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Sometimes You Just Feel Helpless in Thailand

Living in Bangkok is such a dichotomous existence. On one hand, your street smarts, social acumen, and moral judgement get tested and honed to such a razor's edge that any existence you had back home seems soft and closeted in comparison. But on the other hand, parts of your life become black holes as certain skills get pushed so far into the background that you wake up one day and realize that you don't know how to do simple tasks anymore. I was thinking of this the other day as I sat in the back of a taxi when the realization hit me: "I have no idea where I am."

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:10+00:00Language, Thailand|0 Comments

A Plastic Overload at 7-11

If you've ever walked by any abandoned lots in most any big city in the world, you know that plastic has a habit of piling up and causing all kinds of ugly problems. Well, it's no different in Thailand and the biggest and most visible kid on the block in terms of where all this plastic comes from is the ubiquitous 7-11. Indeed, it's one of the long-running jokes here that whenever you go into one to buy a few little things, you come out with two bags, four straws of varying sizes, a handful of little plastic spoons, a bunch of stickers and a receipt, all for something that you bought with pocket change. I thought, as a retailing behemoth, surely they're aware of just how much they're contributing - and more importantly for a big company, how much they could save - if they weren't handing out so much damn plastic. To find out, I called and called and called, and finally got through to their Corporate Communications Division.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:11+00:00Audio, Bangkok, Shopping, Thailand|0 Comments

Greg to Differ in Lonely Planet

When I first came to Thailand in 2001, Lonely Planet was the authority on travel. Their books dominated travel sections in book stores, their television shows were on my schedule every week, and their burgeoning Thorn Tree forum was the place to go for travel info. A lot has changed since then – both in the wide world as well as in the travel industry. The company was bought out by the BBC in 2007 and the internet and smartphones have revolutionized how info is digested by travelers, but LP is still […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:11+00:00Print Media, Thailand, Travel|3 Comments

Hey Thailand – Are You Ready for AEC? I Hope So

Unless you're tied into the Thailand business community, it's easy to not have heard about the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC. If you're not doing business here, it likely won't matter to you what it is, but if you are - or if you're interested in the shifting economic and social goings-on in Southeast Asia - you should definitely do a bit of reading on it. The only reason I know about it is because I work for a business magazine, and all indications are that if Thailand wants to stay competitive when the AEC goes into effect in 2015, it's got a lot of work to do.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:11+00:00Asia, Thailand, Transport|0 Comments

A Few Thoughts on Thai Healthcare

I've been away from Canada for so long now that I barely remember how the much-vaunted health care system works there anymore. Thankfully I've never needed a major operation, and any minor procedures I ever had done were just kind of...taken care of. Whenever I visited a doctor in Canada, I always trusted them 100%. Sure, you might get a second opinion, but you were always pretty sure that each doctor had your best interests in mind and that each one would narrow your ailment down to a fairly specific ballpark. But in Thailand, it sometimes takes a while to learn that things might not always be what they seem, and you have options as to the who, what, and where of your healthcare.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:12+00:00Bangkok, Health, Thailand|0 Comments

On Myth and Superstition in Thailand

If you've spent any amount of time in Thailand, you'll be familiar with the the fact that most Thais - young or old - put a whole lot of faith in superstition, myth, and legend. From ghosts to fortune tellers to old wives' tales of the tallest order, you will find that belief in these things is as ingrained in the culture as mango and sticky rice. Now, I'm of the mind that one should live and let live and mind your own business. If someone wants to make offerings of Snickers bars to the spirit inside their great-grandfather's favorite pencil, who am I to argue? But for those of us who tend to favor the side of hard evidence, it can be at times frustrating, amusing, and confusing. Obviously, superstition and myth aren't just specific to Thailand - every country has its rituals and beliefs - but in Asia it does seem to be less a personal belief as it is a cultural norm.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:12+00:00Asia, Culture, Education, Thailand|0 Comments

Losing the Christmas Spirit in Thailand

Christmas was always my favorite time of year in Canada for all the cheesiest and most clichéd reasons: walks in the snow, hot chocolate in front of roaring fireplaces, carols, time with family, and the general feeling of good cheer that goes along with the whole thing. Also, eggnog and free swag. But as I approach my tenth Christmas in Thailand, I have realized that – somewhat sadly, I admit – I have lost almost all of my emotional connections to this time of year. Now, instead of looking forward to the holiday season, all I do is join the growing chorus of groans when I start to see Christmas trees dotted throughout the city. Of course, whenever anyone says anything anti-Christmas, they’re labeled a Grinch or a Scrooge, but let me explain.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:13+00:00Asia, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Shopping, Thailand|0 Comments

Listening to the Universe When Travel Goes Bad

Recently, a friend of mine who was visiting for my (now postponed) wedding had his grand travel plans derailed in a rather spectacular way. B, as I will call him, had planned to stay for a month in Thailand, with a side trip to India. I’ll detail his travel derailment below, but it got me thinking – when you're traveling, is there a point where you get so much bad luck that you just give up and cancel? It’s a relevant question because travel is not, as the TV shows would have you believe, a seamless, stress-free experience. And as an expat in Bangkok you meet a lot of travelers – from first-timers to round-the-worlders to full-time travel experts. To get a bit of perspective, I asked B a bit about his attitude during the whole thing, as well as a few of my professional traveler friends to see what they had to say about how much fate dictates their next move and how they deal when they just can't seem to catch a break.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:13+00:00Culture, Health, Thailand, Travel|4 Comments

A Flood of Information in a Dry City

The flood crisis in Thailand is, as of right now (and probably for the next few weeks), still a big problem, but it’s a very strange big problem. If I wasn’t watching the news and monitoring the internet, I’d have no idea anything was amiss at all. Inner Bangkok remains dry, sunny, and business as usual (except now when I'm writing this, and it's raining). However, we are very, very lucky; many parts of Bangkok’s outer areas are disaster zones, with chest-deep water, abandoned homes, random electrocutions and hungry alligators swimming around. This afternoon I had a nice lunch at a Mexican restaurant with a friend, and 10km away thousands of people are sitting in their devastated homes wondering how – or if – they’ll ever get their lives back together.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:14+00:00Bangkok, Current Events, Thailand|0 Comments

Thailand Floods & Bangkok Waits

Just thought I should write another wee post about the flood waters that are currently surrounding Bangkok and threatening to march right through the city. I'd say the most common element that everyone shares right now is stress; mental fatigue. The whole city is on edge - you can feel it. I said to my friend it's kind of like Max Brooks' excellent book World War Z - an army of zombies is marching toward your city - some of them are already here - and all you can do is build walls and wait. I'm very lucky in that I live and work in inner Bangkok, so for me, it's business as usual. Indeed, if it wasn't all over the news and the shelves weren't cleared out, I'd have no idea anything was amiss. But you know what? Despite all this, you'll never find a more upbeat, smiling group of people in a crisis than Thais - generally speaking.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:15+00:00Bangkok, Current Events, Politics, Thailand|0 Comments