Whenever I Come Back To Bangkok...

[teacup]

It really depends on the individual’s trade off and his/her own threshold point.

[Maigo6]

Dave , why don't you live in Geneva, Monte Carlo, Annecy, St Tropez, Beverly Hills, 5th Avenue NYC, Pall Mall London ?

Cos you can't afford to, that's why.

<deleted>, I want a Bentley Continental GT, but I have to make do with a poxy Fortuner, why ?

Cos I cam't afford the Bentley, that's why !

But I am not gonna compare one against the other as it's totally pointless as there is no comparison, rich people have Bentley Continental GT's, 99.9999999999% of the rest of the human race don't, simple as that.

Dave are you 12 years old ?

Edited January 15, 2009 by Maigo6

[submaniac]

Yeah, Bangkok is a dump...but there's no where else I'd rather be. The chaos and mess is the FUN part. And I still feel safer in the dump walking in the wee hours of the morning than in certain parts of Los Angeles. BKK may be a dump, but it's a fairly safe dump.

[Heng]

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".

What I'm getting at is that perhaps you're not making the best of the options you have to make life great. True, if it's important that clear sidewalks and pothole-less roads (or whatever) are key ingredients to what formulates happiness for you, it's probably best to avoid a good majority of Bangkok roads and streets. I like Bangkok because unlike Austin (my other home town), I can customize my own personal space to my own specifications most importantly readily adding to it, nearly anywhere in the country... not only Bangkok, BECAUSE I choose Bangkok as my home base. I dare say my personal space in Austin is the way I like it because I have Bangkok as my home as well. People complain about the air, the litter, the traffic, but these are all things you can enjoy at a much higher quality if you simply control the specifications of your own personal space.

My other home town regularly wins best place to live type accolades every few years, but for myself, it's only the best place to love for a month out of the year. I much prefer Bangkok for the other 11 months (not including trips to wherever in between) because of what the city enables me to do with my life.

It's like threads like these are kind of like therapeutic outlets for something, as are many threads on TV actually. Not saying that's the case for you, but that's what it seems like to me. It's like many people feel they need company in thinking that certain aspects of Thailand are not only not for themselves, but they are not for "YOU" too!

[dave9988]

Dave , why don't you live in Geneva, Monte Carlo, Annecy, St Tropez, Beverly Hills, 5th Avenue NYC, Pall Mall London ?

Cos you can't afford to, that's why.

<deleted>, I want a Bentley Continental GT, but I have to make do with a poxy Fortuner, why ?

Cos I cam't afford the Bentley, that's why !

But I am not gonna compare one against the other as it's totally pointless as there is no comparison, rich people have Bentley Continental GT's, 99.9999999999% of the rest of the human race don't, simple as that.

Dave are you 12 years old ?

I don't feel that these other cities are that much more expensive than Bangkok (as to your comparison of a Bentley to a Fortuner). Real Estate, yes, but in that case, once you own it, it is an investment that appreciates. So, if the cost of living to you living on Singapore's Orchard Road is $6k USD a month (not counting real estate), and the same life style costs you $3K USD in Bangkok, that is not that big of a difference. I think a better analogy would be a BMW to a Honda Civic.

[bkkjames]

Dave , why don't you live in Geneva, Monte Carlo, Annecy, St Tropez, Beverly Hills, 5th Avenue NYC, Pall Mall London ?

Cos you can't afford to, that's why.

<deleted>, I want a Bentley Continental GT, but I have to make do with a poxy Fortuner, why ?

Cos I cam't afford the Bentley, that's why !

But I am not gonna compare one against the other as it's totally pointless as there is no comparison, rich people have Bentley Continental GT's, 99.9999999999% of the rest of the human race don't, simple as that.

Dave are you 12 years old ?

I don't feel that these other cities are that much more expensive than Bangkok (as to your comparison of a Bentley to a Fortuner). Real Estate, yes, but in that case, once you own it, it is an investment that appreciates. So, if the cost of living to you living on Singapore's Orchard Road is $6k USD a month (not counting real estate), and the same life style costs you $3K USD in Bangkok, that is not that big of a difference. I think a better analogy would be a BMW to a Honda Civic.

Not counting real estate? that's the biggest difference in cost between the two places. Anyways mate, sell your 3 bedroom unit at Pres Park and move into a one bedroom studio next to gelang and right back to us how wonderful life is, actually I don't really care.

[dave9988]

It's like threads like these are kind of like therapeutic outlets for something, as are many threads on TV actually. Not saying that's the case for you, but that's what it seems like to me. It's like many people feel they need company in thinking that certain aspects of Thailand are not only not for themselves, but they are not for "YOU" too!

True.

I do admit that I am somewhat envious, and perhaps bitter towards those who have lower standards/are more easily satisfied than myself.

[dave9988]

Not counting real estate? that's the biggest difference in cost between the two places.

Yeah, but if you can afford to buy what does it matter either way, its an appreciating asset.

[mrtoad]

I don't feel that these other cities are that much more expensive than Bangkok (as to your comparison of a Bentley to a Fortuner). Real Estate, yes, but in that case, once you own it, it is an investment that appreciates. So, if the cost of living to you living on Singapore's Orchard Road is $6k USD a month (not counting real estate), and the same life style costs you $3K USD in Bangkok, that is not that big of a difference. I think a better analogy would be a BMW to a Honda Civic.

Do you know the price of cars in Singapore? Ouch!!!

[bkkjames]

Not counting real estate? that's the biggest difference in cost between the two places.

Yeah, but if you can afford to buy what does it matter either way, its an appreciating asset.

tell that to the people in the UK.

[Heng]

It's like threads like these are kind of like therapeutic outlets for something, as are many threads on TV actually. Not saying that's the case for you, but that's what it seems like to me. It's like many people feel they need company in thinking that certain aspects of Thailand are not only not for themselves, but they are not for "YOU" too!

True.

I do admit that I am somewhat envious, and perhaps bitter towards those who have lower standards/are more easily satisfied than myself.

Well, at least you're one step ahead of those who are bitter and envious towards those who have higher standards and are more difficult to please. That's a difficult pill for many to take as you can't just complain/whinge away the gap.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Heng

[freitag1]

One of the reasons why I like Bangkok is how ghetto it looks. Ghost buildings are beautiful. Other clean / organized places like Singapore are boring.

[OxfordWill]

we all know bangkok is a dump, nothing the op says is factually incorrect (ok, most of it isnt..) but being a dump doesnt mean we cant love it.

[dave9988]

Not counting real estate? that's the biggest difference in cost between the two places.

Yeah, but if you can afford to buy what does it matter either way, its an appreciating asset.

tell that to the people in the UK.

yeah and the people who owned gold or oil or an index fund. long term, its an appreciating investment just like everything else. isolating a few years is just silly. you can look at it as losing 40% in a year or having gained 20% over 5 years (or whatever).

[MJo]

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!".

I have exact opposite feeling when arriving Bangkok. So nice to be back where everything works, streets are good and easy to go around the town. Can even take sky train if in a hurry.

Then again i spend too much time in Jakarta and Manila

[bkkjames]

Not counting real estate? that's the biggest difference in cost between the two places.

Yeah, but if you can afford to buy what does it matter either way, its an appreciating asset.

tell that to the people in the UK.

yeah and the people who owned gold or oil or an index fund. long term, its an appreciating investment just like everything else. isolating a few years is just silly. you can look at it as losing 40% in a year or having gained 20% over 5 years (or whatever).

So in the end Dave, you come on here to moan that bkk is a dump and you would rather be in SG or HK. Ok we get, now what are you prepared to do about it?

Or is there anything else you feel the need to gripe about?

[dave9988]

So in the end Dave, you come on here to moan that bkk is a dump and you would rather be in SG or HK. Ok we get, now what are you prepared to do about it?

Or is there anything else you feel the need to gripe about?

Its a two sided coin. Perhaps, those who do not have the means to live elsewhere now, or later, have just as much motivation to justify the pollution and rubble and lack of infrastructure as necessary evils. Perhaps these things bother you as well, thus you are filled with such venom and anger whenever they are brought up?

[bkkjames]

So in the end Dave, you come on here to moan that bkk is a dump and you would rather be in SG or HK. Ok we get, now what are you prepared to do about it?

Or is there anything else you feel the need to gripe about?

Its a two sided coin. Perhaps, those who do not have the means to live elsewhere now, or later, have just as much motivation to justify the pollution and rubble and lack of infrastructure as necessary evils. Perhaps these things bother you as well, thus you are filled with such venom and anger whenever they are brought up?

no Dave ( i feel like I am in the movie 2001 space odyssey), potholes and traffic are part and parcel of living here I am afraid. However, instead of getting all depressed about how things could be - I accept them for what they are. Yes, the grass is sometimes greener on the other side of the fence but even this grass still requires watering.

[think_too_mut]

So in the end Dave, you come on here to moan that bkk is a dump and you would rather be in SG or HK. Ok we get, now what are you prepared to do about it?

Or is there anything else you feel the need to gripe about?

Its a two sided coin. Perhaps, those who do not have the means to live elsewhere now, or later, have just as much motivation to justify the pollution and rubble and lack of infrastructure as necessary evils. Perhaps these things bother you as well, thus you are filled with such venom and anger whenever they are brought up?

How the saying goes.."happy as a pig in shit". Try to explain it that there are better places, it would not listen.

I could "do something about it". Moved my family from Thailand to the forefront of the 1st world - Japan.

They will be going back to Thai 10 months after living in Japan...

What will welcome them?

Surly half efficient immigration officers...30 mins waiting on conveyer belt to get bags...

I wonder how quickly, probably within seconds, they will realize that taxi drivers not only don't wear tip-top uniforms (with caps) and white gloves...they are not even taxi drivers but farmers doing part time jobs between rice planting and harvesting.

Quality and condition of cars used for taxis, taxi drivers road raging and racing...

Those will be the first impressions. Then it starts left, right and center...

[Birdman]

It is not boring like KL, not faceless like Jakarta, not expansive like HK, not dangerous like Manila, not regulated like Singapore, not dirty like Calcutta...

But I always wonder, if you can choose, why stay in a big city, if there are much nicer places around?

[dotcom]

I like my home town just as it is. Warts & all.

Singapore? Police state.

[jtp]

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.

Thank God,my life expectancy just went up(Personal joke)...But i do find BKK a little on the fast side of life,coming from a small town in Queensland and an even smaller town in Sawan.I could not live my life in BKK,just too overwhelming.But it does have it's upsides,good Thai language classes,English cinemas,great food and so on...And if you compare it with Singapore or Hong Kong,then you also have to compare the cost of living,it is only fair.

[jtp]

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.

To right!! And a marked improvement in the umm..."Friendliness" of the opposite sex....

[sorensen]

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.

Try not to walk and thew thewing gum at the same time, it might make your life safer!

[Huey]

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?

Gehtto, your kidding me. Are you from a ghetto? Did you ever live in a Ghetto? I did, grew up in West Philly. Thats a Ghetto. Even though I'm from there I actually feel 10 times safer walking ANYWHERE in BKK then I do most places there at night. Now thats not to say thats the worse place in the world, no way by far. Go to Cambodia and you see people that would KILL to live in the crack infested ghetto I came up in.

But Bangkok, Ghetto? You lost your mind and you don't appreciate what you have here. Your better off getting out now before your ungreatfullness and discontent rubs off on your kids.

[dotcom]

...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.

Little geography lesson here. You are not in Chicago (home of Obamanation) or Detroit where all of the above apply but Bangkok Pearl of the Orient.

Enjoy or head back to whatever rat infested slum you came from.

[bkkdawg]

, 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.

I'm sure that this guy has been living on Ko san road the whole time he's been here! Bangkok is actually a very nice place when you get out into the suburbs. I live in Lad Prao, lovely area.

Sure, move to Tokyo, Seoul, or Singapore but you'll need 8 times the money you need to live here....

[kev007]

I guess one thing that frustrates me is that as a westerner living in Bangkok the ease in which Bangkok can be beautified(improved) is so minimal.

From a western and Thai point of view (I would think) foot paths or sidewalks need minimal repair at times though unfortunately due to the lack of resources ( or care or priority not sure which one) slowly disintegrate into a major job that never get fixed.

Further more would love to figure out (though I dont speak a lot of Thai) how to get these things done properly the first time instead of having to revisit them 12 months later to do the same thing.

Dont want to fix the country just the footpaths

Cheers

Kev

[Birdman]

The biggest drawbacks of life in BKK are the lack of natural relaxation places, the traffic and noise and the ever present extreme heat (except at the moment)

[Heng]

More museums and parks as well (Suan Luang R9 is huge but it should have a play area and perhaps a third or quarter scale locomotive). Also, I'd like more malls/shopping centers with monorail systems built in.