Day 128 (Dec 24) - Bangkok vs. Bombay
So here I am in Bangkok, 5 days after arriving. I'd intended to get out of the big smoke as soon as possible, but a couple of friends are here, and I was convinced by one friend (Sally) to visit an inmate in Bangkwang prison on Tuesday (yesterday) morning so I stuck around for that, and here I am, still wandering the streets.
On arrival in Bangkok I suddenly thought "wow, look at how organised this place is!". Meeting a number of tourists here and them saying the opposite ("the traffic is so crazy!") I find myself having to hold back from saying "this is nothing compared to India". The truth is it really is nothing compared to India.
India feels like absolute chaos. The crowded trains (both metro and long distance trains). The roads (lanes are completely irrelevant). The people physically pushing their way past you, with their hands on your shoulder or back.
Sure, in Bangkok there are a lot of people but they organise themselves so much better. Cars tend to stick to their lanes for the most part. People aren't touching each other, even in crowded places.
The best example of the Bombay (or India really) vs. Bangkok contrast is the metro trains.
India: getting on a train here is like playing a contact sport. You literally have to force your way on, as there will be 50 or 60 people trying to get into that same door. You have to use all of your strength to get through, otherwise you'll be left on the platform. Because of the number of people trying to get on, you can't wait for people to get off he carriage as nobody else waits, so it's a matter of throwing yourself into the throng with all your might.
Bangkok: the trains (well the BTS Skytrain anyway) arrive at the platform with the doors always at the same spot. That spot is marked with arrows. Two arrows in the centre point away from the door and there are two sets of diagonal arrows pointing towards the door on either side of the centre two pointing towards the door. People on the platform stand out of the way of the door, leaving space on the centre arrows for the passengers to disembark. After everyone's off, then they calmly embark, in an extremely organised fashion.
Hence I've had to hold my tounge often when meeting tourists here and them saying "This place is so crazy!".
I think I've also bored Sally, Steve, Matt and Nathan with my comments starting with the sentence "When I was in India...". I'm sure those 5 words have left my mouth a dozen or more times a day!
After a few days in Bangkok I've gotten over my "This place is nothing on India" and have started to see it for it's own charms. And besides, in many ways it actually has a lot that reminds me on Bombay. A big bussling city with a large contrast in what you can do. The Zen department store in Bangkok is more upmarket (and expensive) than anything in Australia that I've ever seen. There's another shopping complex where there's a Lamborghini dealership on one of the floors, with 6 or 7 cars inside. But at the same time you can get incredibly delicious and cheap food on the side of the road outside of these areas. In this way Bombay and Bangkok are remarkably similar, and it's part of the charm that attracts me to both cities with that variety.
I'm off tomorrow to a beach (Koh Samet perhaps) then back to Bangkok to hitchhike to Koh Phangan for New Years Eve. That should be interesting!
That is all.
On arrival in Bangkok I suddenly thought "wow, look at how organised this place is!". Meeting a number of tourists here and them saying the opposite ("the traffic is so crazy!") I find myself having to hold back from saying "this is nothing compared to India". The truth is it really is nothing compared to India.
India feels like absolute chaos. The crowded trains (both metro and long distance trains). The roads (lanes are completely irrelevant). The people physically pushing their way past you, with their hands on your shoulder or back.
Sure, in Bangkok there are a lot of people but they organise themselves so much better. Cars tend to stick to their lanes for the most part. People aren't touching each other, even in crowded places.
The best example of the Bombay (or India really) vs. Bangkok contrast is the metro trains.
India: getting on a train here is like playing a contact sport. You literally have to force your way on, as there will be 50 or 60 people trying to get into that same door. You have to use all of your strength to get through, otherwise you'll be left on the platform. Because of the number of people trying to get on, you can't wait for people to get off he carriage as nobody else waits, so it's a matter of throwing yourself into the throng with all your might.
Bangkok: the trains (well the BTS Skytrain anyway) arrive at the platform with the doors always at the same spot. That spot is marked with arrows. Two arrows in the centre point away from the door and there are two sets of diagonal arrows pointing towards the door on either side of the centre two pointing towards the door. People on the platform stand out of the way of the door, leaving space on the centre arrows for the passengers to disembark. After everyone's off, then they calmly embark, in an extremely organised fashion.
Hence I've had to hold my tounge often when meeting tourists here and them saying "This place is so crazy!".
I think I've also bored Sally, Steve, Matt and Nathan with my comments starting with the sentence "When I was in India...". I'm sure those 5 words have left my mouth a dozen or more times a day!
After a few days in Bangkok I've gotten over my "This place is nothing on India" and have started to see it for it's own charms. And besides, in many ways it actually has a lot that reminds me on Bombay. A big bussling city with a large contrast in what you can do. The Zen department store in Bangkok is more upmarket (and expensive) than anything in Australia that I've ever seen. There's another shopping complex where there's a Lamborghini dealership on one of the floors, with 6 or 7 cars inside. But at the same time you can get incredibly delicious and cheap food on the side of the road outside of these areas. In this way Bombay and Bangkok are remarkably similar, and it's part of the charm that attracts me to both cities with that variety.
I'm off tomorrow to a beach (Koh Samet perhaps) then back to Bangkok to hitchhike to Koh Phangan for New Years Eve. That should be interesting!
That is all.
posted by rumble at
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home