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PICNICLY
Picnicly is a group composed of popular expats who teach foreign cultures to Thais, and share funny and inspiring how-tos on YouTube. “We started in early 2015 by testing different types of content,” shares Luke Cassady-Dorion, Picnicly’s American founder. “From our experience developing TV shows, we had a good idea of what would work, but we also had to try out a lot of different strategies for making videos really go viral.” A few strategies eventually worked because Pinicly’s videos , combined, now have approximately 14 million views and over 138,000 subscribers. “Growth has really taken off this year and we’re finding more and more brands that want to join our roster of publishing partners.”
Maki Kono, Loic Herel, Josh Hyland and Mina Maedjong round up the Picnicly cast. Coming from different corners of the planet, the five work together to give locals—and even some expats—a chance to see Bangkok from a different perspective.
Why did you decide to settle down here?
Luke: It just sort of happened. One year led to two, then three and four, and, all of a sudden, I realized this was home.
Maki: Because it’s the best city in the world.
Loic: I came here to study. Soon, I felt I already had everything in Bangkok. I didn't want to start building my life all over again elsewhere.
Where did you learn Thai?
Loic: All the lecturers at my university, the Institute of International Studies (IIS-RU) at Ramkhamhaeng, spoke English, but I had a lot of friends who couldn’t speak English. So, they had to speak Thai to me. That’s how I learned Thai faster.
Luke: During my first year in Thailand, I just studied at schools for foreigners. Why I could master Thai language in such a short time? I’m kinda obsessive when I want to do something. Then I became the only Westerner to have ever graduated the Bachelor degree in Thai language in the 40 years they’ve offered it.
Josh: I got a scholarship to study Business at Mahidol University, and a compulsory three-month Thai class was part of it.
What do you like most about living here?
Luke: I like the life that I’ve built for myself here. I love teaching yoga. I love my dedicated students. And I love that I’ve fallen in love and have an amazing husband who works with me every day at the Picnicly office.
Maki: The kindness of Thai people. I saw a turtle on the road yesterday and the guy in the car in front of me pulled over just to take it off the road.
Loic: It’s a very big city and you have almost everything here, plus the cheap cost of living.
What do you dislike most about living here?
Luke: The weather could be a bit cooler.
Maki: The traffic.
Loic: I hate the hot weather. I’m someone who sweats easily. When it’s too hot, I sweat like
a fountain.
What’s your favorite Thai dish?
Luke: Vegetables. Lots and lots of vegetables.
All kinds, cooked all ways. Thailand is a haven for vegetarians. I love going upcountry and picking wild vegetables and cooking them right away.
Maki: Kanom jeen nam ya kati [rice noodle with fish curry].
Loic: Larb moo and tom kha [spicy mince pork salad and spicy coconut soup].
Mina: Isan food, particularly larb moo.
Josh: Yum som-o [Thai-style pomelo salad].
And your least favorite?
Luke: The only thing I can’t handle is tom luad moo, that soup with giant chunks of blood in it.
Maki: Fried insects.
Loic: I like eating kaeng som [spicy sour soup] but once they put kapi [shrimp paste] in it, I just throw it away. I hate kapi! I can smell it from ten miles away.
Mina: Kai khao (eggs with an undeveloped embryo)
Josh: Shark fin soup
What has been your worst experience of culture shock in Thailand?
Luke: This whole poo yai [seniority system] thing took me a while to understand. I respect someone for his or her abilities and not automatically respect someone just because he’s older than me.
Maki: Discovering that ant eggs are edible but I still ate them.
Loic: The Thai belief about ghost and spirits.
It’s something I can understand, but hearing some strange noise doesn’t mean you’re going to get killed in your sleep.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in Thailand?
Maki: I drove all the way from Bangkok to the market near the Thai-Cambodian border alone. On the way back, I let the strangers into my car and gave them a free ride to Khao San Road.
Loic: I decided to walk home from a pub one night and it was a loooong way. I got bitten by
a dog and arrived home at six in the morning.
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