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

Getting a bit nostalgic after listening to Tay-Tay’s latest album, Greg and Ed reminisce about their respective first year’s in Bangkok by recounting their most vivid early memories, something that’s unique for everyone but plays a big role in setting the tone for your time here.  Ed explains that he came here a little bit older than many expats, and relatively speaking, had his ‘shit together’ so to speak. No visa runs, no desperation at the end of the month to pay bills. But what he wasn’t ready for was the excitement, ‘newness,’ and general party atmosphere of Bangkok. In Ed’s words, he felt like he was a freshman in college all over again. Greg possibly had a more typical experience, having arrived in his twenties with a couple nickels in his pockets. He recounts his long traverse to work, something out of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” and his anticipation of his first paycheck. Luckily, he ran into some super friendly NGO workers from the UN to ease his transition to expat life (note, this is a lie)

This is Part 2 of Ed’s interview with friend and expat extraordinaire David Cluck. The guys pick up where they left off, discussing the holy grail: living in Thailand but making a Western salary. David explains how he began to get work in Thailand and for a while balanced a life in L.A. with one in Bangkok. He shares numerous anecdotes from his work on the Hua Hin Film Festival, which eventually led him to intersect with the cast and crew of “Only God Forgives” and a meeting with Ryan Gosling. David then explains how he got a unique opportunity to work as the assistant director on a black and white silent film, shot in L.A. but written and directed by French filmmakers. Wholly unexpectedly, the film, “The Artist,” went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, among many other accolades. And believe it or not, the Cluckster has some of the only spoken lines in the film! The boys wrap up by diving deep into the advantages that Thailand brings to foreign film productions, from excellent crews to fantastic s

Ed interviews David Cluck, a Bangkok-based filmmaker, friend of the podcast and bona-fide “interesting expat”. The guys begin talking about their mutual love of Thailand, but then go back to the beginning to hear about David’s early life as a musician in Southern California and how he transitioned into working at a local TV station. That led to some work on commercials and short films and then slowly and surely into work on bigger budget film projects. David regales Ed with stories of working with Rob Lowe in Ed’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and then to his break on a film with Jeff Bridges, the ‘Big Lebowski’ himself. Now in the big leagues, David took a flyer on a low budget film called ‘Monster,’ and lo and behold the main actress would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.  The guys then get into David’s introduction to Thailand on a film project called ‘Formosa Betrayed,’ which will lead to David re-orienting his life towards the Land of Smiles. The rest is history as they say. Listen in next

We’re getting a bit personal on this episode as Ed talks about his marriage and eventual divorce in Thailand. Although it’s a difficult topic, enough time has elapsed that Ed is ready to discuss whether or not his experience provides any lessons for expats in the Land of Smiles (and sometimes frowns).  First, Greg asks Ed about the actual legal procedure of getting a divorce and whether it involved a lot of paperwork. In Ed’s case, the process was easy because it was by agreement; the only hitch was the need for two witnesses, which was solved by paying a random motorbike guy 100 baht to be the second witness (seriously). For more complex legal angles that must be considred, the guys plan to have resident lawyer Dave back on a later show to explain all the details.  Second, Ed does his best to try to figure out a possible lesson for other expats. On the one hand, every relationship is unique and can succeed or fail for a lot of reasons having nothing to do with cross-cultural issues. But Ed does come up with

Ahh, Thailand. Beaches, sunsets, late-night parties, serene temples, and…space technology design and future satellite launch site?  Greg interviews Dr. Natthawat Hongkarnjanakul of the Thai Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, essentially Thailand’s version of NASA. Dr. Natthawat begins with his background studying aerospace engineering in Thailand and later in France on a scholarship. Next, he talks about GISTDA, and the Thai government’s interest in space research. Greg notes that people do not normally think of Thailand when they think of space, but Dr. Natthawat states that Thailand uses satellites for data gathering for mapmaking, air quality monitoring, and for help during natural catastrophes such as floods or forest fires.  The two continue by going into more detail on the work of the Thai space agency. Dr. Natthawat points out that a big part of their work is educating the private sector in Thailand on the value of satellite data. Greg remembers reading about McDonald’s use of sat

Greg and Ed discuss situations - whether they come from luck or strategy - that can seriously improve your quality of life in Bangkok. The guys try to avoid the super obvious things - getting a better job, meeting the person of your dreams - to focus on factors that are more advantageous than one might expect in Thailand.  Ed begins by emphasizing the importance of living close to where you work and having a short commute. While some might put this in the obvious category, the boys both agree that in Bangkok, this simple thing can make a real difference to your quality of life, as the daily stress of a long commute adds up quickly. Greg then brings up the unexpected benefits of having a Thai spouse that works at an international hospital or school, which typically provide significant price reductions to family members such as husbands and wives and children. The cost savings can be great.  Ed then brings up the problem of flooding, which plagues certain neighborhoods around the city. Knowing this when you cho

Greg interviews well known Bangkok-based photographer Tim Russell about his book ‘Bangkok Station,’ which focuses (literally) on the iconic and now mostly defunct Hualamphong Train Station. Tim begins by explaining his early days twenty years ago as a traveller in Vietnam and how he picked up photography as a way to document his travels. Eventually he made his way to Thailand and managed to pass through Hualamphong in its heyday. The guys discuss Huamlamphong’s design by an Italian architect and its opening in 1916, making it a Bangkok institution for more than 100 years.  Greg then brings up the possible future of the building, with many people concerned that it could be torn down and replaced with the typical condo or new mall. Tim believes that the current plan is to make the station into some type of rail museum, but still admits that in the long run, due to the value of the real estate, there’s no guarantee it will be around in the long run.  The guys continue by focusing on the eclectic neighborhood aro

In a spirit of optimism and renewal, Greg and Ed discuss their New Year’s resolutions as expats. What are their goals for 2024 to grow as expats in Thailand? Greg begins by committing to read The Falcon of Siam, a famous novel set in 18th century Thailand, and to watch The Overture, a film about a famous classical musician in the Royal Palace. Ed wants to focus on improving his Thai, and he developed a plan to learn to read a collection of 9,000 Useful Thai Expressions, a popular PDF among serious Thai learners.  Greg then mentions his desire to spend more time at the Siam Society, an organization dedicated to spreading knowledge of Thai history, culture, and society, famous for its lecture series. Being a movie guy, Ed has decided to pick ten of the best Thai movies of all time and get to the point where he can watch them with Thai subtitles.  Last, Greg has a plan to join a local club of Thai people to help him make more connections with other Thais, with archery or possibly knife-making leading the list. S

Hey guys, I know we said we were done for the year, but we have one last little surprise for you. We sat down with two of our very good friends John and Poom to record a special bonus show for our patrons. But since it’s the season of giving and all that malarkey, we thought it might be fun to release the first 14 minutes of the show to our non-patron listeners too. Ain’t that special? Keep in mind our bonus shows are a bit more freewheeling and improv-based, and often have some spicier language than normal, although there’s nothing here that’ll make your hair turn white. So enjoy this special preview and if you want a bit more Bangkok Podcast in your inbox, become a patron and get a bonus show like this every week. Happy holidays everyone and see you back here in the new year.

Just before the boys take off for the holiday, and hordes of new visitors arrive, Greg and Ed give advice on how to survive a long day exploring Bangkok, be you a tourist or just an expat trying to check off some boxes. The guys run through numerous items, some of which might seem obvious but which still can be easy to forget. Others have only been realized from some hard-earned wisdom as long-time expats in the City of Angels. For example, Greg extolls the virtues of noise-cancelling headphones which can make even a stroll in some of Bangkok’s noisiest areas almost pleasant. Ed reminds people to bring a phone charger or external battery, as Bangkok is not quite modern enough to make finding an outlet easy. Greg notes that if you don’t want to twist an ankle, a pair of comfortable shoes is a necessity for any lengthy Bangkok jaunt - especially if you’re over 40, as the guys have sadly found out. And Ed reminds people of the notoriously chilly aircon in Bangkok’s movie theaters and coffee shops, which are much

This is Part 2 of Greg’s interview with Ilya Smirnoff of Childline Thailand. Ilya begins with the ‘timeline of a child,’ which is basically a roadmap of the rights and responsibilities of children as they age. It begins at birth, when responsible parents should get both a birth certificate and house registration certificate for the newborn. At age 7, Thai children have the right to attend nursery school, and at age 12, young people become criminally responsible for at least some of their actions, something that every kid should know, of course. Age 15 is the age of consent, where Thais can leave school if they want and also work certain jobs in safe environments. Although Thai men must register for the draft at 18, citizens don’t become fully legally adults until age 20. This allows them to marry without their parents consent and buy cigarettes and alcohol.  Greg asks about parents and what role they play in Childline, and Ilya notes that about 10% of the calls they receive are from parents or teachers who ne

Greg interviews Ilya Smirnoff, the director of Childline Thailand, an NGO dedicated to the rights of children in Thailand. Ilya begins by explaining his early life as a monk, and how he eventually left the monkhood and began doing charity work. The basic genesis of Childline Thailand was to provide a single phone number for children to call to gain access to information about all the government services that are designed to help children in trouble. The organization was able to get the simple phone number ‘1387,’ which is still their number today. Ilya notes that there are actually an array of services of great variety, but that a single access point makes it much easier for children to navigate the system.  Greg then asks Ilya to walk him through an example call, where a child who has run away from home calls in. Ilya says the first step is to assess whether the child is in immediate danger; if so, Childline will immediately call the police so that they can intervene and hopefully render assistance. If a chi

In a follow-up to previous episodes on expat ‘Merit Badges,’ Greg and Ed discuss ‘DEmerit Badges,’ mistakes that long term expats make that they should NOT make. In other words, if you’ve lived in Thailand for a while, and you act like a n00b, you deserve a demerit. Greg begins with the classic fashion faux-pas of all foreigners in Thailand for more than a few months: wearing elephant pants. As the official mark of being brand new to Thailand, these flimsy pajama bottoms are verboten for long-timers (and that’s still true, notwithstanding their surge in popularity among hi-so Thais). Ed then brings up raising your voice or getting angry in public with a Thai person in their official capacity. Simply put, anger in public gets you nothing in Thai culture, except possibly some disrespect.  The guys continue running through several more no-no’s for expats and repeat tourists, from forgetting your passport to bum gun blunders. If you don’t want to embarrass yourself, listen in for advice on how to look like you be

Greg interviews our old friend Phra Phandit, resident podcast expert on all things Buddhism and religion. This time the topic is ‘Neo-Buddhism’ or the way Buddhism has changed and adapted over time, in particular the way it has been appropriated in the modern era by Western culture and pop culture in general. Greg sets the stage with a quote about ‘modern’ Buddhism that has eliminated supernatural beliefs, ritual, and the monkhood, and instead focused on interior exploration and happiness in this life. Phra Pandit argues that there are certainly a number of people today who practice mindfulness meditation and call it Buddhism, but that there really isn’t a serious movement of people staking a claim to modern Buddhism.  What’s really happening, according to Phra Pandit, is that many people are choosing the parts of Buddhism they like (namely meditation) and combining it with other aspects of psychology, yoga, or environmentalism. Greg asks when these changes render Buddhism not even a religion at all, and Phra

Greg and Ed discuss how to manage your expectations in Thailand as a strategy for surviving and thriving in the Land of Smiles, or indeed, as an expat anywhere outside of your comfort zone. Ed explains that in giving advice to a recent arrival, he emphasized being smart about what to expect. Instead of trying to change Thailand to something familiar or to get it to fit some previously determined standard, it’s better to simply appreciate what Thai people are good at and accept what they are not good at.  The guys then talk about the dangerous trap of merely LOWERING your expectations and just assuming everything is worse in Thailand. They then run through numerous examples of things better here than where they are from back home: food in general, public transportation, electronic banking, etc. ‘Managing your expectations’ undoubtedly works in both directions.  Ed then brings up the realization that sometimes Thais simply have a different interpretation of something we all value, such as ‘customer service.’ Ba

This is Part 2 of Greg’s interview with Andrew Johnson, cultural anthropologist extraordinaire and investigator of the extremely niche topic of the relationship between Thai supernatural beliefs and local architecture.  Greg and Andrew begin where they left off last week, discussing what it’s like as ‘rationalists’ to interact with relatively superstitious Thai people. Andrew relates a classic story of a Thai woman who encounters a ghost in a nearby field and who simply calls the police who end up shoo-ing the ghost away, an outcome completely unexpected in a western framework. He insists that the Thai word for ghost (‘phee’), encompasses a much broader range of unexplained phenomena than just the western idea of a disembodied ‘spirit.’ Next, the guys discuss Andrew’s book, “Ghosts of the New City,” a study of the interaction between urbanization, progress, and supernatural beliefs in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Andrew notes that Thais do not only believe older buildings contain spirits, but also that new construct

Part 1 of 2! Greg interviews author Andrew Johnson, a cultural anthropologist with an expertise in the supernatural beliefs of Thailand and how they interact with urban planning and architecture. First, Greg inquires about the nature of ‘superstition’ in Thailand, and whether Thai people truly live up to their reputation for being ‘superstitious.’ Andrew notes that the distinction between ‘religion’ and ‘superstition’ is really a modern formalization of certain ‘official’ religions, Buddhism in Thailand’s case. But the nature of Buddhism is such that it is more tolerant of ‘syncretism,’ or the mixing of beliefs, so Thai culture is really steeped in three traditions: formal Theravada Buddhism, Brahmanism (an earlier form of Hinduism), and ‘animism,’ or the folk beliefs of early Thais.  Next, Andrew emphasizes that both the newer systems of belief and the older folk beliefs are actually in a constant state of evolution. Thais from the countryside steeped in animist ideas must adapt to living in a city of high r

Greg and Ed venture out into the real world to record the show on location to answer an age-old conundrum: Is it possible to find healthy, non-fried starch food at the famous vegetarian ‘Jay’ Festival in Thailand? The guys, being veteran expats, have experienced the vegetarian festival many times in the past, and both feel that while it has its benefits, the food itself is neither particularly tasty nor super healthy. But have they misjudged it? Only some new research can answer the question. The boys head out into Talad Noi, perhaps their favorite neighborhood in all of Bangkok, and begin sampling some of the various vegetarian delicacies along the back sois. First up is an oatmeal bun, which is fairly yummy if not exactly delicious. Not a bad start. Next up is some deep fried taro, which both guys find crunchy and satisfying. Healthy? Maybe not, but tasty nonetheless. Then the guys stumble upon Greg’s favorite, ‘khanom toob-tub,’ a tasty candy-like snack made of a huge glob of caramel and peanuts that’s ham

Please help us by taking our first Bangkok Podcast listener survey! Click here to get started, it only takes a few minutes. Everyone who fills it out will get 50,000 baht!* Greg and Ed discuss the current state of Thai tourism and whether the recovery is behind or ahead of predictions. Ed begins by citing a chart for the last full pre-COVID year of 2019, when Thailand came very close to having 40 million foreign tourists. Shockingly, that number went to nearly zero in 2020 and 2021, and the recovery began slowly in 2022. So where are we now? Well, in short, the prediction is that 2023 will see about 25 million tourists, roughly 60% of pre-COVID numbers.  The guys admit this is probably ahead of schedule, given previous expectations, and do their best to explain what’s going on. Ed notes that there are thousands of Russians and Ukrainians fleeing the war, which has probably boosted numbers somewhat. He even reads an article about the exploding real estate prices in Phuket, due to the influx of Russians with mo

Please help us by taking our first Bangkok Podcast listener survey! Click here to get started, it only takes a few minutes. Everyone who fills it out will get 50,000 baht!* This is the second part of Greg’s interview with resident Thai language expert Stu Jay Raj, in which Stu critiques a conversation that Greg had in Thai with a co-worker. The two begin by discussing the unusual role that linguists have in digging deep into exactly why language works the way it does, something the average person never thinks about. He even contends most linguists could be on the autism spectrum! As for specific advice, Stu begins a fascinating explanation that Thai doesn’t really have a word that means ‘yes’ directly; the word ‘chai’ actually translates more closely to the English expression ‘it is.’ Hence, to indicate an affirmative response, Thais will simply repeat the verb used in a question. This fascinating difference with English is continued with a discussion of other ways to indicate agreement, with words that sound