The Bangkok Podcast

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 sent in a voicemail!

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. And we’ll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

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.’ Back home, it implies competence and efficiency, but to Thais it means attention and a sincere desire to help. Sure you may prefer the back home version, but the smart thing is to appreciate what the Thai concept brings to the table.

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. And we’ll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

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 Berkeley. Enough said.

The guys follow with a discussion of Joe’s take on the current round of protests and how they relate to all the protests of the past (and Joe has seen MANY). Ed and Greg give their perspectives about what may be different about the current protesters while Joe offers a fairly skeptical perspective but with a hint of optimism.

Last, Greg asks Joe a question from our patron Phil, about what adventures are left in Thailand. Joe explains that there are actually plenty of islands in the South that are relatively untravelled in Thailand. Greg finishes off with a few classic ‘Joe stories’ from his long friendship with the legend.

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. And we’ll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

The guys discuss the sticky situation of what it means to lose your job in Thailand as an expat, and the relative insecurity that all of us have, no matter how long we’ve lived here.

Ed gives a quick overview of the law: if you have a non-immigrant ‘B’ visa connected to a work permit and a Thai company, and your work permit is canceled, then your visa is also automatically canceled and you have exactly 7 days to leave the country. Now it may be possible to re-enter as a tourist, of course, but even that can cause significant life disruptions because it is not possible to get a new work permit with a tourist visa!

Greg jumps in with a personal story of losing his job last year due to the ravages of COVID on the travel industry. He was in a particularly scary situation given that he is married with a kid, and even with all his years in Thailand, he would have been subject to the same 7-day rule as everybody else. Thankfully he had some luck and found a new job. Bullet dodged.

Greg and Ed discuss the fairness (or more accurately, unfairness) of the rule and if there are any possible ways around it, and in general lament the harshness of some Thai laws as they relate to expats, as opposed to tourists. Suffice it to say that they don’t call Thailand the ‘Land of Smiles’ because the expats here are always smiling.

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. And we’ll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

Greg interviews Dax Ward, an adventurous photographer best known for his beautiful photos of dilapidated buildings and abandoned places. Dax begins by explaining that he was a very late starter to photography, getting a DSLR for the first time in 2015. After a random trip to the airplane graveyard down Ramkhamhaeng Road, he developed an affinity for shooting forgotten and abandoned places.

As it turns out, Thailand (and Bangkok in particular) are perfect places for this style of photography due to the number of unfinished construction projects from the financial crisis of the late 1990s. Additionally, there seem to be a surprising number of new business ventures in the area that fail for whatever reason or another, so there seems to be an endless supply of possible sites for Dax’s style of photography.

The guys discuss how Dax discovers and gains access to his locations. It’s surprising what a couple hundred baht here and there will do to the attitude of many Thai security guards! Dax then details his research methods and how he manages to build a compelling story around each set of photographs, something that many other photographers don’t bother with.

In a world where almost everyone has the technology in their pocket to take a decent photo, Thailand is lucky to have an intrepid, creative photographer like Dax to show us how to do things right.

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. And we’ll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.