Episodes

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 yo...

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 h...

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 t...

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 a...

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 th...

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, b...

Please help us by taking our first Bangkok Podcast listener survey! , 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...

Please help us by taking our first Bangkok Podcast listener survey! , 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...

This week it’s Greg’s turn to feel the wrath/wisdom of our in-house Thai language guru, Stu Jay Raj. After Ed did it a few months ago , our listeners have been waiting for Greg to take the hot seat, so here it is. Greg record...

In a return to our Thai history series, Greg tells the story of a massive truck bomb in Bangkok - that never exploded. In March of 1994, a U-Haul-style truck pulled out of the parking lot of Central Chidlom department store a...

Greg interviews our senior legal correspondent Dave Lawrence from Pegleg Legal about a very important but often put off issue: getting a will in Thailand. Dave begins by discussing general concerns that might apply in any jur...

This week Greg and Ed take a page from a regular segment on the bonus show and challenge each other with some trivia questions, spanning Thai history, geography, religion, pop culture, and language. The guys begin by trading ...

Ed interviews recurring guest of the show Phra Pandit on meditation retreats. This is Part Two of a two part series; Part One is a basic introduction to meditation. The discussion begins with Phra Pandit giving some very soli...

In this show Greg and Ed respond to the opinions of our, ahem, massive group of followers on LINE about prices in Thailand: specifically both what is cheaper than you would expect and what is more expensive than you would exp...

Greg interviews old friend of the podcast , Thai language expert extraordinaire about the , an organization dedicated to overseeing, promoting and regulating the Thai language. Rikker begins by explaining that he actually wrote his undergraduate...

The guys trade stories about their recent trips, Greg to Canada and Ed to Singapore. Ed begins with a few observations about the island nation. First, Singapore lived up to its reputation of being clean and orderly. Everythin...

This is part two of a two-part interview with Khun Ployjai Pintobtang, a lecturer in history at Chiang Mai University, about the history of democracy in Thailand and Asia. The discussion picks up where it left off, on the par...

This is Part One of a two-part interview with Khun Ployjai Pintobtang, a lecturer in history at Chiang Mai University, about the history of democracy in Thailand and Asia. Ed begins by asking A. Ploy her take on an old trope:...

Greg and Ed debate the pros and cons of coming to Thailand at different ages, with the obvious caveat that there’s no right answer that applies to every person and that no matter when you come to the Land of Smiles, you can a...

Ed interviews our favorite expert on Buddhism, Phra Pandit. This time the focus is on meditation, exactly what it is, and what role it plays in the Buddhist religion as a whole. Phra Pandit begins with explaining the basic di...

Greg and Ed discuss an important conundrum facing expats and tourists in Thailand: When sick or injured, should you go to a private Thai hospital or a public one? The difference in cost is substantial, typically somewhere bet...

Greg interviews resident legal expert Dave Lawrence about the ins and outs of interacting with police officers in Bangkok. The guys begin by going over the various options for run-ins with the boys in brown in Bangkok, which ...

Greg and Ed discuss whether or not they prefer to be treated the same as Thai people are treated. On the one hand, after living in Thailand for twenty years, the guys feel like they’ve ‘earned’ the right to be accepted into T...

Ed interviews his old friend Jim Cirillo, a good example of a repeat tourist (or re-tourist) to Thailand, the sizeable population of people all over the world who keep coming back to Thailand but for a variety of reasons have...