Whenever I Come Back To Bangkok...

[Alpinist]

having lived or spent time in many of the cities listed above i can sure as hel_l say that i will pick Bangkok over pretty much all of them, except perhaps Seoul but thats a whole other story. I love just being able to walk out the door and feel the energy of the streets of Bangkok, vived smells of exotic and potentially disgusting and poisonous foods, viberant colours and smells of the flowers. Try living in the sterile and depressingly concrete coated Tokyo and good ole BKK will be refreshing as hel_l.

the only downside is you always come back from a walk with your clothes smelling like shit, but in Tokyo its those blinding headaches, so everyplace has it's ups and downs.

i guess i have lived in enough holes to not be bothered by a few potholes and an abandoned building here and there.

[Alwaysright]

Spend a week or so in Seoul, or Hong Kong, or Singapore, or Tokyo, or Macau and when you come back to Bangkok and get in a taxi to take the ride to Bangkok and the first thing you are hit with is all the sprawl, graffiti, and how ugly the city is overall. the unfinished ghost buildings. what the people on the street look like. the endless motorcycles. the powerlines hanging all over the place. the sidewalks all cut up and filled with puddles. roads that look like there was a war. crumbling over passes. the terrible infrastructure. homeless people. make shift squatter housing. granted, western cities tend to be just as bad, but man oh man, are there some really nice, clean, wonderful cities in Asia - and no, bangkok is not one of them.

....but its cheap, right?

Somehow I don't think you improve Bangkok.I am here because I like it,and I have the time and money to live anywhere in the world.

[bangon04]

Now I have to say ( I know nobody takes any notice of me ) The OP is not Thai bashing it is his opinion about BKK ( you all have ) I do agree with him BKK is dirty so do many other clients I had in my place

from all over the world. And I don't know why it is on the top ten in tourists attractions.

Bangkok, for example, is the world's leading destination for "Activity and Adventure Holidays for Retired Health and Safety Executives from the UK".

[dave9988]

look, for many of you older gentleman, there could be mortars going off and explosions hourly and as long as the young girls still smiled in your direction, all would be well. there is nothing wrong with that, but it does not change the fact you are in a state of delusion.

sorry maigo i did not realize you lived here. i guess i never see you talk about thailand. all your posts are in the vain of accusing every single OP of Thai bashing, even if Thai people are not mentioned in the OP.

OP: The infrastructure here is terrible

Maigo: You hate Thai people.

and you accuse me of being a troll?

[tartempion]

....but its cheap, right?

Dunno, all I see from Bangers is the ugly airport, only spend a few hours to take a domestic flight.

Don't understand why 10 million live there

[lazygourmet]

i am happy in bangkok for the most part, its just when you go to these other places that all its terrible flaws are pointed out. i can just imagine some expats taking their kids to hong kong and the kids asking "Daddy, why are there no homeless people?" or "Do you think we can have sidewalks one day in Thailand?"

In my opinion, I think they are more homeless people in Paris than in Bangkok.

[callum06]

i am happy in bangkok for the most part, its just when you go to these other places that all its terrible flaws are pointed out. i can just imagine some expats taking their kids to hong kong and the kids asking "Daddy, why are there no homeless people?" or "Do you think we can have sidewalks one day in Thailand?"

From that statement you don't know Hong Kong very well Of course each capital city is going to have their homeless people, open your eyes a bit more.

[track61]

Hmmm, I've lived in Thailand over 15 years now, 3 months of which was in BKK and I must agree it has some pretty awful aspects which is why I don't live there, but man, I do love to go there and have a bruski or twenty every now and then.

[Tinkelbell]

Spend a week or so in Seoul, or Hong Kong, or Singapore, or Tokyo, or Macau and when you come back to Bangkok and get in a taxi to take the ride to Bangkok and the first thing you are hit with is all the sprawl, graffiti, and how ugly the city is overall. the unfinished ghost buildings. what the people on the street look like. the endless motorcycles. the powerlines hanging all over the place. the sidewalks all cut up and filled with puddles. roads that look like there was a war. crumbling over passes. the terrible infrastructure. homeless people. make shift squatter housing. granted, western cities tend to be just as bad, but man oh man, are there some really nice, clean, wonderful cities in Asia - and no, bangkok is not one of them.

....but its cheap, right?

Totally agree with the OP from this Thai.

Had 3x accidents tipping my feet on an uneven pavements in BKK. Last time it was quite serious, had to request a wheelchair from the airliine for my flights all the way home to the US.

Intend to continue living in Florida as long as my financial and time allowed. Would go to LOS for visiting friends and relatives and enjoy foods and tropical fruits. Simple as that.

[dave9988]

i am happy in bangkok for the most part, its just when you go to these other places that all its terrible flaws are pointed out. i can just imagine some expats taking their kids to hong kong and the kids asking "Daddy, why are there no homeless people?" or "Do you think we can have sidewalks one day in Thailand?"

From that statement you don't know Hong Kong very well Of course each capital city is going to have their homeless people, open your eyes a bit more.

yes, just like every country has prostitution and corruption.... just not the way Thailand has it.

since there have been so many posts claiming that there is just as much homelessness in other cities, I will go ahead and assume that I am wrong in that regard. now what about all of the other issues I brought up, like having to look both ways before you exit a 7/11?

[Heng]

Bangkok works much better (so does Austin for that matter), when you live in a gated community. Even nicer when they are your own walls and gates.

Remember, life isn't a national or even city team sport. Just because your city or team wins or loses something: whether it's the Premiership, Superbowl, or 'best place to visit' tag in Conde Nast... you're not actually ON the team (and likely you're not even a shareholder), no matter how much you'd like to imagine that that is so.

Don't like the view? Get better paintings, plant more trees in your yard, or possibly buy more vacation homes.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Heng

[dave9988]

Remember, life isn't a national or even city team sport. Just because your city or team wins or loses something: whether it's the Premiership, Superbowl, or 'best place to visit' tag in Conde Nast... you're not actually ON the team (and likely you're not even a shareholder), no matter how much you'd like to imagine that that is so.

not sure what this is getting at, but i live on one of the more expensive streets in bangkok and everything i listed is the norm. options are to learn to live with it. you cant work harder and move to a better area, its the same everywhere. i always think, good thing i haven't met my parents in hong kong and taken them to bangkok next theyd be thinking "jeez, this place is a frigging dump".

[Maigo6]

Poor ole Dave.......

Edited January 15, 2009 by Maigo6

[geriatrickid]

I understand the OP's point, but then I detest BKK. That's why I do not live there. Sure you can get a nice luxury condo, and lots of cheap servants, even score a cute girl to soothe the urban stresses away, but sooner or later you have to venture out into the noisy, claustraphobic smog and deal with the chaos of BKK. It's a nice place to visit for a day or so as I often do to score some shopping and if you have hi-so friends, it works. However, I don't want to live behind a wall topped with jagged glass.

But then, I come from a city of 3million where trees line the streets and there are urban parks. However, that city's infrastructure is just as bad with exploding water mains, potholes that can easily give one a massive car repair bill and hordes of junkies that will gladly smash car windows if you park outside. The cops are not as visibly corrupt, but organized crime and drug pushers flourish with nary a police intervention. The local politicians are not as blatant as Bangkok's when it comes to corruption, but they have outdone Bangkok's when it came to kickbacks, ineptness and cushy deals for political cronies. My point? Yea, there's lots wrong with Bangkok, but my home city had it's own problems that were just as bad. Welcome to the big city.

This is why I stay in a small city where I can know my neighbours, have access to some greenspace and many of the benefits of a big city. If one doesn't like the city, don't go. Simple as that. Sooner or later, I'm going to end up in Issan where I think my heart belongs

[BugJackBaron]

Agree with the above.

Look carefully, you will see ALOT of homeless in Tokyo, visit the parks after dark or the tunnels under the streets. You will see them. At least in BKK it warm and the homeless are not freezing like in Tokyo.

HK? S'pore? Seoul?

The difference between them and BKK is that homelessness is "controlled" in these cities, their govts tries very hard to hide the fact. Probably illegal to be homeless in S'pore.

There are homeless in Singapore, and if you get away from the utopia of say Orchard Road, and explore some of the HDB areas, it ain't all sweet. Couldn't comment on Seoul, but I guess that it has similar areas.

Yes Seoul has homeless people but you don't see them since they all sleep in the extensive subways

I lived there for four years and for its size Seoul is probably the most boring city on Earth - and expensive; you want to pay a minimum of about 400 baht for a poorly done western breakfast?

[Maigo6]

, good thing i haven't met my parents in hong kong and taken them to bangkok next theyd be thinking "jeez, this place is a frigging dump".

Yeah, what a stroke of luck you never met your parents in Hong Kong and took them to Bangkok, maybe they would wonder why you CHOOSE to stay in Bangkok instead of Hong Kong.

Care to enlighten me also ?

[mrtoad]

look, for many of you older gentleman, there could be mortars going off and explosions hourly and as long as the young girls still smiled in your direction, all would be well. there is nothing wrong with that, but it does not change the fact you are in a state of delusion.

sorry maigo i did not realize you lived here. i guess i never see you talk about thailand. all your posts are in the vain of accusing every single OP of Thai bashing, even if Thai people are not mentioned in the OP.

OP: The infrastructure here is terrible

Maigo: You hate Thai people.

and you accuse me of being a troll?

The only person who is deluded sir, is yourself. Bangkok is no different to any major city in the world in a lot of respects. It certainly isn't a dump and it certainly isn't all beautiful.

As for your assumption that we are "older", and implication that we are here for the "girls" then you are even more up in the clouds than I first thought.

Dave, you have a choice don't you? If you really don't like Bangkok, why don't you move to one of the other cities that you have mentioned? If you can't afford it, then Jakarta or Manila could always be an option for you.

[elibangkok]

Obviously any of us who have lived or spent significant time in Bangkok can list a litany of things we would like to see improved upon. And yes, Tokyo/HK/Seoul as a whole are generally cleaner and better taken care of than BKK.

However, shouldn't the comparison be more towards cities in developing nations? In wikipedia's list of developing nations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_country

I don't believe there are cities in any of these nations where you can say the infrastructure, level of cleanliness and other issues the OP raised are clearly better than Bangkok. In fact, most are MUCH worse.

So in other words, the complaint is that Bangkok is not as developed as cities in nations which are further developed than Thailand. Duh.

[Maigo6]

These type of threads are curious really...

Farang come to a developing country and expects what exactly, the same infrastructure as Switzerland ?

Would you go to The Amazonian Rain Forrest to live with pygmies and complain that the men walk around near naked and they don't have a Pizza Hut nearby ?

If you want the same infrastructure and cleanliness as Switzerland, go to live in Geneva.

[dave9988]

, good thing i haven't met my parents in hong kong and taken them to bangkok next theyd be thinking "jeez, this place is a frigging dump".

Yeah, what a stroke of luck you never met your parents in Hong Kong and took them to Bangkok, maybe they would wonder why you CHOOSE to stay in Bangkok instead of Hong Kong.

Care to enlighten me also ?

i think i made it pretty clear, the price is right. bangkok is a dump, but its a cheap dump. hopefully, in a 5 or 6 years I can trade my suk 24 condo for an orchard road condo.

<snip>

Edited January 15, 2009 by Jai Dee
Flame deleted.

[GuestHouse]

These type of threads are curious really...

Maigo, your own response is even more curious.

Now I know you've got this 'Knight in white shining armor riding to the defense of Thailand thing going on' and I agree with many of your posts where you contradict petty complaints about Thailand, but come on Maigo, nothing the OP has said is an exaggeration, he's not 'adding' anything that is not true - Bangkok is a Dump.

[samuibeachcomber]

you cant expect to live in a 3rd world city and have 1st world infrastructure,its as simple as that.

[Maigo6]

These type of threads are curious really...

Maigo, your own response is even more curious.

Now I know you've got this 'Knight in white shining armor riding to the defense of Thailand thing going on' and I agree with many of your posts where you contradict petty complaints about Thailand, but come on Maigo, nothing the OP has said is an exaggeration, he's not 'adding' anything that is not true - Bangkok is a Dump.

Yes it is, by why CHOOSE to live there knowing that, then complain about what you already knew before you ever moved there ?

What surpirises me is, people choose to live in a dump, then whine about the fact they live in a dump.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Maigo6

[mrtoad]

i think i made it pretty clear, the price is right. bangkok is a dump, but its a cheap dump. hopefully, in a 5 or 6 years I can trade my suk 24 condo for an orchard road condo.

There's going to have to be a massive crash in the Singapore property market, and a major gain in the Bangkok market if you wan to trade one for the other.

[Maigo6]

, good thing i haven't met my parents in hong kong and taken them to bangkok next theyd be thinking "jeez, this place is a frigging dump".

Yeah, what a stroke of luck you never met your parents in Hong Kong and took them to Bangkok, maybe they would wonder why you CHOOSE to stay in Bangkok instead of Hong Kong.

Care to enlighten me also ?

hopefully, in a 5 or 6 years I can trade my suk 24 condo for an orchard road condo.

[mrtoad]

, good thing i haven't met my parents in hong kong and taken them to bangkok next theyd be thinking "jeez, this place is a frigging dump".

Yeah, what a stroke of luck you never met your parents in Hong Kong and took them to Bangkok, maybe they would wonder why you CHOOSE to stay in Bangkok instead of Hong Kong.

Care to enlighten me also ?

hopefully, in a 5 or 6 years I can trade my suk 24 condo for an orchard road condo.

It's a classic, considering he said that we are all deluded in an earlier post.

[dave9988]

i think i made it pretty clear, the price is right. bangkok is a dump, but its a cheap dump. hopefully, in a 5 or 6 years I can trade my suk 24 condo for an orchard road condo.

There's going to have to be a massive crash in the Singapore property market, and a major gain in the Bangkok market if you wan to trade one for the other.

wow... burn.

i meant, hopefully, i will earn enough to be able to trade my bangkok lifestyle for a nicer setting.

[Maigo6]

i meant, hopefully, i will earn enough to be able to trade my bangkok lifestyle for a nicer setting.

LOL...............

So you are saying you can't afford the lifestyle you want..... &lt;deleted&gt;, cry me a river.

[dave9988]

What surpirises me is, people choose to live in a dump, then whine about the fact they live in a dump.

i am not whining. i am simply making a personal reflection that upon returning to bangkok from another city, i find that bangkok is severely lacking in the basic areas which make a city attractive and enjoyable to live in.... but its cheap.

that is what it seems to come down to for those who live here, the price. which is fine. i just don't see the need to repeat some kind of mantra like "oh, all the motorcycle exhaust and pot holes add character to the city!".

[mrtoad]

Dave,

Here's alink about the property market in Singapore, particularly Orchard Road. I apologise that it was written in November 2007, but it will give you an idea of the costs of properties in that area. Seriously expensive, and whilst the last 10 months has seen a slow down on the prices it's still not cheap. Great location to live though.

http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/sp/property/8.pdf