Greg and Ed discuss one of the pillars of Thai culture, the general attitude of ‘mai pen rai’ or ‘no problem.’ As the guys have mentioned many times, this attitude is one of the main reasons that living in Thailand is so enjoyable for expats. Thai people tend to be less confrontational, less prone to anger, and less likely to take offense than Westerners, making living in ‘The Land of Smiles’ a fairly easy transition for most people. But can this approach be taken too far? The guys think so.

A recent tragedy involving a bus accident that resulted in the deaths of over a dozen children sparked the discussion. While the investigation into the accident is still in its early stages, it appears the bus failed to meet safety regulations. Ed notes that this tragedy mirrors the infamous New Year’s Eve fire at Santika nightclub in 2009 that took 67 lives, largely due to unenforced fire safety laws. The simple truth is that often in Thai society people relax when it comes to preparing for the worst: it’s much easier to blow things off in order to save effort and money. Both guys agree that this is a clear example of ‘mai pen rai’ going too far. Sometimes you need to be strict and confrontational in order to compel compliance with certain laws; the harms that can result from being too lax are simply too great to bear.

Ed notes that the question really comes down to one of good judgment. Thais seem to have mastered the ability to relax when it comes to a lot of ‘rules’ that in the end don’t actually seem to affect quality of life very much. However, as the current tragedy shows, there are times when ‘relaxing’ is not the best approach.

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Mental health in Thailand has never really had its time in the spotlight, but things are slowly changing as more and more Thais realize that taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health.

On this episode we are joined by Amy Pothong, a licensed counselor and founder of Golden Leaf Therapy and Counseling in Phuket.

Amy walks us through the landscape of mental health in Thailand, including some of the reasons that the subject is often taboo, with elders usually preferring to shush things up rather than make a scene and upset the apple cart. Generational dynamics, family responsibilities and strict cultural expectations can all play a part, and the resulting mix can be quite a complicated web to navigate.

Amy also talks about the difference between Thai and foreign cultures, likening the contrast to a peach vs a coconut. In a peach culture people are friendly and soft on the outside, but once you get closer, you find a hard, private core that’s hard to penetrate. However, coconut cultures have a hard shell on the outside, but once you get past that you’ll find that they are soft and easy to get close to.

She also helpfully provides some references for trusted resources to use if you think you might like to talk to someone about mental health: the hotline 1323, and Samaritans of Thailand, which has service in both English and Thai.

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.

In our semi-annual update on Thai politics, Ed does his best to explain the current situation and how Thailand arrived here over the last ten years. He begins with the framework that defined Thai politics for almost 15 years: one party led by the Shinawatra clan that was populist and relied on the support of Thai farmers in the Northeast and the conservative Democratic Party and military establishment that represented the middle class and above relied on support from Bangkok. While the populist party dominated at the ballot box, it led first to a coup in 2006 against the patriarch Thaksin, and then to a coup in 2014 against his sister Yingluck.

The result was a military government for five years until the elections of 2019. Largely due to a very biased Constitution, the military squeaked out a virtual tie with a new version of the populist party, but close behind was a new player on the scene: the truly progressive Future Forward Party, which was primarily supported by younger Bangkokers. However, the conservative Constitutional Court would go on to ban the party and its leaders. The military was able to build a coalition to choose one of the coup leaders as the Prime Minister.

Four years later in May of 2023, now with a less-rigged Constitution, the military and Democratic parties would get wiped out and shockingly, the new iteration of the progressive party would win outright, seemingly altering Thai politics forever. As has become the norm in Thai politics, the drama continues to unfold. Listen in for the rest of the story.

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.

Greg and Ed discuss the ‘delivery lifestyle,’ the habit of staying at home and relying on delivery services to bring food and products straight to your doorstep. Both guys admit to slipping into this habit, but Greg enjoys getting out more and tooling around town in his fancy automobile, so it’s Ed that has really embraced this habit. The question is this: Is it good or bad?

Ed begins with some obvious pros: it’s super convenient and allows you to avoid the stress of traffic and crowds, something Bangkok is infamous for. The options for delivery are endless, such that it’s possible to basically order ANYTHING you want, whether from within Thailand or from China. And the actual costs of delivery are low.

But what are the downsides? Greg brings up the danger of becoming a homebody and missing out on the social interaction of shopping and running errands in a city that’s simply just fun to explore. Ed concurs that the expat bubble is already bad enough and actually forcing yourself to interact with Thai people in malls and markets is probably a good thing. Other risks include overspending and dealing with frustrating miscommunications and logistical snafus.

Last, Greg brings up the problem of misleading marketing by delivery companies that front as ‘restaurants’ when they are really just ‘ghost kitchens’ without public space at all, which can be a psychological letdown to someone yearning for a bit of social activity at their favorite restaurant only to find it’s simply a kitchen with a lineup of Grab drivers out front.

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.

Greg welcomes back Patrick Winn to the podcast, an intrepid writer and expert on all things dark and shady in Southeast Asia. He previously appeared on the show to discuss his book “Hello Shadowlands,” and he returns to explain his new work, “Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived The CIA.” Patrick begins by explaining the unique political situation that the country of Myanmar is in right now. Besides a literal civil war, portions of the country, such as the ‘Wa State’ in the northeast, are essentially autonomous, self-governing areas. Patrick explains that free travel in and out of the area is generally not permitted, and if you just showed up, you would be detained and interrogated by the Wa State Army.

Next, Greg asked the genesis of Patrick’s new book. Patrick explains that he’s been fascinated by the ‘state within a state’ for over a decade and has struggled to find an opportunity to interview any important Wa leaders, due to the fact that the Wa State is notorious for being a manufacturer of methamphetamine pills. In fact, some prominent Wa leaders are actually wanted by the U.S. DEA. Patrick recounts a fascinating story of how he managed through an intermediary to finally make contact, and the resulting interview and subsequent research constitutes the backbone of his book.

The guys continue with a twisting tale of the DEA and CIA’s surprising relationship with this mysterious subculture inside of the already complex state of Myanmar, and the effect its having on Thailand’s middle class, which is a huge consumer of the infamous drugs that the country produces.

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.

Putting on their best tarot reading hat…or numerology hat…or tea leaf hat…whatever…Greg and Ed make their best prognostications about the future of Bangkok, relying only on their accumulated wisdom and experience. Greg begins by asking Ed whether Bangkok will ever solve its ‘sinking’ problem, and Ed responds pessimistically. Although the science is clear that the sea is rising and Bangkok is sinking, the government does not seem to be taking any drastic action to address the impending calamity, a la the film “Don’t Look Up.” Certainly, SOMETHING will have to be done, but Ed expects it to be too little, too late.

Ed then asks Greg whether Thailand will ever have to give up its ‘pragmatic neutrality’ and make a choice between China and the U.S. Greg argues that Thailand will do its best to avoid making such a choice, but if a conflict does occur between the two superpowers, Greg thinks Thailand will likely choose to side with China, for proximity and cultural reasons.

Greg then wonders what Ed thinks about the future of high speed rail in Thailand. On this topic, Ed is more optimistic: there’s something about public transportation that the government has figured out, and Ed expects that multiple super fast, modern rail lines are coming in the near future. Ed then queries Greg about his thoughts on Nana Plaza, the legendary red light complex on Sukhumvit that happens to be located on prime real estate. Greg reluctantly predicts that the owners are likely to eventually cave to some mega condo or mall project.

The guys continue with some predictions on Thai politics and older malls in Bangkok.

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.

Greg interviews Dominic Faulder, associate editor at Nikkei Asia, long-time journalist in Southeast Asia and observer of the political and diplomatic machinations of Myanmar, and Thailand and Vietnam over the past 40 years.

The main thesis of the episode is this: How should a country such as Thailand respond when its neighbor Myanmar is in the midst of a destabilizing civil war? Dominic begins by pointing out what’s different about the current situation compared with events in its turbulent past. Myanmar has suffered various military coups, but traditionally the opposition to those coups has been splintered and factionalized. However, after the most recent 2021 military takeover, opposition groups unified, plunging the country into a genuine civil war.

So what does this mean for Thailand? According to Dominic, the long jungle border between the two countries is essentially impossible to police, opening up the real possibility of a massive refugee crisis in Thailand. In the long run, the military cannot succeed in running the country, and no exit strategy seems apparent for the generals. Dominic notes that if an even more severe food crisis occurs, as it did in Pol Pot's Cambodia in the years after the Vietnam War ended in 1975, hundreds of thousands of Burmese could spill across the Thai border.

Greg and Dominic continue discussing the perilous situation and what it means for the business-minded generals and military-minded diplomats in charge of Thailand in terms of diplomacy, military and economic outcomes as Dominic recounts Burmese history since independence and clarifies the difference between past instability and the current all-out civil war.

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.

Greg and Ed discuss some negative expat stereotypes - roughly the person you (probably) don’t want to become while living in Thailand...at least forever. We all fall prey to stereotypes sometimes - they have to come from somewhere - but if you’re not careful, you can become comfortable with some of these lifestyles and before you know it, they come to define your new identity in your new home, and suddenly you’re known as The Whiner, or The Apologist.

And that’s just the beginning! Heaven forbid that people start to know you as The Premature Pontificator, or The Creep, The Slob, The Bubble Boy or The Player. Like we said, it’s hard to escape most of these all the time, but Bangkok’s mai-pen-rai lifestyle is addictive, and trust us - before you know it, a decade has gone by and you’re still wearing that old Chang singlet out to dinner that you bought when you first arrived on Khao San Road (that’d be The Slob). Have a listen and see how Greg and Ed define these common tropes.

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