Episodes

On this episode of the Bangkok Podcast we talk languages with Frank Smith. He speaks Thai, Khmer, and Lao, and teaches Khmer at UC Berkeley in California. Add to that a quick conversation on the pros and cons of raising …

On this episode, we discuss the little things we love about Bangkok, as well as the little things we miss about where we're from.

Greg has a chat with Sheila Dee a Western-trained, professional educator working in Thailand. There are lots of Westerners acting as English teachers in Thailand. Greg used to be one of them. But Sheila’s a bit different, holding education degrees.

You may or may not have heard about the Sak Yant tattoo festival before, but after hearing this episode of the Bangkok Podcast, you sure as darn heck won't be able to forget about it.

When you look at Bangkok on a map, you see this enigmatic little patch of green just off center. It’s not a trick. It really exists. Historically, few people fought the traffic to get here. But that’s changing, and modern …

While Thailand is a great place to experience the natural beauties of the tropics, Bangkok is a giant metro area and not all that appealing to nature lovers with a short time to visit. Or is it? That’s the topic …

Like everywhere, craft beer is exploding in Bangkok. But there are some subtle nuances that cause beer lovers to scratch their heads. Why is it so expensive? What’s up with “illegal” beer? And where can I get more? We’ll answer …

To learn to speak Thai or not learn to speak Thai. That is the question. No, literally. It’s the question we’re asking each other on behalf of all people who come to live in Thailand. Not surprising, we have a …

No one is going to say that Bangkok is an easy city to navigate. Near-constant congestion, poorly paved sidewalks, non-existent pedestrian crossing areas… that’s just a start. Now imagine that from the point of view of someone confined to a …

So a guy from Alaska who owns a coffee plantation in Hawaii hires a guy from Indiana who’s living in Thailand to help him grow coffee. There’s no punchline. Just a great episode of the Bangkok Podcast!

Continuing with our Buddhism series, we welcome Phra Pandit, a Brit who has been a monk in Thailand for the past 20 years and is a noted lecturer on Buddhism, dhamma, and psychology. Desire - or the lack of it …

If you've lived any amount of time overseas and returned to your home country, you're likely familiar with reverse culture shock, the feeling that you just...somehow...don't quite fit in to your old life anymore. It's a disorienting feeling.

Everyone loves Bangkok and it is indeed a great city. However, that's not to say everything is worth seeing or doing. For this show we each come up with two items, places, or pastimes that we tell friends, family, and …

Did you know that Thailand, one of the world's busiest tourist destinations, has been under military control since the most recent coup of 2014? We thought we'd discuss what living through a coup is actually like.

On this show we (well, Greg, as Evo is traveling) will talk with Pandit about what happens when a particular Buddhist temple becomes really important. So important, in fact, that the government wants to shut it down.

It's that time of year again in Thailand - the holidays season! Did you notice the extra 's' there? It was intentional, because December is one of the most holiday-heavy months in the whole year. Not only do you have …

Buddhism isn’t the official religion of Thailand. But the overwhelming majority of people are Buddhist. Still, what you think of as Buddhism may not match up to the reality of the world. This is Theravada Buddhism that draws heavily on …

When it comes to unique characters, Bangkok has them in droves - people who have been places, eaten things, talked to people, and lived adventures that would make your mother put her hand to her mouth and proclaim,

Sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. Two of those are legal in Bangkok. Sort of. Legal drugs have a dark side, like people dying from overuse. But illegal drugs -- some pretty serious ones -- might soon be legal in …

If you’re visiting Bangkok for the ubiquitous street food culture, you might want to get here quickly. There’s seemingly a war on street food vendors in the city. And that’s no jok.

The shockwaves of the President-Elect of America have shockwaved all the way over here to Bangkok, Thailand. However, that’s not what we’re talking about today, though we could talk about if we want to. And that’s what we want to …

Ask enough people in Bangkok what they do for a living, and one will eventually say “travel blogging”. On this episode of the podcast, we break down some of the myths and mystique surrounding that title.

Hey, you’re still here! How awesome is that. Welcome to the 2nd episode. Today, we’re talking infrastructure. No, wait! Before you decide to skip the episode, this isn’t an episode filled with mechanical engineering terms. Have you met us?

Bangkok has become a hub for digital nomads, bringing in a wave of talent and fresh ideas into the city. Those nomads in turn attract other nomads. But is that a good thing? Or even a real thing? Let’s find …