Frustrated About Traffic In Bangkok

[Phatbeets]

----- First I got to say sorry for this longwinded post, ha! -----

 

I've been coming yearly to Bangkok since 2005 where I met my wife in 2006.

We have a lot of Thai friends all around the city and I would say I kind of "understand" this city means I'm pretty familiar with its areas,  assets and drawbacks.

It was always clear for me that If I'd relocate to Thailand one day (Im nearly 35) it could only be in BKK – because I love this city.

So last year I told my boss to prepare a plan to relocate me in an office of my company here (Chatuchak District).

During this year's vacation I told my tuk tuk friend to drive me around in order to extensively check out Saphan Khwai village, Ladprao area, Bang Sue etc (condos, grocery, eatery, shopping, entertainment)

So we did that 3 days long and every time when coming back I had a film of oil on my skin + inhaled more shit than in 5 years here in Germany.

I know that this a congested part of the city but since this area would have to be my new home it does not make things any better. 

 

Two other marking events of the last trip were

-a 14h travel, Si Sa ket to BKK with the bus  (train and plain were full) – admittedly it was after a Buddhist bank holiday and ill never make this mistake again

-Also in BKK I once needed 2h from lumpini to banglampoo

 

The reason is clear for me: Everybody - and I mean literally everybody needs to own a car regardless if they actually can afford one or not.

Sometime they take a 10 year loan to get one. Its clearly a "face" thing - if you don’t own one you're a nobody and this is epidemic across Asia (china, cambo, laos, etc).

Only the viets are smart enough to stick to motorbikes. All my friends in BKK told me that traffic its getting worse every year.

 

Coming back home (I live in the center of a 350k peeps German city) on the first day the quality of life I enjoy here became apparent when I went from A to B in 10 min with my bicycle driving across the beautiful park

in the core of my city. Dunno why I didn’t rate this higher before.

 

I’m not a newb, I know that you need to use only the BTS, MRT, Chao Praya or klongs boats but still, its not possible for many areas and for somebody like me that like to move around

knowing that you can easily loose a third of your day in traffic jams + never knowing when you are finally going to reach your destination discouraged my conception of actually living in this city.

At least not now – maybe when I’ll retire? But then, I think, I would rather enjoy somewhere by the sea.. oh well 

[midas]

And you didn't even mention the sinking

 

https://weather.com/science/environment/news/bangkok-sinking-subsidence-warming-15-years

[InMyShadow]

What was the question again ?

[Phatbeets]

^ No question was asked -  Its just my assessment of an aspect of the city which sucks to the point that it became predominant for me.

[zzaa09]

Relocate to a deep countryside setting.

 

Problems and angst resolved.

[Phatbeets]

Angst?

 

So if you address & criticize something that translates to angst for you? Great logic.

My main point is the sentence highlighted in bold. anything to say about that?

 

 

 

[InMyShadow]

I live in bangkok. Love it and just a few minutes stroll from Nana bts.

If the bts stopped to function I would be on the first flight out

Any westerners driving around here needs their head examined.

Needing a car here automatically disqualifies bangkok as a livable city

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Phatbeets said:

Angst?

 

So if you address & criticize something that translates to angst for you? Great logic.

My main point is the sentence highlighted in bold. anything to say about that?

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Phatbeets said:

Everybody - and I mean literally everybody needs to own a car regardless if they actually can afford one or not.

You are almost right.

 

It should read "everybody needs to own a car regardless if they actually can afford one or not even need one.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Phatbeets said:

Angst?

 

So if you address & criticize something that translates to angst for you? Great logic.

My main point is the sentence highlighted in bold. anything to say about that?

 

 

 

angst

äNG(k)st/

noun

 

1. a feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general.

   "adolescent angst"

   synonyms:

   anxiety, fear, apprehension, worry, foreboding, trepidation, malaise, disquiet, disquietude, unease, uneasiness "business leaders expressed their angst over war and recession"

   • informal

     a feeling of persistent worry about something trivial.

     "my hair causes me angst"

 

The OP does appear to embrace the informal use.

[Phatbeets]

lots of weirdos on this forum...

[blackcab]

To be fair tuk tuks are more for tourists than expats. Why would you put yourself through that experience when you could be sat inside an airconditioned taxi?

 

I drive in Bangkok on a daily basis, but I use the BTS aswell. If I'm near Sukhumvit and I want to get to Sathorn at rush hour I don't drive. I also have a motorbike, which is super convenient at certain times of the day.

[tonray]

3 hours ago, InMyShadow said:

I live in bangkok. Love it and just a few minutes stroll from Nana bts.

If the bts stopped to function I would be on the first flight out

Any westerners driving around here needs their head examined.

Needing a car here automatically disqualifies bangkok as a livable city
 

Yes. During a typical week I will travel by MRT/BTS , Bus, moto taxi, khlong boat, and river boat depending on where I am going. All part of Bangkok's charm IMHO. Don't drive...just foolish (as I sit in my GF's car in traffic...does not seem to phase here at all though.)

[impulse]

4 hours ago, Phatbeets said:

The reason is clear for me: Everybody - and I mean literally everybody needs to own a car regardless if they actually can afford one or not.

Sometime they take a 10 year loan to get one. Its clearly a "face" thing - if you don’t own one you're a nobody and this is epidemic across Asia (china, cambo, laos, etc).

Only the viets are smart enough to stick to motorbikes. All my friends in BKK told me that traffic its getting worse every year.

 

Given that 2 wheeled vehicles (even with a helmet) are 20-40 times more dangerous per km driven than a 4 wheeled vehicle, I'd debate anyone that holds them out to be the smarter mode of transport.   It's the economics of the scooter that makes them the transportation of necessity for most.  Not the wisdom.

 

And it's a little elitist to own a car and begrudge others the same safety and comfort of 4 wheels, seat belts, a steel frame and A/C.  It's not just a face thing.  They'd like to survive their next fender bender without losing a kneecap, or God forbid, their head.  And maybe arrive clean and dry, even in the BKK heat, dust and rain.  Not surprisingly, some folks are willing to go into debt to keep their family safer.

 

Rather than blame the locals for wanting a safe mode of transport, I'd point at the authorities for siphoning the money out of public transport, keeping dilapidated buses on the road, not enforcing the taxi regulations, allowing cars and scooters to park where they block traffic and generally shrugging off their responsibilities in favor of brown envelopes and an easy job doing...nothing.

 

[samsensam]

 

your tuk tuk friend? oh dear, you have so much to learn. you make too many generalised comments, relax, calm down, lower your expectations or you will never be able to live in bangkok or thailand

[Phatbeets]

^ So because he is a tuk tuk driver he is evil uh? lol ... yawn... he is my oldest friend in BKK and I trust him more than a lot of people and thats why I consider him a friend.

 

No doubt about the valid arguments you bring "impulse" but I find the traffic more fluid and the air cleaner in Saigon and pretty sure they have less

road accident compared to BKK (which isnt hard of course). The way they use their horn is particularly annoying but thats another story..

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Here It Is]

I don't think BKK is right for you, OP.  

 

 

[Thian]

Yes traffic is terrible, i also lived in Saphan kwai for a year or so.

 

So you have to be smart to live there, buy a scooter or a condo right next to the bts...there's a new condominium at saphan kwai now..

 

And yes the air is dirty just like anything else in Saphan Kwai. But hey, you choosed to live there while nobody forced you to.

 

If you're smart you go live outside the city in a nice moobaan. There is clean air, loads of birds and parks, a pool, tenniscourt and all you want/need. They have private roads and no streetvendors or so.

 

You could also go for an amphibious vehicle which would be the perfect way of transport in BKK after a mini helicopter.

 

And don't travel all over BKK so much if it frustrates you, you can buy anything in the mall around the corner as well which saves much time. You have to learn to travel after the peak hours and use the new roads (not many people know that they even exist yet). 

If you go over the river it's a total different world from Saphan Kwai...there is where the Thais live in real houses in moobaans.

But you need transport if you live there.

 

You sound like you're not a cityboy, the schwarzwald is more quiet if that's what you're looking for. 

If you want to live in BKK you have to adapt to citylife and find the best spots to hang around. Mind you, the best spots cost the most...and forget about bicycling around unless you have a deathwish...bicycles are more dangerous than motobikes in BKK because they go too slow and are cheap vehicles which gain no respect at all.

And scooters fit in the lanes between the cars so they are your best option.

 

You can also buy/rent a house on ko kret island in the chaopraya and buy yourself a jetski or speedboat. There's no trafficjam on the river.

 

 

 

 

[Phatbeets]

^ some good points though, like I wrote, I don't live in bkk yet.

 

Also, I always was a cityboy - do you think anybody not coming from a city would even consider living in bkk?

I'm not living in a megacity -> that's the major difference.

 

I love this city because it has a lot to offer and obviously, for that you have to move. I'm not the type of person that 

would relocate to a city like bkk for sticking to one single area and doing the same things weeks after weeks.

[berybert]

29 minutes ago, Phatbeets said:

^ some good points though, like I wrote, I don't live in bkk yet.

 

Also, I always was a cityboy - do you think anybody not coming from a city would even consider living in bkk?

I'm not living in a megacity -> that's the major difference.

 

I love this city because it has a lot to offer and obviously, for that you have to move. I'm not the type of person that 

would relocate to a city like bkk for sticking to one single area and doing the same things weeks after weeks.

You do realize its people like yourself who travel here there and everywhere who cause the traffic problems.

If people didn't keep on driving to places they don't need to be the roads would be a whole lot quieter.

Reminds me of a friend who used to drive to different supermarkets at the weekend then moan about the traffic. He never understood he was part of the problem.

[Phatbeets]

9/10 I travel with public transportation.  you need to try a lil harder than this.

[Thian]

1 hour ago, Phatbeets said:

^ some good points though, like I wrote, I don't live in bkk yet.

 

Also, I always was a cityboy - do you think anybody not coming from a city would even consider living in bkk?

I'm not living in a megacity -> that's the major difference.

 

I love this city because it has a lot to offer and obviously, for that you have to move. I'm not the type of person that 

would relocate to a city like bkk for sticking to one single area and doing the same things weeks after weeks.

The whole bts-metro area of BKK is not for real living actually.. Most people only work in that area, hence all the trafficjam in and out of the city at peak hours. Just follow all the commuters and you'll see where they live, which is probably in a moobaan somewhere in the subs.

 

You can also travel over water, there's even a new riverexpressboat service planned with new piers and a bts connection. You can buy/rent a condo close to it and use the boats for transport...much more convenient than over the roads. 

 

Or maybe the office of the company should move to another place?? I don't understand why they all have to be at the bts-line downtown..If offices spread better over BKK the employees can live close to them.

 

If i were you i would rent a house in a moobaan close to a new bts-line or metro or riverboat..

Find one away from mainroads and the air is clean...You're complaining about dirty air at one of BKK's most dirty area's..but BKK is much bigger...and there are many more cities in Thailand as well.

[Thian]

Okay i found the place for you, even better than Germany....clean air, plenty of space, german cars everywhere...Not that far from chatuchak, just over the river..

 

 

[Thian]

 

Or you can have this great condo for 100k euro at Phyathai station....es sieht toll aus!

[Rumbleg]

Geez...You sound like a cranky old expat and you're not even there yet. 

[Thian]

1 hour ago, Rumbleg said:

Geez...You sound like a cranky old expat and you're not even there yet. 

 

Well he's right, Saphan Kwai is not a nice clean place where you can use a bicycle....But there are plenty of better places in the area...here's another one...grand canal don mueang

 

 

[Crossy]

38 minutes ago, Thian said:

grand canal don mueang

And GC will be convenient for the Red Line when it opens (2020 ish), quick and easy commute into town.

 

We live even further out near Chiang Rak, I drive in to town (Chatuchak area) every morning. Luckily my job allows me to skew my work day so I leave home at 5.45, in the office by 6.30, leave 3.30-3.45 home 4.30-4.45.

 

[buick]

OP - there was a topic about a month ago, something like 'what do you like best about living in bangkok'.  in my post, one of things i liked about the city was how easy it was to get around using the MRT/BTS, taxis, and motos.  many people don't need a car at all, especially if you are not working and don't have small children.  several people made similar comments.  once you've lived here for awhile you learn how to get around.  i spend about 8 months a year in bangkok and have been doing that for 10 years.  i don't get caught in traffic more than a couple times a year.  get a place walking distance to MRT or BTS, takes me 20 minutes to walk to BTS/MRT (i live near the asoke/sukhumvit interchange).  when i need to go somewhere, i go to the interchange and head to a station that is close to my destination.  depending on the weather and traffic (always check google maps for traffic conditions), i'll then walk, take a moto or taxi to my final destination.  i rarely take motos, but a nice backup option at times.  i never take tuk tuk's as they are more expensive than a taxi and don't have air con.

 

if you want to live in the chatuchak area, why not live walking distance to the MRT/BTS interchange in that area.  you can get to alot of different places in bangkok from there.  and as noted, new transport lines are being built all over the city.  it will be even easier to get around in another 3-5 

years.  i've considered moving to that area myself as i travel frequently between bangkok and buriram and would like to be a closer to DMK.

 

i don't have any experience with moobaan living but i imagine that requires a car.  and then you learn the traffic patterns.  stay in your moobaan oasis during the peak traffic whenever possible !!!

 

 

 

 

[mstevens]

15 hours ago, Phatbeets said:

^ No question was asked -  Its just my assessment of an aspect of the city which sucks to the point that it became predominant for me.

Your original post is a good example of one of the major drawbacks of living in Bangkok.  Great city if you're retired / not working / live close to your work or your home and work is connected by electric train.  But if you want to drive in Bangkok or get around by car, it must be a huge frustration.

 

If personal freedom like being able to get in your car any time and just go for a drive at any time are important to you without having to consider traffic beforehand and plan your route, then Bangkok might not be a great place for you to live.  I too love Bangkok but I could not live there year-round because of things like the traffic.

[Bangkok Barry]

 

A strange post. You say that you love Bangkok and told your boss (told? Not asked? Really?) to prepare for you to transfer to Bangkok, and then rant at the pollution and traffic. Did you know from your previous visits that it be quite hot as well? Or did you miss that, as well as not realising how busy and polluted the roads are before asking to be transferred there.

[Xobtsiwt]

Stop being a tourist and adapt. Frustrations are a part of life, surprisingly the traffic even drives the locals mad at times.