the largest companies.  Clif then digs deep to explain his love of beer as an act of creativity of the brewmaster but at the same time a “common man’s” drink. Hence, Cliff’s desire to promote local craft beer as a way to connect with small-scale Thai brewers. Unfortunately, Thai laws, supported by powerful forces best not discussed, make it harder for Thai ‘little guys’ to get into the business of making beer. Greg and Cliff express hope that beer cha

Greg and Ed try a new type of show in which they troll their memories for extreme experiences, something that expats in Thailand seem to have a lot of. Greg begins with his scariest experience in Thailand. As a relative noobie, he engaged the services of a shady visa firm and was later called out on it by the Canadian Embassy. At the time, he didn’t know if a heavy fine, deportation, or even jail was in order, but luckily he got away with a much smaller punishment. Ed follows with a different type of scare, when his then fiancee was in a horrible motorbike accident, and he didn’t know the extent of her injuries. They were severe, but luckily not life threatening or disfiguring. Greg follows with his lowest point ever as an expat, when he lost his job in Bangkok just one week after his grandfather passed away. Ed then relates his weirdest memory ever as an expat, when government officials showed up at his house to verify that he was really married to his wife. Not only did the officials ask to see Ed and his w

Greg interviews Dr. Soraj Hongladarom on the intersection of AI, ethics, and Buddhism. Dr. Soraj begins by discussing his background in the study of philosophy in the U.S., in particular early modern Western philosophy. After returning to Thailand, he transitioned to the study of the philosophy of technology and science, which today of course, means AI. Dr. Soraj explains that different cultures certainly have different approaches to some ethical issues, and he is currently interested in how Buddhist thought might apply to the growing concerns over the use of artificial intelligence.  Today, there is a ‘global conversation’ about AI, and although people might agree about some general ethical guidelines to apply to AI (that it be the truth for example), there are still many concerns over issues such as privacy and AI usurping people’s jobs, to name a few. Greg asks how Thais might see ethics differently from Westerners, and Dr. Soraj explains that he actually teaches Western ethics to Thai students and finds t

If math can be used to solve everything from the orbits of galaxies to the swirl in a snail’s shell, then surely it can be applied to Bangkok to shed some light on the chaos? In a fun show, Greg presents certain semi-mathematical ‘equations’ to help us all understand Bangkok a bit better. While not scientific in the strictest, these rules of thumb may help you navigate the chaos of the Big Mango with a little more confidence.  First, the guys discuss all the variables that affect traffic travel times in Bangkok. The season, school status, your destination, public holidays, and time of day (among others), all seem to matter. For noobs these factors can be tough to string together, but for experienced expats it becomes a must. Next, Greg brings up the truism that often we are forced to choose between transportation that is fast, cheap, or comfortable; two out of three seems the best you can do. For example, motorbikes are fast and cheap, but certainly not comfortable (or safe for that matter).  Greg and Ed cont

This is Part 2 of our interview with Stuart MacDonald, Asian tourism expert and founder of TravelFish.org, arguably the best single resource for traveling in Southeast Asia. In this half of the interview, Greg, Ed and Stu revisit the tricky topic of ‘overtourism,’ an issue which attempts to find a balance between economic revenue from tourism, which in theory is good for local economies, and damage to the environment, which of course can in the long run make things worse for local people. Stu gives his take on how to find the right balance. The old friends then address the perennial (and perplexing) obsession with ‘high-quality tourists’ by the Thai government. Stu gives new insights on the problem of ‘leakage’ (which is almost as gross as it sounds) - revenue from tourism that ‘leaks’ out of the local economy and into foreign investors and companies. It turns out that higher end tourism results in more of this drain, with a lower percentage of revenue actually making into the hands of local people. Backpacke

Greg and Ed interview their old friend Stuart of Travelfish, master of all things travel and tourism in Southeast Asia. Greg begins by reading a quote from an article on the weird duality of tourism: by sacralizing a location, tourism results in its ‘desecration by footprints.’ Stuart gives his take and undoubtedly agrees that this is generally true, hence his take on ‘environmental tourism,’ or tourism that is very conscious of its effect on the locations it promotes. He explains that the cons of tourism for locals (such as crime, drugs, environmental damage, etc.) can often outweigh the pros of increased income.  The guys then discuss the overall effect of the COVID pandemic that more or less shut down tourism around the world. Stuart notes that he had hoped that the shutdown, which resulted in the rebirth and reconstruction of some areas hit hard by high volume tourism, would lead to an increased awareness of the damage and perhaps a new policy upon re-opening. Unfortunately, most countries, including Thai

In a twist on our history episodes, Greg and Ed revisit the devastating tsunami of 2004. Greg begins with a thorough summary of the event, which begins with an absolutely massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra that caused a rift and shift on the ocean, creating immense waves that would affect multiple continents. Reverberations were felt as far away as the state of Oklahoma. The devastating results eventually took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia.  Greg and Ed recount their memories. In Greg’s case, he had just flown out of Thailand to Amsterdam and learned of the tsunami after he touched down. He relates how he was glued to the TV and as the horrific death toll numbers climbed and climbed. For Ed, he was in Bangkok and actually tried to go to work the morning of the event, only to find that his office had been closed due to a countrywide shutdown. He did manage to feel an aftershock while in his office tower though. The guys discuss the total shock felt by the entire countr

This is Part 2 of Greg and Ed’s interview with Ron Weaver, otherwise known as ‘AmericanThaiGuy’ on social media. Ron begins Part 2 by directly addressing his experience as a black man in Thailand. He carefully explains his preference for living in Thailand over living in the U.S., explaining that although Thai people typically don’t prefer darker skin, their approach to the preference is indirect rather than confrontational. He argues that Buddhist culture truly tends to focus on whether a person is good or bad and mostly he feels judged by that, rather than the color of his skin. In short, in the States Ron feels that in certain places he might have to fear being physically assaulted, but in Thailand he simply never has to worry about that.  Greg and Ed trade stories about the VERY minor examples they have of being treated differently as white guys in Thailand, and the guys discuss the valuable lesson this may impart. Ron then also elaborates on the general Asian preference for lighter skin, and he distingui

Greg and Ed interview Ron Weaver, aka ‘AmericanThaiGuy,’ on his life as an expat in Thailand as well as his excellent Thai language skills. Ron begins by waxing rhapsodically about his first visits to Thailand, when he fell in love with the weather, the food, the nice people, and shockingly, the women. Although he loved the country, communication was so frustrating that he vowed to learn the language. But unlike 95% of expats who make that vow, he actually did.  The guys trade language learning stories and agree that necessity is the key motivational factor: if you feel as if you don’t HAVE TO learn the language, you probably won’t. Ron was able to put himself into the mindset that he HAD TO speak Thai if he was going to survive in Thailand and that allowed him to put in a good five years of work to get fluent. Ron discusses various Thai learning strategies and explains his rise on social media as an explainer of Thai culture and language to foreigners. An excerpt from Ron’s popular Instagram channel demonstr

Greg and Ed discuss the Thai temperament and what exactly causes Thais to occasionally blow their collective lids. Greg uses the recent example of a Swiss expat who kicked a Thai woman in the back, allegedly because she was inappropriately sitting on the steps of his condo and blocking his path. Somewhat surprisingly, the incident went viral, much to the Swiss man’s detriment. The guys speculate as to what it was about THIS incident that caused it to blow up. Was it the fact that he used his foot to assault the Thai woman? Was it because she was a doctor, a person of high status? Or was it some random quirk of social media that led to the uproar? Ed then runs through the classic no-go zones in Thai society, such as insults to religion or the big M, and the guys try to figure out if anything else is going on in the recent incidents. Is there possibly some pent up frustration against foreigners in Thailand? Could it be that Thais got used to fewer foreigners during COVID? Greg speculates that possibly Thai nati

Ed interviews his former student Mookie about her experience studying in the U.K. and her later choice to move her family back from the U.K. to Thailand. The two old friends begin reminiscing about Ed’s university program and how Mookie really was an unusual student. Most young Thai women tend to be very shy in class and rarely express their own opinions. But Mookie was different, showing up on the first day of class ready to debate! They quickly move on to Mookie’s decision to get a master’s degree in London, which Ed was happy to hear wasn’t too hard for his former student.  Mookie's story gets an unexpected twist when she managed somehow against all odds to find a perfect guy on Tinder of all places, leading to marriage and two beautiful children. At first, she and her husband wanted to raise their kids in England, and Mookie discusses what she liked about the schools there. However, over time, the couple grew disillusioned with the U.K. and ended up choosing to move back to Thailand and raise their kids h