Looking Back, Looking Forward: What's Next for S8 [S8.E1]

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 Thailand. What's the deal with all this back and forth? (Direct download .mp3) (Direct download .mp3) Here's the reality of living in Thailand: Whenever we -- Westerners or Thais -- get sick, our first stop is the hospital or the pharmacy. Chances are, either the doctor or the pharmacist will have a remedy in pill form ready for you. And quite often, they're unnecessary. Got a cough? Take these antibiotics. Can't sleep? Try this anti-anxiety medication. They're cheap, so why not? Because they are literally killing us, that's why. But on the flip side, it's great for asthmatics to pick up a rescue inhaler without a prescription. Just don't expect to pick up any Sudafed. Or as they call it in Thailand: the precursor to methamphetamines. Speaking of that… Thailand has a rich history of illicit drugs. But just because there's a strain of marijuana named for the country, the authorities aren't too keen on smokers of the herb. And this is Thailand, probably not the place you want to cool it in a cell for a while contemplating your poor choices in life. Yet there are discussions at the highest level of government to consider decriminalizing marijuana. And, as strange and unfathomable as it sounds, meth (yaba, as it's locally known) might also enjoy recreational status in the future. Go figure. We're keeping the Love, Loathe, or Leave segment rolling, this time with a discussion about climate change inside the skytrain, and the bane of all who walk on the sidewalk, being brick-flicked. If you're a fellow Bangkokian, you likely have intimate experience with these two items. Drop us a line and tell us what you think. Or if you've an opinion on the issues of drugs -- legal or other -- tell us about it in the comments below, or tweet to us at @bkkgreg or @evoterra. See you next week on The Bangkok Podcast!

27 Nov 201629min

(Direct download .mp3) 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. Bear with us this week. Evo's dealing with a great loss in his family and a broken microphone, and Greg's a little sleepy from being the dad of a childhood actor. But that's not what we want to talk about today... This episode is all about Bangkok's disappearing street food stalls, one of the city's most famous elements, the lifeblood of many, and part of the city's undefinable charm. It's also a perfect time to introduce a new segment on this episode, one we call Love, Loathe, or Leave. That is: how do we feel about sharing sidewalks with street food cards and other vendors cramping our walking style? Are they and the convenience and culinary variety they offer part of why we love living in Bangkok? Do we kind of loathe sharing our space but can tolerate the nuisance? Or do we see them as such a danger to life and limb that we're ready to leave the country over it? Best line of the show: "It's called a side-walk, not a side-wok, after all." But there's a human cost to consider: What happens to all the people -- tens of thousands -- who've made their living vending on the streets, fully sanctioned and licensed by the government? We're told the vendors will be provided a new place to ply their wares. But will they have the same level of business? And most importantly, what will Greg do for breakfast since he can't find his favorite jok dealer? To us, this sure seems an issue of ongoing gentrification. Suan Lum night market shut down years ago ostensibly to make way for a development project… that never happened. And then there's Asiatique, a bright, crowded, new-but-made-to-look-old destination on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. Giant eyesore? Fun destination? Or an example of what the city government wants most of our city to look like when they mark 250th anniversary of Bangkok in just a few years? While Greg's snarky love affair with Bangkok's shopping malls is on record, neither of us are street food experts. But Mark Weins from Migrationology and EatingThaiFood.com is an expert on Bangkok street food, so we called him up to get his take. If you're a fellow Bangkokian, tell us what you think about this War On Street Food. Or if you've experienced a similar change in your city, tell us about it. Go to bangkokpodcast.com and leave a comment. Or you can Tweet to us at @bkkgreg or @evoterra. See you next week on The Bangkok Podcast!

20 Nov 201626min

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 talk about. Confused? Yeah… (Direct download .mp3) On October 13, the Kingdom of Thailand suffered a great loss with the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Because we're a show ostensibly about Bangkok and the country of Thailand overall, we recorded an episode of our podcast with that topic in mind. And then we thought better of it. Not because we were in any way critical, satirical, or otherwise potentially running up against Thailand's lese majeste laws. Indeed, the show was respectful to a fault, and talked about how much Rama IX meant to the Thai people. But we thought that maybe, in this particular situation, it's not all that important for us, two foreigners living in the Kingdom, to have an opinion. Those of you reading this from "the free world" (though we each feel relatively free over here) are probably looking at that last statement with disdain. But if you listen to this week's show -- the episode about the episode you'll never hear -- you'll find it's not all that uncommon to self-censor. In fact, we do it all the time. And maybe, in a world where the friction between thought and something for public consumption is all too easy, we should do it more often.

14 Nov 201623min

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. (Direct download .mp3) Evo recently traveled to Manila in the Philippines to deliver the opening keynote at TBEX Asia Pacific 2016. It's a travel blogging conference, catering to, well… travel bloggers. Which are legion. Coupled with the service providers, tourism councils, and hospitality companies; and there's sizeable market. Travel blogging means different things: Some make a full time living traveling from place to place writing content for their blogs. Some are local experts writing content on their blog for people traveling to their city. And some don't even have a blog at all, doing all of their posting on social media or publishing content on third-party sites. For all their diversity, travel bloggers aren't universally loved. Cynics say that DMOs (destination marketing organizations) shower these people with gifts, swag, free food, and more simply to gain overly-positive views that lack real substance. Is that a valid concern? Are the benefits provided by these so-called influencers just self promotional crap? Or are the two parties -- the blogger and the client -- reaping real benefits of the partnership? There's a third element: the audience. It's the smart travel blogger who provides his/her audience with the content their audience wants to read. They aren't, by and large, journalists, guides, or critics. Still, travel bloggers have the freedom to choose what to blog about, some of which can be a little harsh. Have you read the internet? So should you quit your job, start a travel blog, and start attending travel blogging conferences like TBEX? Well… you'll have to listen to find out our thoughts on that.

6 Nov 201629min

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? (Direct download .mp3) The Big Mango is… big. Big city with huge skyscrapers and sprawling concrete to help accommodate the millions of people that live in and visit Bangkok. This is the City of Angels, the second largest city in SE Asia. We're sorry if that damaged your idyllic notion of rice paddies and floating markets. Thailand has them. Bangkok metro? Not so much. Here we have the Mahanakon Tower - some call it the Jenga or Tetris Building -- the fourth tallest building in SE Asia. We're looking forward to the grand opening, because that rooftop bar is going to rather swank. But Bangkok isn't stopping there. There are loads of new buildings, both giant and strange, that will continue to give Bangkok it's own special character. Just one more reason we both love living in this crazy town. We have world class shopping centers, with more on the way. Traffic sucks. Just plan on that when you visit. The good news is the BTS or MRT work pretty good. And if all else fails, jump on a mototaxi. They flow through bad traffic like water. But we're getting new lines. Greg made a nifty map to show where some of them will be. Will they all connect? If history is any judge, probably not. Ah, Bangkok. Of course, all that new development has to happen somewhere, and often that means old structures -- sometimes interesting and historic -- are knocked out of the way. Progress? Or a loss of culture? We'll offer our opinions on the topic of how the changing landscape impacts these two expats. And we'd love to hear what you think! Also, The Windup Girl is a good future-of-Thailand book. Will Bangkok look just like that in 200 years? Eh, probably not. But scifi really doesn't predict the future as much as it portrays the present. So if you want a fantastical look at what we're talking about, download the book.

6 Nov 201633min

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 out. (Direct download .mp3) Thailand -- Bangkok & Chiang Mai specifically -- is a hotbed of digital nomadship. But before we get to that, we should probably define the term: Defining - people who can work anywhere thanks to the internet. They take many format but they share two things in common: They aren't doing the type of job that requires them to be at a specific location at specific time. And that freedom allows them to travel, either a little or a lot, without interrupting their income stream. Jodi Ettenberg of LegalNomads is a good example. And Evo tried his hand at it all of 2015. So what makes Bangkok so attractive to digital nomads? Some of is has to do with cost of living, though Bangkok isn't nearly as cheap as it used to be. Having many Western conveniences coupled with the "charm" of Asian living doesn't hurt. Reliable access to cheap mobile data (especially compared to the US, Canada, and Australia) is big pull. But watch out, would-be internet entrepreneurs. Just because Thailand makes it easy for you to visit -- no visa required for a lot of Western countries -- it doesn't mean you have the legal right to earn income while you are here. In fact, it's just the opposite of that. So before you decide to set up shop in a co-working space (that wave has hit The Big Mango as well), you'll want to have a solid understanding of the work permit as not to run up afoul of immigration rules. The work you want to do maybe reserved for Thai-nationals only. And those are just some of the legal, semi-legit, social, and economic considerations/temptations/realities foreigners face when doing business in Thailand. Should you move to Bangkok and become a digital nomad? Well… maybe. And if you listen to the episode, you'll find out what we think about it. After all, we want to be good role models.Tell us what you think in the comments!

6 Nov 201632min

Three years ago, life changes forced the original hosts of the Bangkok Podcast to focus on other things, and it was ultimately decided to end the show. But we're back, baby - and with an all new co-host that random chance brought to the show - Evo Terra! (Direct download .mp3) So, who's this Evo guy? Here's the short story: During a year-long sabbatical he and his wife took in 2015, they wound up in a little Thailand town called Ranong, house-sitting for the owners of The Smiling Seahorse, a live-aboard dive company. No, you've probably never heard of Ranong. But if diving the archipelago of Myanmar sounds fun, Ranong is your jumping off point. During those three rainy months, the Kingdom of Thailand sort of grew on them, so they decided to move to the city and make the Big Mango their new home base. His wife (Sheila) is a teacher and he's a stay at home husband. If you want to read more on him, check out his personal website or follow along on the infrequently published travel/comedy blog, The Opportunistic Travelers. And for those who missed the story when the show first started in 2010, you'll learn a little about how Greg came to Thailand some some 16 years ago. Like so many Western travelers, he wound up visiting Thailand… and never left. But unlike shiftless Evo, Greg is actually gainfully employed, has a Thai wife and a toddler at home, and yet still somehow finds time to produce episodes of our show each week. So here it is… home. In Bangkok. And that means friends of ours in the Western world have lots of questions. Those questions are what we aim to answer on the re-imagining of The Bangkok Podcast. We're not a news show. We're a lifestyle show. Expect conversations, special guests, observations, and pontifications on how two "farangs" -- one Canadian and one American -- find their way living in the capital of The Kingdom of Thailand. And because two podcasting nerds got together, we had to have the obligatory "so how do you listen to podcast?" conversation. Evo's suggestion: Otto Radio. Give it a shot if you want a new and improved way to listen to and discover podcasts. Greg is a hardcore user of Overcast, probably the most popular not-iTunes podcasting app.

6 Nov 201631min

Bangkok tried to kill Evo this week, so Greg sat down for a conversation with Anthony Joh, the original co-host of the Bangkok Podcast. (Direct download .mp3) Anthony Joh was one half of the original lineup on the Bangkok Podcast. He's spent the last five years in Japan and caught up with Greg when he was back in the Big Mango. As you might imagine, Tony has noticed a lot of changes to his once home in those years. The burning question? Which country is better? We don't want to give it away, but expect to hear commentary on: population growth vs contraction relative international-ness tourism focus controlled chaos vs ordered structure … and much more If you're craving sushi and wagyu beef after the episode, our apologies.

31 Okt 201632min