Bangkok

A Welcome Lull in the News

Because I'm a nerd, the first thing I do when I wake up is roll out of bed and into my command station computer desk to check what's going on the world via my Netvibes RSS feed. When I checked things out this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see no screaming headlines about protests, killings, emergency decrees or tanks rolling through the city. In fact, I was relieved to find that things were relatively boring. I immediately thought back to a fantastic article from The Onion in October of 2001 with the headline "A Shattered Nation Longs to Care About Stupid Bullshit Again" which sums up my feelings pretty perfectly.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:55+00:00Bangkok, Current Events, Politics, Pop Culture, Thailand|0 Comments

Chatuchak – World’s Biggest Market?

With friends in town, a trip to Chatuchak Weekend Market (or Jatujak, or simply 'JJ Market') is usually on the menu. While a visit to this sprawling covered flea market from hell (apparently the world's biggest) is usually done as a last resort for expats living here (or unless you want some particularly unique things), tourists love it. Everything from used Van sneakers to antique doorknobs to a menagerie of strange animals are available (although the last few times I was there, I couldn't find that section any more), and it certainly makes for an interesting - and hot - day out, usually resulting in a taxi full of bags on the way home.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:55+00:00Bangkok, Video|0 Comments

Is Bangkok a Dangerous City?

I get asked this question a lot from friends and strangers alike, many of whom still think of Bangkok as a seedy, lawless dive filled with prostitutes and shady gem deals going on among every patch of shadows. However, as anyone who has lived here can tell you, the answer to that question is a firm but guarded 'no'. Like any big city, Bangkok has problems, sure, but they're filtered through unique Thai sensibilities and often come out the other end little more than a ripple; something you'd brush off as happening in any place in the world where you throw a few million humans together and say "Okay, now prosper!"

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:56+00:00Bangkok|0 Comments

Elephants in the Big Mango

For many visitors, walking around Bangkok will allow them a glimpse of many things they would never see at home, some awful, some amazing. Dudes selling fried bugs, beggars with awful diseases, bike paths that end at brick walls and an alarming cross section of social strata that would make a New York subway station seem like a Ku Klux Klan rally (I'm not even sure if that makes sense). Anyway, anything that can seem a bit odd is desirable - there are so many tourists walking around that to stand out from the crowd will guarantee you a better chance of attracting a bit more attention. One of the strangest sites that visitors can see in the steamy, crowded streets of the Big Mango (lovingly copied in reverence to the Big Apple, but with a decidedly more Asian flavour) is an elephant. A huge, lumbering, real life elephant. In Thai culture, they're highly revered animals, praised for their strength, loyalty and intelligence - one of Thailand's most popular beers is even named after them (see left) - 'Chang' is 'Elephant' in Thai.

Greg2016-11-17T15:49:01+00:00Bangkok, Thailand, Tips on Visiting|0 Comments

Getting a Thai Driver’s License the Hard Way – Taking the Test

After living here for over 7 years now, I'm familiar enough with the rules and nuances of Bangkok traffic to know that I never, ever want to drive in it. It's not so much that it's bad - traffic in India or Vietnam makes Bangkok traffic look like a driver's ed training course - but rather that my skill sets aren't useful here. I'm Canadian, so if you want me drive at 80km/h on an icy road with well-defined traffic rules that are strictly enforced and adhered to - no problem. But driving through go-kart-style traffic dodging tuk-tuk's, bug vendors, stray dogs, motorcycles and pedestrians - and with the wheel on the wrong (right) side - well, maybe I better take a taxi. Bangkok has several million of them anyway - if I think of them as my own personal limo service, it's not so bad at all. But despite this, I recently had to get a Thai driver's license. This is normally accomplished by showing your license from your own country to the Department of Land Transport, at which point they'll just transfer it over. But due to an unfortunate case of stupidity, I let my Canadian license lapse, which means it's even less useful than the fake ones you can buy on Khao San Road. The only option I had was to go through the rigmarole as if I was a 16-year old Thai teenager.

So - what does it take to be allowed to legally drive on Thai roads?

Greg2016-11-17T15:49:02+00:00Bangkok, Thailand, Tips on Visiting|19 Comments