Thailand

Welcome to the Swanky New G2D Design

Like most things, websites benefit from a little TLC every now and then. Most people don’t like learning their way around a completely new design, so the trick is finding how to improve what you have without removing what you liked about the old version. For the latest update to G2D (the second in about 5 years), I wanted to keep the general layout and functionality, but improve how it looked and functioned.

One of the most important elements for me in choosing a new theme was to make sure it was mobile-friendly and responsive across multiple […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:52+00:00Thailand, Web Media|0 Comments

Taking a Steam Train Out of Bangkok

A lot of time people feel the need to get out of Bangkok and catch a break from the constant buzz of traffic, the crowds, the highways, and the cement. Oh God, the cement. Some people go to great lengths to catch a break, like a friend who will gladly travel all night in a crowded minivan and half a day on a boat to spend one night on a beach. I’m a bit ~~lazy~~ more pragmatic, in that if I leave town, it needs to be easy, cheap, fast, and worthwhile. A few months […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:52+00:00Bangkok, Thailand, Transport, Travel|5 Comments

The Stunning Furniture of the P. Tendercool Workshop

A few years ago I wrote a story for CNN Travel about a cool little soi that had an antique studio, an art gallery, and a store that sold amazing tables. Were it not for the constant 30° heat, it would be easy to think you were in a lost corner of New York. I got know the owner of the table store over the years, and recently was afforded the opportunity to drop by his studio to see some of his new creations. I know what you’re saying – tables don’t seem that exciting, but […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:53+00:00Asia, Bangkok, Thailand|0 Comments

My Secret to Dealing With Bangkok’s Constant Protests

As it does on a seemingly regular basis, Thailand’s protest season has started up again. As of today, the prime minister is in an unstable position and facing threats and calls for her to step down; boisterous, abusive mobs on both sides of the political divide are making threats to individuals and sometimes even attacking them for completely fabricated reasons; mobs have stormed several government ministries; and there’s a general air of uneasiness and behind-closed-door-edness in the air. This kind of thing has been going on for years now, and used to really upset me. I used to […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:53+00:00Bangkok, Current Events, Politics, Thailand|0 Comments

Can Thailand’s Tour Guides Save Themselves?

After living in Bangkok for so long I sometimes forget how lost I was when I first got here. As I wrote in 2001 when I first arrived: “Walking down streets I can’t remember past landmarks I don’t recognize to order food I can’t pronounce.” But now that I’m comfortable here all of that is forgotten – except when I travel out of Thailand. If you relish the raw unfamiliarity of making it on your own in a strange land, more power to you, but I got that out of my system a long time ago. Now when […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:54+00:00Bangkok, Thailand, Travel|9 Comments

Learning Thai from a White Guy

It’s no secret that my Thai is embarrassingly bad. I mean, I can get through the day without using English and can usually get my idea across in broken Thai, but after 12 years it should be much better. To put it in perspective, if I met a guy in Canada who had lived there for 12 years and spoke English at the same level I speak Thai, I’d think he was retarded. I could blame it on the fact that every job I’ve had has used English as its operational language, or that every Thai friend I […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:54+00:00Education, Language, Thailand|16 Comments

Visiting a Thai Hospital for a Quick Stitch-Up

So as I often do, I headed out for a bike ride with some friends today. I was going to meet them at Wong Wian Yai BTS station and take a new route down to the Gulf of Thailand for a bit of exploring and hopefully un-rained-on riding. However, as luck would have it the trip ended up being cancelled before it even started and I ended up laying on a gurney in a hospital getting stitches in one of the most cringe-worthy places you can imagine that’s not on your torso. I’ve been in Thailand so long […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:55+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Health, Thailand|0 Comments

The Hidden Art in Thai Script

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not really in a position to be writing about the nuance and flourish of the Thai language, but as I continue to slowly force my way through the thick membrane of ภาษาไทย (the Thai language) into its gooey center (sorry for that disturbing metaphor), I keep noticing cool little details and shortcuts that make me appreciate the language even more. Case in point – I was in a meeting at work the other day and happened to look at the tissue box on the table and noticed that the Thai […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:55+00:00Language, Thailand|0 Comments

Red Cliff Coffee: The Best Brew in Thailand?

When I tell people that I’ve never once tried a cigarette or a hit of weed or any type of drug, I’m often met with disbelief. That’s fine by me, I’m not saying it to impress anyone, it’s just the truth. But there’s one drug that, in my adult life of late nights and early mornings, I simply need to get into my system, and that’s caffeine. I know, I’m a rockstar. Caffeine…hold me back. At any rate, over the past few years I’ve gone from a total coffee n00b to a huge fan, and while I can’t […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:57+00:00Food, Thailand|0 Comments

What’s On Thai Money?

I remember the first time I saw a baht. It was about two months before I came to Thailand and I happened to wander by an exchange booth. I'd never seen Thai money before, so I exchanged a few bucks and walked out with a fistfull of crumpled, green 20 baht notes, which was all they had in the shop. I didn't know who the guy was on the money, or what the weird squiggles meant, but it looked cool. It was actually the first foreign money I'd ever held outside of American dollars. Now, my fingers rifle through literally hundreds of baht a day (that's right - hundreds) but I rarely stop to think about what it's all about. So, one day I did; I got curious, sent out a few emails and looked at a few websites, and for no reason than a very niche curiosity, will explain below what exactly is presented on Thai baht.

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:58+00:00Thailand|5 Comments