Best City Third Time Running: Bangkok

[webfact]

BANGKOK
Best city third time running
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok managed to defend its title as "Best City" according to votes by readers of the US "Travel and Leisure" magazine this year, making it the title champion for three consecutive years, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) deputy clerk Manit Techaapichok said Monday.

The BMA would keep improving and conserving tourist attractions in 50 districts while also adding highlights for each area in a bid to increase the nights that tourists stay in Bangkok to two, compared to the current rate of one night, before the tourists go elsewhere.

Manit said the BMA had also launched a "24-hour Rattanakosin" scheme to invite the public and private sector, business operators, educational institutions and people to host activities and develop attractions around Rattanakosin Island that people can visit in a day and night such as the National Museum, National Theatre, Wat Suthatthep Woraram, Wat Ratchanadda and Khao San Rd.


-- The Nation 2013-03-18

[HeavyDrinker]

And so it should be. I especially like the idea of 24 hour Khao San....

[Payboy]

Here's hoping that one day those readers of the US "Travel and Leisure" magazine will visit Bangkok - Taiwan.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Payboy

[lannacountryboy]

Kudos to the Governor, MR Sukhunbhand Paribatra for doing a thankless fine job.

[kirk0233]

So, Bangkok is the best city for what? Or should I not ask?

[khunken]

So, Bangkok is the best city for what? Or should I not ask?

Best city to sit on your arse and view in a travel magazine.

Edited March 18, 2013 by khunken

[louse1953]

What a joke.

[apetley]

So, Bangkok is the best city for what? Or should I not ask?

Well the report says that most tourists are there for one night before they move on elsewhere so I guess it's 'Bangkok, best overnight transit city'.

[redness23]

I don't understand why farang's live in Thailand when they seem to abuse it, put it down, sarcastically comment on just about every part of society and how the country is run. If it is so bad why don't people head back to their own country. See a lot of this crap on here with people putting the place down. Sure it is not perfect but a lot of people don't give anything or anyone much a chance here and only assume that it has to be dodgy, something under the covers, a bribe, a lie - basically saying that everyone and everything in this country cannot be trusted. I don't know where these people hang out, but along with the bad there are a lot of good things and people in this country that earn a lot of respect from me. Sad people seem to think this country is so crap and yet you stay in it and keep ranting on.

So how about all you negative sour people try saying something positive for once on this forum - eg. Good work Bangkok for being number 3. Otherwise don't bother venting your negativity.

[tigermonkey]

I don't understand why farang's live in Thailand when they seem to abuse it, put it down, sarcastically comment on just about every part of society and how the country is run. If it is so bad why don't people head back to their own country. See a lot of this crap on here with people putting the place down. Sure it is not perfect but a lot of people don't give anything or anyone much a chance here and only assume that it has to be dodgy, something under the covers, a bribe, a lie - basically saying that everyone and everything in this country cannot be trusted. I don't know where these people hang out, but along with the bad there are a lot of good things and people in this country that earn a lot of respect from me. Sad people seem to think this country is so crap and yet you stay in it and keep ranting on.

So how about all you negative sour people try saying something positive for once on this forum - eg. Good work Bangkok for being number 3. Otherwise don't bother venting your negativity.

"Good work Bangkok for being number 3" -- Bangkok was number 1

[bkk_mike]

Actually - it is there, on their website... (2012 - best city is Bangkok, Florence is second, and Istanbul is third).

New York makes it in at 7th (top US city), but London doesn't even make it into the top 10 for Europe, so I'm not sure of how the voting works...

Also, Siem Reap outscored Shanghai, Tokyo and Singapore - so I really wonder how the rankings work...

Edited March 18, 2013 by bkk_mike

[clockman]

T.A.T. Sponsured!

[gamini]

I love Bangkok and it is certainly my favorite city and I traveled extensively over the past 60 years. Where can you get a 4 star Hotel for $50 with fabulous service? It is a gourmets delight. Fantastic shopping and nightlife I can find better Italian food there than I can in Italy at half the price. Khaosan Road is unique. The people are friendly and I feel safer there than most big cities. I can not understand why people on this forum "run" down Thailand so much. The reason I live her is because I love the Thai people. I have wonderful Thai friends who always help me if I have any problems.

[OliverPludra]

Right, Bangkok is awesome and if you don't like it, just leave it

[rgs2001uk]

I don't understand why farang's live in Thailand when they seem to abuse it, put it down, sarcastically comment on just about every part of society and how the country is run. If it is so bad why don't people head back to their own country. See a lot of this crap on here with people putting the place down. Sure it is not perfect but a lot of people don't give anything or anyone much a chance here and only assume that it has to be dodgy, something under the covers, a bribe, a lie - basically saying that everyone and everything in this country cannot be trusted. I don't know where these people hang out, but along with the bad there are a lot of good things and people in this country that earn a lot of respect from me. Sad people seem to think this country is so crap and yet you stay in it and keep ranting on.

So how about all you negative sour people try saying something positive for once on this forum - eg. Good work Bangkok for being number 3. Otherwise don't bother venting your negativity.

Maybe if you had ever visited Bkk you would understand.

Adjectives such as, dirty, noisy, smelly, stinking, over crowded, polluted, gridlocked traffic spring to mind.

Travel tip, if you want to see all the above, take a visit to Bang Kapi market.

[redness23]

"Maybe if you had ever visited Bkk you would understand."

Such a stupid thing to say mate!!!

I have done a heap of travelling myself and I always like coming back to BKK which I call home!!! Yes it is all of what you say, but it has character, it has one extreme to the other. It certainly isn't a city for everyone....I remember talking to a husband and wife, and she hated it and he loved it..not for the women on his account but for colorful society that it is.

If you live here and you think this way, then you must feel like you are in a prison if you cannot go back home....what a horrible feeling being trapped in a dirty, noisy, smelly, stinking, over crowded, polluted, gridlocked traffic city. Given, you could be somewhere else in Thailand and as a result not be part of it all which is fair enough. I am also sure you wouldn't constantly bag everything about the country yourself if you are living outside of the city. You wouldn't be one of those people.

I come from Melbourne and it always rates right up there as the most livable city in the world. I stayed in Paris for a while also which is a gorgeous city. But Bangkok has excitement. 24/7 you can do whatever you like. That is a good start to making it something a little more interesting than many other places. It has a buzz of a large city, a good vibe and is chaotic. There is something always going on. Go to Melbourne and you have to count down the days of the week when things are happening. I love my home at the same time. Just a little boring back there.

As I said, it is not for everyone, however, I just don't see how people come here to live and constantly criticize everything about the place. There must be some pretty horrendous reasons for people not returning to their own countries if they think everything is so terrible.

And the jokes about the T.A.T. and all the same repetitive crap that people say about corruption, and paying off people, and this and that which they relate to just about every single story which is posted on this forum really is old. Not sure if it is a shot of humor but it is pretty lame.

Anyway, great to see some others on this thread respond in an optimistic way. Can see the people enjoying their lives and the difference between the people with the mentality of "a glass half full" and the ones who have finished their glass and have nothing left to fill it up with.

[rgs2001uk]

"Maybe if you had ever visited Bkk you would understand."

Such a stupid thing to say mate!!!

I have done a heap of travelling myself and I always like coming back to BKK which I call home!!! Yes it is all of what you say, but it has character, it has one extreme to the other. It certainly isn't a city for everyone....I remember talking to a husband and wife, and she hated it and he loved it..not for the women on his account but for colorful society that it is.

If you live here and you think this way, then you must feel like you are in a prison if you cannot go back home....what a horrible feeling being trapped in a dirty, noisy, smelly, stinking, over crowded, polluted, gridlocked traffic city. Given, you could be somewhere else in Thailand and as a result not be part of it all which is fair enough. I am also sure you wouldn't constantly bag everything about the country yourself if you are living outside of the city. You wouldn't be one of those people.

I was merely describing the city from the perspective of one who lives in it, my perspective probably differs from a tourists.

Take the same tourists out of the farang tourist spots to some other parts of the city, Sam Rong, Prasamut Chedi, Prapadaeng all spring to mind, then ask them what they think.

No prison for me, can check out any time I choose, the wifes from Bkk and has business here thats what keeps us here for the moment.

We are both looking to the future and it wont be Bkk, if its in Thailand it will be in Chanthaburi.

I come from Melbourne and it always rates right up there as the most livable city in the world. I stayed in Paris for a while also which is a gorgeous city. But Bangkok has excitement. 24/7 you can do whatever you like. That is a good start to making it something a little more interesting than many other places. It has a buzz of a large city, a good vibe and is chaotic. There is something always going on. Go to Melbourne and you have to count down the days of the week when things are happening. I love my home at the same time. Just a little boring back there.

Personally I would rather live in Perth or Adelaide than Melbourne, could never see the attraction of the place.

As I said, it is not for everyone, however, I just don't see how people come here to live and constantly criticize everything about the place. There must be some pretty horrendous reasons for people not returning to their own countries if they think everything is so terrible.

And the jokes about the T.A.T. and all the same repetitive crap that people say about corruption, and paying off people, and this and that which they relate to just about every single story which is posted on this forum really is old. Not sure if it is a shot of humor but it is pretty lame.

You want to hear what my mrs and other Thais around me have to say about the place.

Anyway, great to see some others on this thread respond in an optimistic way. Can see the people enjoying their lives and the difference between the people with the mentality of "a glass half full" and the ones who have finished their glass and have nothing left to fill it up with.

[redness23]

Yea I hear you. I also live here and have for a couple of years now. So still rather new but have also been coming several times a year before that for a long time. You mention taking the tourist out and letting them see Sam Rong etc etc...absolutely. Pretty hard going. However the diversity of the city is what makes it. From the top to the bottom.

Your wife and your friends are entitled to think how you do and they are no doubt correct with everything. I also have many friends here from many different classes and the complaining and bitching about everything is something which is very rarely brought up. In fact it is great you can pay some extra cash to someone if you get in - perhaps - a little bit of an unfortunate circumstance. You live your life here and are free and not dictated by the laws and restrictions which our Western governments place on us. I could bitch all day about home...In the end we are all entitled to our opinions and I would think most of us who read this forum aren't oblivious to how matters are run in this country. It works for good and bad. It is just tiring reading constant crap over and over again about how pathetic this country is from people who live here.

OH!!!! And I am surprised you didn't say Sydney...

[rgs2001uk]

OH!!!! And I am surprised you didn't say Sydney...

Probably the most over rated city in the world, IMHO of course.

[redness23]

Definitely!

[Jimbob1]

Yea I hear you. I also live here and have for a couple of years now. So still rather new but have also been coming several times a year before that for a long time. You mention taking the tourist out and letting them see Sam Rong etc etc...absolutely. Pretty hard going. However the diversity of the city is what makes it. From the top to the bottom.

Your wife and your friends are entitled to think how you do and they are no doubt correct with everything. I also have many friends here from many different classes and the complaining and bitching about everything is something which is very rarely brought up. In fact it is great you can pay some extra cash to someone if you get in - perhaps - a little bit of an unfortunate circumstance. You live your life here and are free and not dictated by the laws and restrictions which our Western governments place on us. I could bitch all day about home...In the end we are all entitled to our opinions and I would think most of us who read this forum aren't oblivious to how matters are run in this country. It works for good and bad. It is just tiring reading constant crap over and over again about how pathetic this country is from people who live here.

OH!!!! And I am surprised you didn't say Sydney...

So you support corruption and have a "Class" system in your social life ... along with rejecting Western Law ...you like to bend it to suite yourself... You really are the problem falang living in this country ...

Edited March 18, 2013 by metisdead
: 30) Do not modify someone else's post in your quoted reply, either with font or color changes, added emoticons, or altered wording.

[dukeandduke]

OH!!!! And I am surprised you didn't say Sydney...

Probably the most over rated city in the world, IMHO of course.

I'd say that it's the most overpriced city. Maybe that's a cousin of that "honour."

[wellred]

I love Bangkok. I always start and end my holidays in Bangkok and each time im more sadder than before when its time to leave. Don't know why so many people knock it so much tbh.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[curlywatt]

big thumbs up from me, i love bangkok, its a city of life and soul, talking to other people here in ireland probably 80% hate bkk and 20% love it, the 80% had no idea of where to go and how the city operates, most knew about sky train but no one knew about mrt or river cruises etc. I think there's no place on earth like bkk once you get to know it

[spectre324]

So, Bangkok is the best city for what? Or should I not ask?

if you are talking about sex, drugs, booze and people sleeping on the street, then it is the best!

[sirchai]

Cmon guys. One night in Bangkok isn't THAT bad......

[ChinChanGamble]

big thumbs up from me, i love bangkok, its a city of life and soul, talking to other people here in ireland probably 80% hate bkk and 20% love it, the 80% had no idea of where to go and how the city operates, most knew about sky train but no one knew about mrt or river cruises etc. I think there's no place on earth like bkk once you get to know it

Yes I agree, 80% of the people I talk to in Ireland that visit BKK for the first time hate it, as I did, but fell in love the second time and now I spend more time there than anywhere else when I go on holidays. It's my favorite place I have ever visited and cant wait to get back!

Thank god I've been there before reading the opinions of most the posters on TV. I know the expats in Thailand hate the fact that other people bar them have an interest in Thailand, almost like it kills them that they are not unique, im not talking about all but the begrudgers that always post knocking the LOS.

As a country it has its down sides, but where doesn't?? Certainly if it bothered me enough I wouldn't go back, never mind decide to uproot and live there!

[Longtooth]

When you're tired of the hustle and bustle, come to Chiang Rai and live out your days. The best day to day, livable city.

[redness23]

Jimbob what are you talking about mate?

Have a class system in my social life? There is a big class system in Thailand if you haven't noticed. I myself and traveled and lived in many countries and I tell you now, I treat everyone as an equal to myself and I pride myself on this fact. I am stating the obvious here with Thailand.

And you seem to see everything in black and white. There are levels of corruption my friend. It is up to you to judge what is an acceptable level of which we won't go into, however I do like less control over what the media and governments force into our lives and heads back in the West. Some rules and regulations are outrageous back home for the sake of politics. So it is nice to know that we don;t always need to succumb to the crap that goes on in the higher offices because their ego's or wallets needed filling.

So you can ease up on your problem farang as I bring a lot of good to this place.

[Kitbaikitmah]

Maybe I am wrong but...doesn't this article distill down to 'A group of Americans think Bangkok is the third most preferred city to spend one night in'

Putting into practice their Rosetta Stone tutorial 'dry-runs' ?

Work to be done on two night stays...maybe the yanks are smarter than europeans give them credit for?