Busy, busy Bangkok

To say that Bangkok is a busy city is certainly an understatement. The people here love their cars and when you add to that the colourful and numerous taxis, the network of very cheap, smoke belching buses and all the motorbikes of all sizes and loads weaving inbetween them all, you often end up with everything coming to a complete stop, as you can see in the city centre below.

However, the city does have a good public transport system, including the BTS (skytrain) shown below and the MRT (underground) which whip you around the city in clean, air conditioned comfort. Unfortunately it only covers a limited area of the city, although a new link out to the Airport is opening up in December.

The skytrain has been built over the streets as you can see in the next photo. It is not the most attractive piece of architecture, but it certainly moves faster than the traffic below.

Every inch of the sidewalk is taken up with street stalls, often spilling out onto the streets. Walking down the sidewalk can also end up as a traffic jam! On the quieter back streets like the one below, the best option if you are in a hurry is to walk down the road if you are game to take on the drivers, the push carts and the tuk tuks!

You can pretty much buy anything you could think of on the streets. The vendors go quietly about their business and there is no hassling of you as you walk through. Prices, as you would expect, are dirt cheap, although the quality can be a little dodgy.

Another option is the markets. They are fun just to walk through and experience the sights and smells. The biggest of these markets is Chatuchak, and it is always packed with locals and tourists alike each weekend. After a day out at this market you could find yourself going home with a new pair of jeans, a few secondhand textbooks, a nice painting bought from the artist and a pet dog and fish.

Bangkok is, however, suprisingly green and there are plenty of open spaces and parks. One of the biggest is Lumpini Park, shown below. While the city bustles along around it's perimeter, you can take some time to catch your breath, sit in the shade and plan what to do next in this amazing city.