It's worth putting up with the coronary-inducing traffic jams, pollution, annual floods and sticky weather to experience one of Asia's most exciting cities. Bangkok has dominated Thailand's urban hierarchy, as well as its political, commercial and cultural life, since the late 18th century. Although the late 20th-century boom is over - you can still shop in air-conditioned comfort in Western-style malls - the city is a long way from being 'tamed' by commercial homogeneity.
Bangkok proper seethes on the east side of the Chao Phraya River, drawing ruralBangkok market on the water Thai folk into its cluttered fold daily. The city is reportedly sinking at a rate of 90cm (36in) every year, but there's too much happening in this vibrant city for anyone to get that sinking feeling for too long. Stand still for a while and the sanùk will soon take over.
Metropolitan Bangkok covers 1569 sq km (612 sq mi) of southern Thailand, sitting smack in the middle of the most fertile rice-producing delta in the world. A network of natural and artificial canals crisscross the city, feeding to and from Thailand's hydrological lifeline - the broad Chao Phraya River - which snakes through the city providing transport for passengers and cargo.
Bangkok is divided in two by the main north-south train line. Old Bangkok, where a large proportion of the city's temples and palaces and its Chinese and Indian districts are found, lies between the river and the railway. East of the railway, comprising the main business, tourist and sprawling residential districts, is 'new' Bangkok. Of course, outside of these general classifications, Bangkok sprawls in all directions with a mixture of commercial, industrial and residential areas.
Bangkok international airport is in the Don Muang district, about 25km (15mi) north of the city center. Buses, taxis and trains all service the airport-city route"
Ok, here is our general take on Bangkok
Crowded, polluted, traffic from hell, noise pollution, the smell! But even with all this, every time I am there, I know I get this funny little smile on my face, the famous tune runs through my head and I say to myself "wow, I'm in Bangkok". Just the name "Bangkok" has this Exotic aura around it that is.... just overwhelming.
I find with ex-pats there is no middle ground when it comes to Bangkok, either you love it or you only pass through on the way out to someplace else wanting to get theBangkok at Night hell out of there as quickly as possible. I... Love it! I think Bangkok is exciting at times, scary at times, erotic and exotic at times but at all times I always feel alive here. Now, I would not like to live in Bangkok because I do think the daily intensity of everything would be too much, but to visit once in a while is invigorating for me at least.
The upside of coming to Bangkok
Bangkok has it all. What ever you are looking for, what ever you are into, it is here! You can come to Bangkok and eat dinner at Tony Roma's and have coffee at Starbuck's or you could go down to the floating market and eat fried grasshoppers and drink iced coffee out of a plastic bag with the locals. You have access to the Thai culture if you wish but all the western culture icons are here as well.
Sex, sex, sex, and more sex, more beer bars, ago-gos, discos, specialty clubs, gentlemen's clubs and freelancers then you could even imagine. Thousands and thousands of ladies to choose from, in all price ranges, fat, old, young, pretty, ugly, men, lady-boys, what ever you are into you can find it here. A quick note, the age of consent is 18 in Thailand, stick to it, if your looking for anything younger, your at the wrong website! and the wrong country! Go away!
The downside of coming to Bangkok
You've got to be careful here, this is a big ass city with a crime rate that is on par with other cities of its size and this is not like other parts of Thailand where the Bangkok Traffic crime rate against foreigners is relatively low, they will jack you up in a heart beat.
Pollution, overcrowding and traffic, this is the same with any large city, its just worst here due to the fact that is does not have the same level of core infrastructure that you find in other large cities in the west.
The smell, and I am sure that this is a cultural thing, what smells like heaven to me, like cheese, will knock a Thai off their feet from the stink. The same thing for me I have turned some corners in Bangkok to be hit by a stench that stopped me dead in my tracks but to a Thai its just dinner.
The ladies are hard. The girls in Bangkok are much harder then the ladies you will find in Phuket or else where. And I have noticed that most of the ladies I have had in Bangkok look fucking stunning at the bar, but when I see them in the morning with the light of day and no make up, they look used for sure. I don't see this as much in other areas, if the lady is hot looking at night most of the time she will be looking just as hot at breakfast too, but not Bangkok girls.
Bottom Line
"one night in Bangkok makes a grown man humble"
The women, now people might disagree and this is subjective but I feel that the women in Thailand are much better looking. I don't think that this is due to psychical traits at all but I feel that the Thai ladies have the money to take better care of themselves then the Cambodian bar girls. Crime at night, I myself have never experienced any form of hassle in Cambodia but with all the stories and 1st hand accounts I have heard, you just can't ignore it. Most of these happen at night and while on the back of a motorbike taxi, here is clue number one, get a car and driver!! Its only $25.00 for the entire day, he will be at your beckon call 24 hours a day, its cheap, its safe and its smart. If you want a recommendation for a car and driver drop us an email and we will send you the phone numbers of three or four guys that we have used in the past and were happy with.
Bottom Line
It takes some getting used to, and it's not a good idea to make this your first trip to Southeast Asia. But for value for the money, it can't be beat, so if you can put up with a little dirt and a little more then the usual amount of third world charm go for it! Every time we go we have a blast! |
