Murder in Thailand: Kevin Maes Talks About His Book "Kingdom of Trials" [S8.E15]

This week the guys address a common concern of long term expats: how best to keep in touch with family and friends back home. That is...if you want to. We're lucky that modern technology such as Facebook and Skype make it technologically easy to keep in touch, but the simple fact of being 5,000 miles away makes it impossible to keep track of the minutiae (and sometimes even the broad strokes) of people's lives. Both Greg and Ed admit that some triage is required; difficult choices must be made about who to keep in touch with and who to drop. But surprise! After Greg complains about a friend back home who doesn't answer emails, Ed admits the he is that guy. Ed discusses his guilt over doing such a bad job maintaining relationships even though (in theory) modern technology should make it easier. Although the boys don't come up with any perfect answer to this problem, they air some thoughts and advice about how not to alienate important people back home. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

11 Dec 201837min

In Thailand, there are plenty of household names, but not many of them bring a smile and a twinkle to the eye the way that "Mechai" does. If you're unfamiliar with Mechai Varivaidya, you're missing out. Known as Mr. Condom, Mechai's career began in the 1970s when he became famous for traveling around the country giving out condoms - a truly unconventional (even controversial) thing to do at the time. His tireless promotion of condoms, family planning, and community health have made him a household name in every corner of the Kingdom; indeed, if you ask for a "Mechai" in 7-11, you will be given a box of condoms - a distinction he's thoroughly proud of. Khuh Mechai also founded the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), one of Thailand's largest NGOs, twice served as a senator, as Minister of Tourism, and a number of other high profile private and governmental roles too numerous to list here. In 2007 the PDA was given the Gates Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition of its pioneering work in family planning and AIDS prevention. In part two of our interview with Khun Mechai - delightfully feisty and sharp as a tack - he chats about the success of his family planning and AIDS prevention measures, his innovative education system known as the 'Bamboo School' initiative, and educates the guys over a handful of haggis potato chips. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

4 Dec 201836min

In Thailand, there are plenty of household names, but not many of them bring a smile and a twinkle to the eye the way that "Mechai" does. If you're unfamiliar with Mechai Varivaidya, you're missing out. Known as Mr. Condom, Mechai's career began in the 1970s when he became famous for traveling around the country giving out condoms - a truly unconventional (even controversial) thing to do at the time. His tireless promotion of condoms, family planning, and community health have made him a household name in every corner of the Kingdom; indeed, if you ask for a "Mechai" in 7-11, you will be given a box of condoms - a distinction he's thoroughly proud of. Khuh Mechai also founded the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), one of Thailand's largest NGOs, twice served as a senator, as Minister of Tourism, and a number of other high profile private and governmental roles too numerous to list here. In 2007 the PDA was given the Gates Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition of its pioneering work in family planning and AIDS prevention. In part one of our interview with Khun Mechai - delightfully feisty and sharp as a tack - we chat about his condom nickname, how Thai culture's views on sex and family have changed over the years, the best way to handle the ubiquity of porn, and how he got help from the Buddhist clergy to support his condom campaign. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

27 Nov 201838min

Continuing our series on interesting episodes in Thai history, this episode focuses on the infamous Blue Diamond Affair, It all started when a Thai gardener named Kriangkrai Techamon, who was working in Saudi Arabia, decided to make off with $20 million worth of gems and jewelry belonging to a Saudi royal. Although the thief was caught shortly after his return to Thailand, he had already sold much of the loot, including the famed 50 karat 'Blue Diamond.' No problem - the gems were returned to Saudi Arabia and an apology issued. Case closed! But! Soon after the treasure was returned, Saudi authorities claimed that over half of the returned gems were fake, including the Blue Diamond. The Saudi authorities sent a special team of investigators to Bangkok to investigate...and what followed was a tale of murder, kidnapping, and black magic, with the ultimate result being a near-total diplomatic breakdown between the two countries that continues to this day. It's a plot almost too twisty for Hollywood, but listen in for details on one of the strangest episodes in Thai history. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

20 Nov 201828min

Anyone familiar with Southeast Asia knows how complicated the issue of refugees is. Thailand, as the wealthiest country in the region, plays an important role in this. To gain some insight into things, Ed interviews Ploy Singthainiyom, an expert on refugees in Thailand. Ploy explains that she has worked in Bangkok, northern Thailand, and the United States on various refugee issues, focusing on Burmese refugees from the Karen minority who have fled into Thailand and live in camps near the border. She explains how the issue of paperwork, citizenship, and even formal recognition as refugees is not as clear cut as you may think, which leaves refugees in a kind of limbo with limited options. Indeed, most are not permitted to enter Thailand proper, but also do not want to return to Burma, which leaves the long and daunting road of applying for refugee status in a third country, such as the United States, their only viable option. Ploy talks about this long process and discusses some of the current problems facing the Thai government in addressing this complex issue. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

14 Nov 201845min

Hey guys, Greg here. I know this will only be of interest to some of you, but a few listeners pointed out that on the most recent show about our favorite farang food joints in Bangok, we said the upcoming meetup was on the 10th of November. Well, yes we did say that, but were VERY WRONG! The meetup is actually on Friday, 16th November at Smalls. You can find all the details on our Facebook page. Sorry about this short little podcastlet, but the next regular episode won't drop until after the 10th, so we wanted to make sure no one showed up on the wrong day. Sorry about the confusion, but if you're in town, we hope to see you on 16 November.

7 Nov 201838s

This week is a special on-location show at a Pizza Company restaurant in a highly secret, undisclosed location (to ensure the BP hosts are not mobbed by adoring fans), where Greg and Ed kick things off by daring to try the new 'durian pizza.' Alas, as anyone who listened to last week's bonus show might know, neither Ed nor Greg are huge durian fans, so - what's the verdict? You'll have to listen to find out. The hosts then discuss the best places (in their not-so-humble opinions) to eat farang food in Bangkok, opinions accumulated over their nearly 40 combined years of living in Bangkok. Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese and and Japanese will all appear in a later episode, but pizza, burgers, Mexican, and Lebanese are all covered in great detail. From tiny little joins at the ass-end of long sois to bright, centrally located places known by many, it's all in here. Did we miss some? Most certainly, but these are the ones that tide us over best when we jones for something other than Thai. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

6 Nov 201827min

To get some insight into Bangkok's art scene, Greg interviews Nim Niyomsin, an independent art curator. She gives her views on the ups and downs of being an artist in a culture that is widely known as extremely creative, but which lacks the support and infrastructure other countries take for granted. For those not in the know, getting insight into the creative culture of Bangkok might seem difficult, but Nim says it's really just a matter of putting a bit of research into it, and hitting the pavement. First stop - the BACC, where you can find resources, meet people, and pick up the all-important Bangkok art map. They also discuss how the lack of government support has pushed the artists to build their own support networks, how economics helps shape the community, and why 2018 - with the Bangkok Art Biennale and the Thailand Biennale, among other events - is a very important year in the continuing development of Thailand's creative culture. This jives with the amazing art Greg saw at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and Nim agrees - the climate for Thai artists is improving, albeit slowly. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

30 Okt 201830min