Greg interviews Tony Joh, an old friend and co-host of Season 1 of the Bangkok Podcast to reminisce about their true noob status as pioneer podcasters and re-living their early successes (and screw-ups).
Tony then explains his move to Japan and how he liked his job (at first) due to his ability to work from home (and avoid Japanese corporate culture). Lo and behold his small company was bought by a big corporation, and Tony was required to work in the office, significantly decreasing his job satisfaction. Tony and Greg trade stories about working for Asian companies (which Greg has done in the past), and compare and contrast Japanese and Thai culture.
The last stage of Tony’s journey was to move back to Canada, where he has been for the last year and a half. Tony recounts his re-adjustment to his home country, and ironically talks about how weird it is to have everything work well and being ‘normal.’ This leads to his possible interest in heading back to Asia for more adventures, because, let’s be honest, Asia’s where it’s at. 🙂
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I love your podcast; I really do. I’ve only come to the podcast in the past year or so, so admittedly, I’m not exactly a long-time listener, but I have been enjoying your episodes regularly for some time now. That being said, this latest episode was the first (and hopefully only) episode that I want to turn off before it was over. It’s a good thing that your former partner no longer works on the pod with you because much of what the guy said in this episode was too bigoted and ethnocentric than I could handle. I honestly wanted to stop listening when he said that if one were to open up a Japanese person’s brain, all they would see would be an “empty book.” I mean come one; I know he’s a friend of yours and you don’t want to start an argument with one of your guests, but out of respect to your international fan base, you might want to check people when they start down that road during an interview. We can talk about culture without being essentialists. Let’s do better and seek to promote discussions about living in SE Asia, minus the objectification and othering. Or have I misinterpreted something?
Hey Ted, thanks for writing! Points taken, we appreciate your feedback. I can see where you’re coming from – Tony is pretty frank and doesn’t mince words – some could even say he lacks nuance! You’re right in that I probably should have asked him to clarify a bit; my takeaway was that he wasn’t saying Japanese people were brainless, more like their culture doesn’t allow for a lot of off-the-cuff thinking, which is true. But thanks for listening either way, your comments are duly, noted, sir.
Can’t believe it. Two of my favorite podcasts, this and Tokyo Podcast, originated from one! Very glad to hear Tony telling his stories in here! ——A fan of Bangkok Podcast from China
Hey Laura, thanks!
Hi Greg & Tony,
So great to hear in this combination again from you! I’m listening to your podcast only for a few years now, but all episodes are so awesome that meanwhile I listened to all of them, including the first season with Tony. Somehow you both really fit so well and it’s a lot of fun to listen to you (of course, the other hosts are also great 🙂 ).
Also the topic resonated so much with me – “I feel most at home when not at home”, conversations in your home country are not exactly mindblowingly exciting, but it’s hard not to sound like a bragging jerk when talking about personal experiences from living abroad… So relatable! Also, I think many people appreciate that they are somehow “special” in another country, but only few people openly say that they like this aspect (because, as Tony properly put it, that might come across quite narcissistic).
Just as Laura said, I was not aware that Tony was the founder of one of my other favorite podcasts – Tokyo Podcast. So quality content indeed has a name 😉
I’m not sure if the commenter above (Ted) will come back to read this, but while I understand that the way Tony put it might not be political correct, as much as I know Tony from previous episodes I think it was not meant in a racist manner at all. Having lived in Japan myself for quite a while, I totally understand what he means and I must say that even some of my Japanese friends would probably not oppose. Ted, I suggest going back to listen to some stories from the first season, it’s really worth it 🙂
Most importantly: Thank you so much for all this quality content over so many years. I think you will be the reason why I will have to figure out how to use Patreon.
Take care and many greetings from Germany,
Fabian
Hey Fabian, thanks for writing! Glad you liked the episode, and have been following Tony. I think you took his meaning correctly – he doesn’t hold a grudge against Japan or Japanese people; in fact, I think he’s back there working right now. I hope to be going back home for a quick visit in a few months, and it will probably be my last in a very long time – perhaps forever (at least to my home city). I’m curious to see how some of the conversations with old friends play out. Thanks for listening!
One of the best episodes to date. I love Tony’s frankness and for telling it like it is. It would be great to have him on again when he makes his next move.
Hey Jay, thanks! He will return, like a phoenix…or the Terminator. 🙂