Homeless Foreigners On The Rise

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

Mekong, fully agree with your list, and would like to add:

 

4. Barging into the skytrain/subway/elevator before people inside can get out.

5. Weaving all over the sidewalk when I am trying to overtake. I don't know what happens, but it is VERY common that just when I am trying to overtake someone on the left, they move to the left and I have to quickly sidestep to the right, or vice versa.

 

Sanuk!

[Flashermac]

Long ago I decided that roller derby was the perfect "sport" for Thailand. No one could possibly get by them and the occasional fights would fit right it.

[Mekong]

Hi,

 

Mekong, fully agree with your list, and would like to add:

 

4. Barging into the skytrain/subway/elevator before people inside can get out.

5. Weaving all over the sidewalk when I am trying to overtake. I don't know what happens, but it is VERY common that just when I am trying to overtake someone on the left, they move to the left and I have to quickly sidestep to the right, or vice versa.

 

Sanuk!

 

KS, between us without much thought we could probably expand the list to 50 items in on day with input from collective expats. and each be nodding our heads in agreement with each item, who are the mad people the Thais for believing that this is acceptable behaviour or us expats for just saying "This Is Thailand" and putting up with it?

 

It is us, most of us can often to heard to say TIT give a slight shake of the head and just get on with it, the days of me yelling' Yet Mai Dokmai Tong, Bpai" have long passed me by, the wife has a far more cutting and sarcastic vocabulary than I will ever reach and since she is Thai at lot less likely to receive a knife in the back.

 

The one trait I do find amazing in Bangkok (not up country obviously) is the driving, one of the most gridlocked cities in the world keeps moving due to driver curtersy, waiting at a sub soi to pull onto the main soi and drivers stop and let you in, wanting to make a right turn and the oncoming traffic will stop and let you go, In London, Madrid, New York , Milan or Seoul where I have driven the attitude is "This is my square inch of Tarmac and you are not having it" where as Bangkok is the complete opposite sort "There you go Mate" I actually find driving in Bangkok easier than any other major city in the world, apart from the dumb cow I often get stuck behind at the gas station in her "Hello Kitty" pink Yaris having a conversation on her cell phone whilst struggling to find her credit card to pay for 150 Baht of gas, why is it always me who gets stuck behind them.

[Coss]

"4. Barging into the skytrain/subway/elevator before people inside can get out."

 

Yeah that.

 

And what amazes me is: often when the skytrain is full and I was the last one in, I turn to leave and as the doors open, some twat tries to get in through me when the doors aren't fully open. When he bounces off my beer buffer belly, there's a look of incomprehension on his dial. Like no-one ever told him you can't walk through Farangs.

 

But a more logical explanation is Face. He considers himself above a Farang and therefore expects 110Kg Farang to curtsey out of his way. Big shock to self confidence when this doesn't happen.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

Mekong, I don't drive myself, but I actually feel it is the opposite with a large amount of inconsiderate assholes in traffic. Ignoring zebra crossings, squeezing in at the last possible minute so they can by-pass 4-5 cars, blocking turning lanes because they want to go straight yet use the lane for u-turning and then miss the light, etc etc etc

 

Sanuk!

[Mekong]

KS,

 

As you have stated you don't drive in Bangkok / Thailand so I can accept your observations but the same thing could be said about any major city in the world.

 

As I have stated I have driven in lot of the worlds cities and i find Bangkok one of the easiest to get around in, maybe the lesser of all evils so to speak. Hey maybe you are right and I am wrong or conversely I may be right and you may be wrong in this respect, but considering that I have driven in Bangkok on and of for 20 years and have also the experience of other major metropolis I may just have the advantage over you on this point.

 

I never said it was perfect, just stated a little easier than other major cities.

[radioman]

I'd agree on this, driving in Bangkok is better than many other cities. Driving in Thailand is a whole lot better than driving in India!

[Mekong]

Are you used to the roundabouts in Doha yet?

[radioman]

Hah, I'm from Peterborough, more roundabouts than just about anywhere else, apart from Milton Keynes that is of course.

 

They are replacing a lot of the roundabouts in Doha with traffic lights, don't think too many Doha residents ever figured out how to make roundabouts work properly.

[Flashermac]

Bangkok up until the early 1980s had many more roundabouts - Phayathai, Ratchathewi, Wongwien Lek etc. Traffic moved smoothly, though I don't think it would work at all in today's traffic.

 

Speaking of which, I took a taxi to Sriyan today. One long stretch moved at less than a snail's pace. The reason is the BTS extension construction. It has changed a major 5 lane road into just 2 lanes, and even those blocked at times by construction. Supposed to be at least 3 more years before that section is finished.