Tourism Challenge: Comparing Thailand to Europe as a Traveler [S8.E7]
Release Date: 08/13/2025
The Bangkok Podcast
Ed interviews Thanita ‘Ninar’ Wongprasert, an old student of his and former guest on the show in 2018. On the earlier show she came on to talk about gay rights and same sex marriage in Thailand, and the two begin the interview with a high five to celebrate the eventual passage of gay marriage laws in Thailand. Ninar then discusses her work with various international NGOs and agencies of the UN. She was able to work on multiple issues, from the ozone layer to cyber security among others, and focused mostly on public information campaigns. Ed asks her about the transition from their...
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Greg and Ed discuss Ed’s new class at his Thai university: “Contemporary Thai Society in the Modern World.” The guys have a laugh at the thought of a white guy from Ohio teaching young Thais about their own country, but Ed notes that he has been living in Thailand as an adult for 25 years, whereas his students are only 18-20 years old. One point for Ed! Further, there’s considerable value to getting an ‘outsider’ view of one’s own country. Greg admits that his knowledge of his own birth country is scant in many ways. Ed and Greg banter about different topics that should be...
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Greg and Ed interview Taopiphop Limjittrakorn, a Thai Member of Parliament known for his advocacy in liberalizing Thailand’s craft beer industry. The conversation takes place shortly after the dissolution of the Thai government, a transition that finds Taopiphop technically unemployed but focused on the future of his party. A central theme of the interview is Taopiphop’s unconventional decision not to seek re-election. He expresses a desire to set a new standard in Thai politics by stepping down after achieving his primary goals, such as the liberalization of alcohol production laws. He...
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Greg and Ed discuss the long, strange and complex history between Thailand and Cambodia in an attempt to shed some light on the tragic current conflict. Greg begins with some early history. The majority of Southeast Asia was once part of the Khmer Empire based in Angkor. Eventually Thai kingdoms in Sukhothai and Ayutthaya achieved independence, but tension between the two powers was constant. In a complex maelstrom of alliance and conflict, each power borrowed, copied and outright stole selected cultural artifacts from each other, such that untangling the exact pedigree of multiple shared...
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On this show, Greg and Ed discuss what Greg would do if he was the boss man in charge of Thailand, echoing a similar show with Ed’s plans earlier in the year. (Check out Season 7, Episode 54 if you are curious.) Greg begins with an interesting but ambitious plan to establish bike lanes underneath the elevated portion of the BTS and MRT. Ed immediately welcomes the idea, but both recognize what a massive undertaking it would be. Currently there are long walkways under certain portions of the BTS, but there are miles upon miles of essentially unused ‘space’ underneath other portions that...
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Saturday, Dec 6, 2025 at . Chec our for more details.
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On this episode - a classic ReCast from season 3! - Greg interviews Khun Saba, a disabled rights activist in Bangkok. It’s a topic near and dear to the Bangkok Podcast, because we want everyone to enjoy Bangkok, which is very hard to do if you don’t have full mobility. Khun Saba explains that he became aware of the difficulty of moving around Thai cities, especially Bangkok, after he became disabled, and notes that while physical and structural issues are important, the key issue is really awareness. Simply put, if people blindly accept all the problems with transportation in Bangkok, then...
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First off - if you’re in town, join our meetup: Saturday, December 6 at . Check our first before you come just to make sure there have been no last minute changes. In Part 2 of Greg and Ed’s interview with John Schachnovsky, the former head of the FBI in Thailand, the men continue discussing John’s varied responsibilities in the Land of Smiles, this time focusing on specific cases. John brings up the he played in the Asian Tsunami of 2004 and how the FBI used its technology to help identify myriad victims. John mentions that due to the close working relationship between the U.S. and...
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In part 1 of a two-part episode, Greg and Ed interview John Schachnovsky about his upcoming book “Beyond the Badge,” which recounts his experience as the head of the FBI in Thailand. John starts out explaining his early career with the FBI and his subsequent move to Bangkok. Greg and Ed ask about the exact role of the FBI oversees and John explains in detail. First, as a branch of the U.S. government, the FBI has no legal jurisdiction in Thailand and must work directly with the Thai government for everything they do. Second, the FBI’s role is entirely distinct from the CIA. The FBI does...
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Greg and Ed discuss an article on Ajarn.com by Dr. Jesse Sessions called “” which discusses some of the bigger problems currently facing Thailand and how they might impact the country’s prosperity, competitiveness and social longevity. The guys walk through the issues one by one and give their take on its significance, The first issue is border security. Ed points out that Thailand actually has major security issues on the Burmese, Malaysian, and Cambodian borders, something that is easy to forget from the security of Bangkok. In fact several of the later issues tie in to this problem,...
info_outlineWhile Greg is travelling in Canada, Ed interviews old friend of the podcast Jonathan about his recent trip to Europe. Jon and his Thai wife Poom spent a couple weeks on vacation, first in Paris and then in Poland. Jon begins talking about the multicultural nature of Paris, something he’s familiar with as a native New Yorker. He and his wife revelled in Paris’s famous street culture: streets are very walkable, cafes abound, and sights are aplenty. In fact, Jon’s only worry was being ID’d as an American, leading to a funny story about his and his wife attempting to look European. Listen in for the details. Ed asks about the safety of Paris, something it’s not known for, and Jon admitted to being apprehensive but admits that at least on this trip, they never felt uncomfortable.
On to Poland! Ed asks if there was an immediate difference between France and Poland, and Jon noted that both are very European and that he did not feel straight away as if he was in a different world. However, one difference was that Poland appeared to be less multicultural, causing he and his wife to be a little more self-conscious. But the Poles were friendly, and surprisingly, he and his wife found an excellent Thai restaurant in Krakow. Who would have guessed?
Jon reveals his true colors as a Bangkoker when he admits that after two weeks of the Old World, he was more than ready to return to the Big Mango.
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