Greg and Ed do a first for the the show, with a panel discussion with four guests! Why four? Well, everyone knows that cliche about Bangkok being a heaven for expat men, but we didn’t know much about expat women. It stands to reason that one woman can’t speak for all women, so we upped the game a bit.

After some introductions, we get into the meat of the show, with a myriad of stories that show how complex, nuanced, and (depending on the person) important the issue is to a life well lived in the capital.

Among many other things, the ladies discuss the differences between the attention they get back home and what they get in Bangkok, what it’s like to date Thai men (and women), the quality of farang men in Thailand, and a host of other issues.

There are also some hilarious(ly awful) Tinder stories, anecdotes about being approached on the street, issues that single moms have to deal with, discussion about western women who leave Thailand bitter and angry, and how Asian American women are treated in Thailand. Suffice it to say more than one can of worms are opened up in part one of a two-part mega interview.

As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. 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 a fascinating question: Are Thai weddings or American weddings more fun? The question was raised after Greg attended the wedding of friend of the podcast Daniel Fraser. As everyone knows, Dan is a legit expert on travel in Thailand, in addition to being a bit of a celebrity in the country due to his appearances in various TV shows and movies. Greg noted that the experience reminded him how much more fun Thai weddings are than Western weddings, leading Ed to raise his eyebrows a bit and raise a few objections.

Ed admits that Thai weddings can be very interesting due to their local cultural aspects, which would certainly apply to Dan’s well-choreographed affair. And, of course, all weddings can be heartfelt experiences due to your wishes for the bride and groom. But when it comes to FUN in the conventional sense of the term, Ed argues that most Thai weddings are nothing more than elaborate dinners and typically lack the band, the dancing, and the drunkenness that are de rigueur at most American weddings. For fun rather than formality, Ed opts for Western weddings.

Greg begs to differ, however (as he did on his blog ‘Greg to Differ’), and argues that Isaan weddings can include frivolity from the get-go, including shots of ya dong or Thai moonshine in the a.m. (!) Ed concedes there’s no topping that, but theorizes that perhaps there’s a difference between the typical Bangkok wedding, which might be more Thai-Chinese, and the typical Isaan wedding, which might be more fun and informal. Perhaps Ed just needs to attend some weddings out in the provinces!

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. We also sometimes post on Facebook, you can contact us on LINE and of course, head to our website (www.bangkokpodcast.com) to find out probably more info than you need to know.

Greg and Ed discuss the recent troubling decrease in overall Thai tourism numbers. In general, since COVID, the Thai tourism industry has bounced back quite well, and projections were that 2025 numbers would exceed the pre-COVID peak of 39 million visitors. However, starting at the end of last year, numbers didn’t meet expectations, and since then the dip has become more severe.

So what happened? The guys cycle through several different factors. First, the earthquake at the end of March certainly didn’t help matters, with many tourists canceling their trips for the Thai New Year in April. Second, and perhaps more concerning, several security incidents affecting Chinese tourists has led to a bit of a backlash in the largest source of tourists to Thailand. In particular, a Chinese celebrity was kidnapped and held for ransom, sparking fears that Thailand was not safe. Further, numerous stories of Burmese and Cambodian scam call centers that press foreigners into service have magnified the problem.

Ed notes that while overall numbers have dipped, the numbers from most Western countries have risen in accord with projections. Hence, the problem is limited to Asian tourists. Greg points out that the ‘White Lotus Effect’ might be the kind of thing that sparks interest in Westerners, but not in Asians, who may already feel familiar with a tropical climate and many aspects of Thai culture.

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. We also sometimes post on Facebook, you can contact us on LINE and of course, head to our website (www.bangkokpodcast.com) to find out probably more info than you need to know.

Greg and Ed tackle a frustrating aspect of learning Thai - borrowed English words that are pronounced according to the rules normally applied to native Thai words. Ed makes clear they are not just talking about accent or ‘prosody’ - the cadence of pronunciation - but actually specific changes to pronunciation that are part of the rules of the Thai language.

Examples are the best teacher so the guys jump right in. Ed begins with the all-time classic of ‘check bin,’ based on the two English words ‘check’ and ‘bill.’ The only problem is that in Thai, when a word ends in the Thai letter that sounds like ‘l’ (‘Law Ling’), it is pronounced like an ‘n,’ so by English rules, the pronunciation is completely different than the spelling. But welcome to the Thai language! Greg continues with ‘foot bawn,’ following the same rule, and Ed then discusses ‘of-fit,’ from the English word ‘office,’ which actually comes from the fact that Thais don’t end words with a an ‘s’ or soft ‘c’ sound, but instead replace it with a ‘t.’

The guys continue, running through many more minefields and intricacies of the pronunciation of loan words, with the help of Greg’s wife, who gives a baseline example in Thai. To top it off, Greg and Ed bring on special guest Jon, an old friend of the podcast, with a classic story about the difficulties of correctly hearing English words in Thai.

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. We also sometimes post on Facebook, you can contact us on LINE and of course, head to our website (www.bangkokpodcast.com) to find out probably more info than you need to know.

In this month's Classic Recast, Greg interviews Palm, a professional translator of English to Thai, but in a very specific context: subtitles for film and television. Palm begins by explaining that she literally learned English by being a couch potato and watching a lot of Western TV shows and movies, surviving by figuring out the subtitles word by word. This led naturally to an interest in doing it for a living, and lo and behold, her dream came to when she got a job translating for MTV Thailand. Eventually, this led to translating for a major video distribution company (which shall remain anonymous).

Greg quizzes Palm on the difficulties of her job and how she can possibly find Thai equivalents for all the weird expressions and slang in English. Palm notes that this in fact makes her job fun, as she often has to do research to first make sure she has the proper understanding in her own head before she can determine the best Thai equivalent. Unsurprisingly, curse words are quite difficult, and Greg and Palm discuss some rude expressions and how Palm approaches translating them.

They also discuss the difference between simply translating a word, and translating intentions, concepts, and context. Apply this to, say, hip-hop culture, or RuPaul’s show “Drag Race”, and you can see where it becomes difficult!

Palm concludes with some advice for wannabe subtitlers, so listen in for some excellent career guidance if you are so inclined.

As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we’ll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

After his latest video dropped and generated a lot of buzz, Greg and Ed interview Stu Jay Raj, the podcast’s Thai language expert, but this time Stu explains his new video and website discussing the cost of international school in Thailand. As most people are aware, the Thai public school system is not particularly strong, especially for students looking for a solid education in English. Hence, there is a demand for education in English up to an international standard among both Thais and foreigners in Thailand. Here’s the rub: the quality of international schools themselves varies a lot, and they can get VERY expensive.

But - Stu wanted to try a thought experiment - what if you were to take the exorbitant fees associated with international schools in Thailand and invest it instead?

Stu explains that he used his coding expertise to scrape the websites of dozens of international schools in Thailand for as much school fee information as he could find. With that information, he created an interactive web page where you can see the total costs over a number of years of sending your child to a particular school.

Of course, it’s not that easy to simply school your kid through other means and put a bunch of money away, but it poses an interesting question - would your kid be better off graduating from an international school, or being given several million dollars in their mid-20s? The guys discuss the various ramifications and a new way to look at the ROI of an education. The answer isn’t always obvious as the guys discover.

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. We also sometimes post on Facebook, you can contact us on LINE and of course, head to our website (www.bangkokpodcast.com) to find out probably more info than you need to know.

Thai cuisine is remarkably good at adopting flavors and ingredients into its fold, but there are some that just have not made the cut. In a city where you can find almost any type of food from around the world, certain Western foods seem to get embraced by Thais, while others don’t. For example, while not SUPER popular, both pizza and hamburgers are eaten regularly by the locals. But what things haven’t made the cut?

First, Greg brings up cheese, especially of the stinky variety. Outside of pizza, Thais rarely eat cheese and haven’t really incorporated it into their own cuisine. Although excellent cheese is available, especially in gourmet markets, it’s more of a passing fancy rather than the obsession it is in the West. Second, Ed mentions bread, which opens up a bit of debate among the guys. Ed contents Thais don’t really eat sandwiches, hence sliced sandwich bread is not very popular. Further, ‘table’ bread, Italian-style, is not very common. But Greg notes that his Thai wife does like to snack on bread, so perhaps bread plays more of a role in-between meals than the central role it plays back home.

The guys then run through six more very common Western foodstuffs that Thais eat but haven’t fallen in love with.

PS - While at a water stop on a bike ride last week, Greg told his buddy Wim about this episode, mentioning cheese and bacon. Wim happened to look to next to him, and hold up a packet of macaroni cheese and bacon, highlighting the fact that the topic is never a cut-and-dry case. (pic below)

Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. We also sometimes post on Facebook, you can contact us on LINE and of course, head to our website (www.bangkokpodcast.com) to find out probably more info than you need to know.

Greg interviews Phra Pandit about Buddhist monks and politics. Greg begins by framing the issue around the recent tumultuous nature of politics around the world. Could Buddhist calmness provide an answer? Well, Phra Pandit begins by making clear that under the rules of the Sangha as interpreted in Thailand, monks are definitely not permitted to become politicians or really work for the government in any capacity. In fact, Thai monks in general are not supposed to even express opinions about politics as monks are seen as above the worldly nature of politics.

Phra Pandit does note however that not every country is the same. In Sri Lanka, monks are notoriously political, forming their own parties, and participating in marches and protests. Phra Pandit explains that different cultures have resulted in the rules governing monks being interpreted in different ways. In Thailand, technically the King is the head of Thai Buddhism, and the King of course is above politics. Perhaps this role model helps to explain the Thai interpretation of the rules. Phra Pandit does explain, however, that famous politicians have become monks upon leaving politics, as a symbolic way of atoning for their sins.

The two continue with more examples of how monks interact with the government without getting directly involved in political affairs.