Bangkok’s Roads Are a Bloody Joke Now — Mates, It’s a Crime Scene Out There

[Lewie London]

Lads, can someone tell me when exactly Bangkok’s roads turned into a warzone? No, seriously, when did the streets go from smooth silk to pothole bingo? Used to be, ten years back, I’d take the harken Fireblade out late at night, Bangkok all lit up, cool breeze, empty streets, mate, it was high-speed poetry. Proper freedom. You could tear it up from World Trade to Bang Na, lean into the corners like Rossi, not a care in the world. Midnight Bangkok on two wheels? Pure bliss.

 

Now? All you got left is Rama 9 and Vibhivadee, barely. Otherwise, it's like riding through a scrapyard blindfolded. Every single road’s been dug up, patched, dug up again, patched again, repeat that about fifty times, but no one ever bothered to actually repave the thing. It’s just holes patched with more holes. You’re not riding anymore, you’re surviving. Suspension’s screaming, rims getting buckled, and don’t get me started on the manhole covers sitting two inches above the tarmac like they’re out here doing parkour.

 

I don’t know who’s running the show, BMA and city planning must’ve been handed over to someone’s cousin’s mate who’s never seen a road in his life. Used to be you could cruise at 3 AM, nothing but you, the hum of the engine, and the city lights stretching ahead like a runway. Now? Every hundred meters there’s a trench like they’re about to lay fiber optics straight to the center of the Earth.

 

What happened to the pride in the roads, eh? Thailand’s got some of the craziest bikers in the world as it is and now they’re stuck dodging potholes like playing hopscotch on acid. It’s embarrassing. The bikes deserve better, we deserve better. Bangkok used to be a nighttime playground for riders, now it’s a demolition derby for scooters with bald tires.

 

I swear, if I hit one more raised drain cover, I’m writing a strongly worded letter to someone’s mum. Sort it out, Bangkok.

[SAFETY FIRST]

35 minutes ago, Lewie London said:

What happened to the pride in the roads,

It's all the PRIDE marches, tearing the roads up. 

 

[HappyExpat57]

What I miss most about Bangkok - the portable table-top bars along Sukhumvit that appeared after sundown. I met some great temporary friends as the atmosphere was always pleasant. No pressure to "buy me a drink" though I was more than happy to accomodate any freelancer who caught my eye.

 

When they "cleaned up" Bangkok, they also eviscerated the very thing that made Bangkok stand apart from other large cities around the world.

[Tom100]

2 hours ago, Lewie London said:

when did the streets go from smooth silk to pothole bingo? 

Good question. I moved to from Asoke BKK to Chiang Mai in 2024 and have been happily surprised by roads in great condition everwhere I ride. Lots of repaving work going on too all around the old city. What is wrong in BKK? 

 

[thesetat]

Funny how they want to use Bangkok for F! racing haha.... 

16 minutes ago, Tom100 said:

Good question. I moved to from Asoke BKK to Chiang Mai in 2024 and have been happily surprised by roads in great condition everwhere I ride. Lots of repaving work going on too all around the old city. What is wrong in BKK? 

 

[fredwiggy]

Roads here have and will always be a problem because of the extreme weather, meaning rainy season mixed with oppressive heat.

 

I saw this decades ago in New Jersey, which goes from very hot to very cold, with salt added in icy conditions, along with frequent rain. Potholes there were known all over the US. The deal there is that the US has a good, on the ball road maintenance system. They were always repairing roads, and are still to this day, but they do get repaired fast.

 

Here they can repave the roads, which they do even if they don't need it, and a month later there are holes all over. Having a road crew that actually knows what they're doing is what matters, and to stop repaving roads that aren't in bad shape, and fix the ones that do, which are left sometimes for months with many holes.

[Jim Blue]

1 hour ago, HappyExpat57 said:

What I miss most about Bangkok - the portable table-top bars along Sukhumvit that appeared after sundown. I met some great temporary friends as the atmosphere was always pleasant. No pressure to "buy me a drink" though I was more than happy to accomodate any freelancer who caught my eye.

 

When they "cleaned up" Bangkok, they also eviscerated the very thing that made Bangkok stand apart from other large cities around the world.

Well perhaps some of the legal business owners who paid for their licences might disagree  but they did make for  a  fun atmosphere.

[Quentin Zen]

 

 

I don't feel anything.  What are you going on about mate?

[Ralf001]

1 hour ago, thesetat said:

Funny how they want to use Bangkok for F! racing haha.... 

Funny how that will never happen.

[at15]

Yeah i noticed the same in bangkok in my truck just bouncing around everywhere cant relax and cruise on smooth road. I will say the main routes in the north, central, and isan are really nice now. I remember 10 years ago it was just a worn out 2 lane road in a lot of parts. Now many sections have been widened to 4 lanes with smooth pavement.

[spidermike007]

4 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

What I miss most about Bangkok - the portable table-top bars along Sukhumvit that appeared after sundown. I met some great temporary friends as the atmosphere was always pleasant. No pressure to "buy me a drink" though I was more than happy to accomodate any freelancer who caught my eye.

 

When they "cleaned up" Bangkok, they also eviscerated the very thing that made Bangkok stand apart from other large cities around the world.

They did sanitize the city alot, and it did lose some character. I do miss all the funky bars of yesteryear. But, it's still a great city. The roads are a challenge. Rama II is the ugliest  abomination. A decade behind schedule? Heads should be rolling. 

[madone]

Your character is slipping, mate.

[madone]

4 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

 

 

When they "cleaned up" Bangkok, they also eviscerated the very thing that made Bangkok stand apart from other large cities around the world.

you mean a <deleted> ton of sukhumvit hookers?

The days of the plastic chairs have passed.

[Lacessit]

In Chiang Rai, they seem to be replacing a lot of bitumen road surface with concrete.

 

Perhaps it is more durable, whoever makes cement must be doing well.

 

My pet peeve is storm water grates on the road, designed to test shock absorbers at anything over 10 km/hr.

[ChaiyaTH]

5 hours ago, Tom100 said:

Good question. I moved to from Asoke BKK to Chiang Mai in 2024 and have been happily surprised by roads in great condition everwhere I ride. Lots of repaving work going on too all around the old city. What is wrong in BKK? 

 

You gotta be kidding yourself and everyone else, Chiang Mai is one big sht show since years. They still have not fixed the old city while causing a hassle since years. Fcked everyone their bikes, same on islands too by the way, all rental bikes that were brand new 2 years ago are now like 7 year olds.

[ChaiyaTH]

Bangkok is very big, maybe you should venture new areas to ride the bike there still is loads of roads left that are nice at night. Perhaps try like rama 3 area. But yeah the fun is just over as it is like a risk to really ride properly, never know where they now made a new hole or a launching pad etc etc.

[madone]

33 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Bangkok is very big, maybe you should venture new areas to ride the bike there still is loads of roads left that are nice at night. Perhaps try like rama 3 area. But yeah the fun is just over as it is like a risk to really ride properly, never know where they now made a new hole or a launching pad etc etc.

As someone who cycles (actual bicycle) at a high rate of speed on Rama 3 multiple times per week, I can say it is not a smooth road.

[samtam]

9 hours ago, Lewie London said:

Lads, can someone tell me when exactly Bangkok’s roads turned into a warzone? No, seriously, when did the streets go from smooth silk to pothole bingo? Used to be, ten years back, I’d take the harken Fireblade out late at night, Bangkok all lit up, cool breeze, empty streets, mate, it was high-speed poetry. Proper freedom. You could tear it up from World Trade to Bang Na, lean into the corners like Rossi, not a care in the world. Midnight Bangkok on two wheels? Pure bliss.

 

Now? All you got left is Rama 9 and Vibhivadee, barely. Otherwise, it's like riding through a scrapyard blindfolded. Every single road’s been dug up, patched, dug up again, patched again, repeat that about fifty times, but no one ever bothered to actually repave the thing. It’s just holes patched with more holes. You’re not riding anymore, you’re surviving. Suspension’s screaming, rims getting buckled, and don’t get me started on the manhole covers sitting two inches above the tarmac like they’re out here doing parkour.

 

I don’t know who’s running the show, BMA and city planning must’ve been handed over to someone’s cousin’s mate who’s never seen a road in his life. Used to be you could cruise at 3 AM, nothing but you, the hum of the engine, and the city lights stretching ahead like a runway. Now? Every hundred meters there’s a trench like they’re about to lay fiber optics straight to the center of the Earth.

 

What happened to the pride in the roads, eh? Thailand’s got some of the craziest bikers in the world as it is and now they’re stuck dodging potholes like playing hopscotch on acid. It’s embarrassing. The bikes deserve better, we deserve better. Bangkok used to be a nighttime playground for riders, now it’s a demolition derby for scooters with bald tires.

 

I swear, if I hit one more raised drain cover, I’m writing a strongly worded letter to someone’s mum. Sort it out, Bangkok.

 

Why not download the TraffyFondue app and report it (in ENG or THA) to BMA with narrative & pictures. They respond very quickly. Whether they do anything about it speedily is yet to be seen. I have used it recently for crapped up pavements, (made by BMA) during a questionable initiative to make them more user friendly, (which they are now obviously not), as the workmen assigned to the task dig it up, (often in the wrong places) and reinstate it with cement laid by a child, or a gaping hole, or a pile of concrete rubble are clearly not supervised, or following a plan, if ever there was one.

 

Once you download the app, it gives you this LINE and you add your name and complete your issue in the brown box at the extreme right.

[unblocktheplanet]

7 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Roads here have and will always be a problem because of the extreme weather, meaning rainy season mixed with oppressive heat.

 

I saw this decades ago in New Jersey, which goes from very hot to very cold, with salt added in icy conditions, along with frequent rain. Potholes there were known all over the US. The deal there is that the US has a good, on the ball road maintenance system. They were always repairing roads, and are still to this day, but they do get repaired fast.

 

Here they can repave the roads, which they do even if they don't need it, and a month later there are holes all over. Having a road crew that actually knows what they're doing is what matters, and to stop repaving roads that aren't in bad shape, and fix the ones that do, which are left sometimes for months with many holes.

There's another factor. Roadbeds in Jersey were built properly. Good bed of gravel. There's brown envelopes to be made repairing the roads over and over again. We've got a bridge project here on Udomsuk coming up eight years!

[fredwiggy]

1 minute ago, unblocktheplanet said:

There's another factor. Roadbeds in Jersey were built properly. Good bed of gravel. There's brown envelopes to be made repairing the roads over and over again. We've got a bridge project here on Udomsuk coming up eight years!

Yep, always an excuse for unnecessary work. I see roads here that are still bad, very close to roads they repair constantly. The main road to the nearest city from me was in very sad shape the first 3 years I lived here until they fixed it. I understand it was that way for years before also. 

[unblocktheplanet]

On 6/10/2025 at 1:35 PM, fredwiggy said:

Yep, always an excuse for unnecessary work. I see roads here that are still bad, very close to roads they repair constantly. The main road to the nearest city from me was in very sad shape the first 3 years I lived here until they fixed it. I understand it was that way for years before also. 

Probably already that way again! Time for some kickback to grease the wheels.

[dutch boy]

On 6/10/2025 at 7:02 AM, Quentin Zen said:

 

 

I don't feel anything.  What are you going on about mate?

So very true, motorbikes are a death trap no matter how good the roads are. 

[Gottfrid]

On 6/10/2025 at 3:16 AM, Lewie London said:

Lads, can someone tell me when exactly Bangkok’s roads turned into a warzone?

About the same time the first car arrived in Thailand.

[soi3eddie]

The OP @Lewie London is better off in Bangkok (as we all are). The roads in Bangkok are far superior to the potholed mess that is London streets. 20mph speed limits, canyon like potholes, speed cameras, traffic lights every 50 yards, bicycle lanes, speed bumps, turn restrictions, closed roads, low traffic neighbourhoods. Fines arrive frequently in the post for the slightest transgression. Take it from me, a motorcyclist in Bangkok (5+ months a year) and a private hire car driver in London (6+ months a year).  I'll take bangkok anyday over London for roads and traffic.