First impressions of Bangkok: not what we expected
After seeing a lot of hype about Bangkok as a modern and even futuristic city, we were a bit disappointed by the lack of outdoor space and polluted air.
We have spent 5 days in Bangkok so far, and to be honest, I am a bit disappointed.
I've seen so much hype about Bangkok on the internet, portraying it as an exciting city for young entrepreneurs. And when I heard about the new DTV "digital nomad visa" that just came out, I was seriously considering moving here for a long time.
I have been to Thailand before and I didn't like it because I got food poisoning. However, that was 10 years ago, and not in Bangkok, so this time I had slightly higher expectations. I expected it to be a bit more developed.
The bad
Probably the first thing that surprised me in Bangkok was how noisy and dirty the roads are. It is very unpleasant to be walking along Sukhumvit road (the main central road in Bangkok). You need to yell to have a conversation, and you don't want to breathe in deeply because of the fumes and dust lifted by cars. I thought the smaller side alleys would be better, but they have a different problem - no footpaths at all, but still very busy. At times cars and bikes are squeezing past you with less than a foot of clearance with you up against a wall.
Look, I wasn't expecting a walkable European city, but I wasn't expecting it to be this bad either. Life here seems to be all about getting from point A to point B. There doesn't seem to be any public space to spend time besides shopping centres and markets. You don't want to spend time outside, which is a shame.
It might also be the area we are staying in - around the BTS On Nut station. Advice on the internet was that it's a nice area, close enough to the centre but far enough that it's more 'local' and peaceful. I think this backfired for us as it means it's just poorer and dirtier than the centre.
The good
On the positive side, the aforementioned shopping centres (malls if you're American) are fantastic—multiple levels with outdoor balconies with trees, and freely accessible rooftops with amazing views over the city. I have never seen such beautiful shopping centres, not in Europe nor in Australia. It actually is pleasant to go for a nice walk in/around a shopping centre, which sounds a bit funny to me as I don't like shopping centres normally, but here they are almost like art galleries or museums.
Walking around the shopping malls in Bangkok on Sukhumvit Road
The availability of products is excellent too. We just moved from Poland - a country that is overall more developed than Thailand and has a higher quality of life for the average person. But Thailand easily beats Poland when it comes to the availability of different clothing brands, various tech that can be found in-store (not just online), and groceries. If you have money, there is a lot to spend it on! For example, in Poland there is no Lululemon store (a fancy yoga clothing brand) in the entire country, but in Bangkok, there are multiple large flagship stores.
I also love how many pharmacies and 7/11 convenience stores are open 24/7. This makes it a lot easier to get some food or medicine at odd hours, which is sometimes necessary when travelling and your life is a bit chaotic.
The bad again
All of the above has just been daily life. We haven't been doing tourist things yet for two reasons:
- We just wanted to get settled in, with no rush to do tourist stuff since we're here for 2 months.
- The air pollution is terrible
It's burning season. Every year around January to March the air in Thailand and much of Southeast Asia gets worse as farmers burn last year's crops, and this combines with industrial pollution and vehicle exhaust to create a toxic cocktail. This year seems to be worse than most, with PM2.5 levels around 150 to 200. The news outlets are recommending people stay indoors, and some schools are closed.
It's not like the smog chokes you or anything, but you can smell it, and you can see it in the distance, and it does get in the way of life.
I'm really into fitness and living an active lifestyle, and I had planned to train Muay Thai while I'm here, but no way am I going to do any cardio in this kind of pollution! When I go outside I consciously try to breathe shallow breaths. I don't want a lungful of crap, certainly not during a 90-minute Muay Thai session.
It's only the first week
Anyway, it might be too early to judge Bangkok. Sometimes you arrive in a new place and it takes some time to adapt, learn where to go, where not to go... and you end up liking it. Or not, maybe it's just not the city for us. Maybe it just doesn't match the lifestyle we want. We'll see over the next 2 months.
For now, I know I wouldn't recommend the On Nut area - it's too far away from the centre (Siam and Asok areas). I'd prefer a few BTS stops closer, like around Thong Lor. I also would like to live near a park, like Benjakitti or Lumphinee (both in the city centre). There are no parks around On Nut.
Being able to go for a walk in nature is an underrated luxury, and I'm starting to really appreciate the many parks and green areas we had near us in Poland.