When Jaded Expats Wrongly Predict Thai Failures [S8.E4]

When Jaded Expats Wrongly Predict Thai Failures [S8.E4]

Greg and Ed discuss something that is more common than many people think: being wrong about expecting some Thai government project or initiative to fail. It's pretty easy, as expats often fall into the rut of cynicism about the Thai government sticking to a plan and actually getting stuff done, but the truth is, Thailand sometimes gets stuff right!

Greg begins by bringing up Benjakitti Forest Park. It replaced the Thai Tobacco Monopoly, which occupied prime real estate between Sukhumvit and Rama IV for many years. When Greg heard it was going to be made into a giant public park, he was like, "Yeah right, it's gonna get taken over by mall and condo developers," but lo and behold, the majestic Forest Park is now there for Bangkokers to see and enjoy, and has been written about in publications around the world. Ed follows with something different: when he heard about the epic scale of the COVID vaccine rollout in Thailand, he thought it would be widely inefficient with day-long queues. In fact, it was shockingly professional, and he was in and out of there in 30 minutes!

Greg continues with a story about the eventual success of the Thai Elite Card, and Ed follows with a discussion of electronic banking in Thailand and the unexpected return of the Shinawatra clan to Thai politics.

Lesson learned: Don't fall into the cynicism trap!

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.

Episoder(560)

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Author Chris Baker Discusses Thai History, Culture & Conflict [S8.E37] (Classic ReCast)

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17 Mar 37min

Photographer Tim Russell on the Fading Glory of Hualamphong Station [S8.E34] (Classic ReCast)

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Linguist Rikker Dockum on the Royal Institute's Thai Language Oversight [S8.E33] (Classic ReCast)

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24 Feb 50min

Election Analysis: Young Thais, Old Parties...New Tricks? [S8E32]

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Tech Fail Alert! The last 5 minutes of our discussion was cut off by dastardly internet Gremlins, but we said most of what we wanted to say anyway.  In a follow-up to the recent Thai election, Greg an...

17 Feb 32min

Greg & Ed Discuss Ed's Big Thailand Quiz [S8.E31]

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Dreamster's Mario Butler on Thai Music and New Creative Frontiers [S8.E30]

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