A Million Hours Lost A Day?

[Bangkok Barry]

I was sitting in a taxi stopped on the so-called expressway near Bang Na recently, and while stuck there it occured to me that up to a million hours are being lost to traffic jams in Bangkok each day.

I'm basing that on the supposed population of 10 million (I know the official figure is 5-6 million). Assuming one in 10 people travel each day, there's a good chance they are stuck in traffic for 30 minutes each way. That's one million hours lost each day. Staggering, isn't it.

Meanwhile, absolutely nothing is being done to limit the number of vehicles in the city, and almost no alternative means of travel is provided and very little even planned for a city this size. All that is done is that roads are built over the top of other roads, but of course they still have to filter down to the streets eventually (hence the constant lines waiting to get off the expressway to Rama 4 and other places).

But what can you expect in a city that builds the Impact Arena, a place which I believe holds 10,000, and all the other exhibition halls built there or which are being built - with absolutely no public transport except a local bus service. I was there with some overseas visitors during the tennis, and they couldn't believe such a thing was possible, especially at what is a recently built development.

And Bangkok wanted to stage the Olympics!

[The Skipper]

....and half of them popping a zit in the rear view mirror.

That's one half million pimples lost each day. Staggering, isn't it.