Bangkok’s a big city that’s got her own rules. You can try to fight them, but in the end, in certain situations, no matter how much you beg and plead, Bangkok wins, and you lose.

Greg and Ed discuss ten ways Bangkok can own you: frustrating ‘gotchas’ that are devilishly difficult to avoid. Even veterans of the city with tons of experience still sometimes forget the nuance or fail to think about the what-ifs and end up standing there like a fool, muttering under their breath. This still definitely happens with Greg and Ed, so if you don’t want to get burned on your next visit to Thailand, keep these in mind - learned from cold, hard experience.

From sidewalk squirts and freezing aircon to improper documentation and lack of change in a taxi, Greg and Ed recount multiple ways you can get ‘got’ in the Land of Smiles. Sometimes you beat Bangkok, but sometimes the city owns YOU.

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Greg and Ed jump on the bandwagon and discuss the recent trend of images of ‘action figures’ generated by AI. ChatGPT especially seems quite good at creating semblances of plastic blister packs filled with dolls and accessories that might go along with them. Hence, the guys take a look at 9 different images based on Thai stereotypes before offering images of their own action figures, which AI helpfully created for them.

Figures include such classic stereotypes as a ‘Pattaya Old Boy,’ a Content Creator in Thailand, a Bar Girl, a Chiang Mai Expat, a White Guy in Pai, etc. The guys go through each image and discuss its strengths and weaknesses, and find a surprising amount of nuance and insight into Thai culture in a few of them.

The show ends with each discussing the other’s action figure - while Greg’s looked like an actual doll (though a particularly ripped one) Ed’s looked exactly like Ed - just shrinkwrapped. Listen in to hear what accessories each of their action figures came with. Enjoy! :)

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 interesting expats they have met over the years - both good and bad - and what lessons they have managed to glean from them. Thailand is a bit of a strange stew of expats; with many different types of people coming together in a foreign land, you are apt to meet and/or befriend people in Thailand that you never would back home. The results can be positive or negative, but either way, there can be lessons to be learned.

Greg begins with an anecdote he’s mentioned on the show before, about ‘VP,’ a random character that took Greg to a party filled with U.N. people. Although the people there were ‘interesting’ in the sense that they were educated and well-traveled, Greg felt their snobbery at his low status in Thailand intensely and had to bail. He learned that there is a bit of an unspoken ‘expat strata’ in Bangkok and that people can - fairly or unfairly - place you within that strata no matter where you meet them. Ed counters with a story of a Swedish friend, who although being a great guy in Thailand, ended up being deported back to Sweden for old legal problems. Ed woke up to the fact that when you meet expats later in life, you have no idea what kind of baggage they have from earlier in life.

Greg then brings up an old coworker named Seth, who was fairly normal in the daytime, but who Greg realized was deeply embedded into the seedier side of Bangkok’s nightlife. The takeaway: not all foreigners just dip their toes into the redlight districts; some dive in and never get out, and if you’re not careful, you can be pulled along with them. Ed finishes with an unfortunate anecdote about an American friend who was prominent in the expat community in Thailand until he suffered a serious illness and had to return to the United States. The experience made Ed realize that nothing is permanent, and although your expat life might SEEM solid, some bad luck could cause you to be yanked back home.

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.