Bangkok

Bangkok Podcast: One Year In

Well, that was a long stretch with no updates – again. Freelance assignments are taking most of my time these days (not to mention a video game I downloaded against my better judgment), but it was a memorable week for another reason too – the one-year anniversary of the Bangkok Podcast. If you don’t know about that, well, click on the little box to the left and check it out. My buddy Tony Joh and I recorded our first show on May 17, 2010 and have done a show every week since then. It’s been a good time and we’ve had some pretty interesting guests. To celebrate, we decided to have a party, and with the help of some friends and sponsors, it was a great success.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:22+00:00Bangkok, Current Events, Food, Music, Video|0 Comments

A Bangkok Zombie Apocalypse

From time to time I have extra time, and those are the times when I start thinking about stuff that I don't normally have the time to think about. Most of those times are in the back of taxis or watching the city zoom by underneath the BTS, so I think about the makeup of Bangkok a lot. I'm also a giant nerd, so I have eclectic tastes, and sometimes those two things mash together and I end up wondering what I'd do if Bangkok/Thailand/Asia/the World was overtaken in a zombie apocalypse. One of the things I love watching about zombie movies is seeing how the people survive - where they hide out, what they do, how the protect themselves - so I thought I'd write down a few ideas as to what I'd do if I found myself alone in Bangkok when the dead started to walk the Earth. This post is pretty esoteric and a bit long, so only read on if you're a fan of zombies, a fan of Bangkok, or a fan of both.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:22+00:00Bangkok, Fun Stuff|0 Comments

A Perfect Songkran

Good lord, it's been three weeks since I posted last. Well, it's been a busy few weeks, plus I had a case of the lazies for a while, but it's a good thing they're over, because next week is all about: sleeping in! That's right, it's Songkran, the Thai New Year. I'm not going to write a post about the history of Songkran or its background or customs. It's a huge-ass waterfight for four or five days that pretty much shuts the country down. Think Christmas/Thanksgiving but it's 38ºC and everyone has a water cannon. But Songkran becomes a bit tiring once you've done it a few times, so this year I'm doing what I do best - staying in and ignoring the whole shebang.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:23+00:00Bangkok, Culture, Holidays, Pop Culture|0 Comments

Bangkok from A to Z

As a writer, I have come to kind of adore the maddening twists and turns of my mother tongue (uh, English). While I would never proclaim to be anything more than average at writing, I do have an extreme fondness for the dark corners and covert flexibility of the language. For instance, I am able to rattle off both pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis and floccinaucinihilipilification without pause, but look to George Carlin as somewhat of a patron saint instead of Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer (you'll see why below). At any rate, one of the things I like to read is poetry, but I'm not very good at writing it. That's why I found it interesting when I had the thought of writing a blog post about "Bangkok's A to Z" what I started writing came out as a poem. So I decided to run with it...

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:23+00:00Bangkok, Fun Stuff|3 Comments

Indian Gastronomy Explosion

I know what you're thinking: Indian Gastronomy Explosion would be an awesome name for a rock band. While I would definitely pay good money to see a dude from IGE rock the sitar, you are incorrect. It's actually a description of a badass meal I had the other night at a new Indian joint in Bangkok called Gaggan. Indian food in Bangkok is pretty easy to find; Thailand's Indian community is very vibrant, and the food I've tasted here is probably the best Indian food I've ever had - outside of India, of course. But at Gaggan, Indian food is being pushed to the limits and being combined with some truly bizarre and awesome techniques.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:24+00:00Bangkok, Food|0 Comments

A Few Suggested Tools for Life in Bangkok

Every big city has its own unique attitude, and likewise everyone living in every one of these big cities requires a certain set of implements, tools and gear in order to get the most out of life there. In my home city - Calgary, Alberta (motto: You don't work with horses or in oil? What do you do?) - the necessary tools were, among others, a car (it's a big city area-wise), winter clothes, and maybe a pack of Skoal if you want to mimic the stanky, cancer-ridden jawline of your cowboy hereoes. But Bangkok - with its vast canvas of contrasting landscapes, transport, people, and infrastructure - is a much more enjoyable place to live if you have the right tools to cut through the din. I came up with a few items that make my life in Bangkok that much easier.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:24+00:00Bangkok, Tips on Visiting|0 Comments

The Future of Bangkok’s Mass Transit

Ahhh, the new year. Time to put the diseased, pockmarked wreck of the last year behind us and stare at the glorious, unspoilt landscape of the next 12 months in front of us. In the spirit of new beginnings, I finally completed a little project I've been working on for a while. I've had on my desktop for some time now a high-resolution map of the proposed future of Bangkok's mass transit lines. The original was all in Thai, but I whipped out my mad Photoshop skillz and roughly translated the names of the stations (with a bit of help) into English. It's still a bit busy, and I'm not sure what the timeframe on all these routes are, but it gives you an idea of what Bangkok's overlords have in store for the future. Bangkok right now is woefully underserved by its mass transit network, but when/if this is all complete, it will likely rank up near Tokyo and Hong Kong for mass transit awesomeness. Take a look.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:25+00:00Bangkok, Technology, Transport, Travel|0 Comments

The Abortion Scandal

I usually stay away from 'serious' topics like a kid from a broccoli salad, but this issue is a pretty big one, and I wanted to get a few thoughts out. You may have heard recently about the current abortion scandal going on in Thailand; basically, someone discovered over 2,000 aborted fetuses at a Bangkok temple, a pretty grisly find. This would be pretty awful in any country, but it’s especially significant in Thailand for several reasons, most notably the fact that abortion is: a) illegal in Thailand and b) seen as a grave sin in Buddhist countries. As you may expect, it’s tearing up the headlines and causing a huge stir. However, while regrettable in every sense of the word, the fallout – one would hope – may prompt some much-needed introspection in Thai culture. What’s done is done, but hopefully this will cause a few people in positions of influence to examine the cause of the problem instead of simply start to throw blame around.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:26+00:00Bangkok, Current Events|0 Comments

Telling Myself About Bangkok

I’ve gotten a lot of requests over the past while asking for various bits of info on Bangkok, and have seen a lot of chatter on the intertubes relating to the city by the people that have visited - critiques, commentary, criticism and praise. Most has been praise, but even the criticism is refreshing because it allows me just a tiny glimpse of my first year here. I got to thinking - what hints I would tell myself if I got a chance to send a short note back through time to myself in 2001 just as I arrived in Bangkok. Nothing major, like "That guy will betray your friendship," or "She just wants a baby, run!", but rather general little hints that would have eased my passage into life in the 'Kok. Here are a few I thought of.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:27+00:00Bangkok, Tips on Visiting|0 Comments

“You Just Don’t Understand Thailand.”

One of the favorite activities that expat barflies love to do is complain. In fact, one of the favorite activities that most any expat living in Thailand likes to do is complain. Some are loud and obnoxious about it, some (like me, I hope) are more subtle and kind, but it’s important to know that at its heart, all of this complaining is borne out of a love for Thailand. Most conversations begin with, “Why don’t they do it this way…” which is not a critical attack; more often than not its an attempt to offer alternatives. But what bugs me to no end is the worst, most lazy retort imaginable: You just don’t understand Thailand. I don’t hate many things in life, but I really hate that.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:27+00:00Bangkok, Culture, Thailand|11 Comments