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What is a Digital Nomad? And Why Don’t I Want to be One?

Back before everyone had a supercomputer in their pocket, only a very few people were able to finance their travels by working from the road. This was usually done by writing, and meant long stretches of lonely research and a bag of handwritten notes you had to turn into a book. People like legendary travel writer Joe Cummings paint a colorful picture of what it was like (especially when he was a guest on the Bangkok Podcast), but things have changed so drastically that an entire new classification of travelers has arisen – the ‘location independent entrepreneur’ or digital nomad. […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:45+00:00Bangkok, Thailand|9 Comments

When NOT to Help the Needy in Bangkok?

In a previous post about beggars in Bangkok, I wrote about how not all of them are completely honest about their situation, and what a minefield it is trying to decide who is worthy and who’s just out to make a quick buck. I was reminded of this today when I was approached by a woman at a BTS station, and realized that it was the third time this same woman had asked me for money, using the same story, over three years. Maybe just a matter of me being in the right place, right time? […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:46+00:00Bangkok|0 Comments

Out With the Old, In With the New: Expat Turnover in Bangkok

After years of roaming around Bangkok and its surrounds, meeting people, and trying to familiarize myself with the vibe of the city, I’ve been very lucky to have built up a pretty good selection of solid, trustworthy friends. In a city full of some very eccentric and strange people, that’s no easy task. However, the other night at a very crowded event, it hit me that “my time” in Bangkok – that is, when I was at ‘peak social’ and knew a goodly chunk of the expat population by name – was over. At 39 and 13 years into my […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:46+00:00Bangkok, Culture|0 Comments

Dungeons & Dragons & Bangkok: An Alignment Cheat Sheet for the Whole City

Alert: This post is ultra-geeky. In my younger years, I used to play a bit of Dungeons & Dragons, the iconic role playing game with wizards and orcs and warriors and trolls and all that jazz. In the game, players can decide the ethical and moral makeup of their created characters, which guides their actions throughout the game. This is called a character alignment. These can be very good, very evil, or something in between. In fact, there are nine official alignments in the D&D universe, and I got to wondering – how would Bangkok’s disparate elements […]

Greg2021-10-11T09:30:42+00:00Bangkok, Culture, Pop Culture|9 Comments

‘Greg’s Bangkok’ – My Very Own Walking Tour App

Update: The app below is now discontinued, but my tours are now available via the VoiceMap app, for iPhone and Android. Check them out here.

Well, it’s taken the better part of 18 months, but the Bangkok walking tour app that I’ve helped put together is finally available for download! As of launch, there are 4 tours available that take you on foot through some of Bangkok’s most interesting areas, from a quick food walk through Chinatown to a half-day route that takes you clear across the city (don’t worry – part of it […]

Greg2016-11-21T04:28:35+00:00Bangkok, Tips on Visiting, Travel|12 Comments

Taxi + Bike Rack = Taxi-Bike Thailand. Finally.

UPDATE March 2016: Mr. Tao doesn’t seem to be answering his phone anymore. Boo.

If you’ve read G2D before, you might know that I often join a small but dedicated group of friends in exploring Bangkok and its surrounding area on bicycles. It’s a great way to see the city and get to areas that most foreigners – and a great many Thais – never get to see. The problem, of course, is that I don’t have a car, which means I not only have to ride to our destination, but also back home, which limits the distances […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:49+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Transport|0 Comments

Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River: The Dividing Line of Cool

Bangkok is a huge city, but most of its expat community is centered around a few notable areas – Sukhumvit, Silom, Sathorn, Ari, and a few other small burghs. It’s no coincidence that most of the hotels, restaurants, and nightlife is located here too. What some people overlook is that every single one of these areas is on the east side of the Chao Phraya River, which roughly bisects Bangkok – but what about the west side? […]

Greg2016-11-21T04:30:54+00:00Bangkok, Culture|6 Comments

Living Through a Coup in Thailand

As you’ve probably heard by now, Thailand is in the middle of its 12th coup since 1932 (not including seven attempted ones). After 6 months of increasingly turbulent and violent protests, General Prayuth Chan-ocha finally had enough and said “Yeah, I’m in charge now.” This is my second coup in Thailand, and while neither I – nor most people – can say with any certainty what comes next, I can say that living through the Thai coups so far has not been what an uninitiated westerner would imagine them to be. […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:50+00:00Bangkok, Current Events, Politics, Thailand|14 Comments

Blogging in Bangkok During a Crisis

Bangkok has an endless number of things to blog about, but there are times – like right now – when it becomes a bit of a chore. The ongoing, and seemingly unsolvable, political crisis is dominating everything from lunchtime conversations to the evening news, and it’s a serious problem with serious and long-term consequences. I previously wrote that the best way (for me) to deal with it was to simply stop caring about any of it. To stop worrying and fretting and getting worked up, because no matter how much I did, it would have zero […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:51+00:00Bangkok, Current Events, Politics|0 Comments

Bring the Car Around: Uber vs GrabTaxi in Bangkok

Taking a taxi in Bangkok is a crap shoot. While the current flag fall of 35 baht (about USD $1.10) is among the cheapest in the world (and long overdue for a raise IMHO – it’s been the same for years), the fleet that patrols Bangkok’s storied streets is…uneven, at best. Most guide books and travel websites have warnings about taxi scams, and the longer you live here the more likely you are to know someone who’s had an experience so bad they’ve sworn off taxis forever…but soon find themselves white-knuckled in the back seat again, because, well, […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:52+00:00Bangkok, Transport|22 Comments