Bangkok Dangerous
We’re not talking about a horrible movie remake starring Nicholas Cage. To someone who has never left the “friendly confines” of the USA you may not know much about Bangkok. You may not even know the difference between Taiwan and Thailand.
Whether you think elephants trampling people and huge protests with soldiers overthrowing the government are a day to day occurrence or you think Bangkok is just another peaceful Southeast Asian city you may be interested in the top 5 most dangerous things about visiting or living in Bangkok, Thailand.
5. Sidewalks
Sidewalks in Bangkok are always crowded, often disgusting, and sometimes dangerous. I am an avid runner who likes to run to the gym to kill 2 birds w/ one stone but in jogging down the sidewalks in Bangkok every step you take could be your last.
The uneven sidewalks in Bangkok are complete with loose bricks, broken mane covers and of course stray dog bombs. Compound this with the presence of the #1 danger and a trip or fall could mean a whole lot worse than a trip to the hospital.
As a guy wearing sneakers the sidewalks present a certain danger but to the women who wear heels, I can’t image how difficult it is to pay attention to every step to avoid a face plant onto a present left by one of the 300,000 stray dogs in Bangkok.
4. Water
Water is tricky to avoid because there are numerous ways you can come into unwanted contact with it. From swallowing shower water, getting splashed in the mouth while in a water taxi, or the inconspicuous melted ice your iced tea, most foreigners who consume a generous portion of the water in Bangkok get terrible stomach aches.
Where the tap water comes in most residential buildings (to my knowledge) is roof tanks which are either filled by rain water or a water company. I have heard that each year they check the tanks and find dead birds, rats and insects. The worst water has to be that of the Chao Phraya river and Bangkok canal. The canal has a smell the raw sewage which is pouring out of pipes into the canal 24/7. Here’s a story of a governor candidate who fell into the water and got a rash before her campaign manager drowned in the dirty water.
I have been running to the gym along the pedestrian free canal path, but I am debating whether the evaporated canal water and occasional spashes from the river taxis will eventually be the slow and painful death of me? I will leave that up to the experts but you don’t have to be an expert to know that the water is one of Bangkok’s dangers.
3. Street Food
The street food which exists all around Bangkok creates a barbecue smell which is a welcomed replacement of the usual bus exhaust mixed with raw sewage aroma which emanates from the Bangkok streets. I’m not talking about the delicious fruit here. What I’m talking about is any of the many meat products which taste good when you don’t think about where they came from.
I’m not talking about the typical Chinese food mystery meat but the conditions in which the animals were raised. I visited Ratchaburi province and stayed with a traditional Thai family and remember the chickens running amok in the mud mixture of river run-off, sewage, and litter. I really didn’t think about it too much at the time and ate chicken meat but when they served the Tom Yum chicken feet soup I couldn’t help but think of what the chickens were running around in.
I have never really researched (other than hearing preaching from San Francisco yuppies about free range meat) too much about whether how much an animal’s upbringing will effect the quality of the meat but if I see fried fish on the street and can’t hep but think it was fished out of the filthy canal. I also see people living in next to piles of their own garbage by the canal with chickens freely walking around while they await their death, soon to be featured on the nearby chicken satay street stand???
I have been pretty lucky so far with the street food. I have had some stomach pain but no problems with dysentery, severe stomach cramping, death or any other terrible symptoms which which are associated with contaminated food.
2. Thai Women
Thai people are so laid back and reserved you wouldn’t think that Thai women could be so dangerous but if you watch the video you will know how dangerous they can be. Thai women are polite, beautiful and traditional but if you get on their bad side you could be heading to the local hospital!
My friend Jon who has a blog bout teaching English in Thailand told me that two of his friends had been stabbed and hospitalized by their angry Thai girlfriends. Compound the language barrier with the Eastern-Western culture class and evidentially fireworks are possible and everyone knows how bad it is when they blow up in your hand.
1. Traffic
Bangkok is a city which has had a long-term traffic problem. I cannot imagine how bad it was 20 years ago before the BTS which provides easy transit via skytrain and the MTR which is the subway system.
The traffic not only pollutes the environment it is dangerous in many ways. I have not yet witness any accidents but I remember reading about the the week long Songkran Festival in which there were “Songkran’s “373 deaths and 4,332 injuries in 3,977 road accidents nationwide.”
The dangers of the traffic in Bangkok are out there if you’re in a car or a pedestrian. In taxis you have to first search for the seat belt which is only available 25% of the time then all you can do is watch as the driver navigates through the extremely confusing and seemingly lawless streets.
As a pedestrian the streets seem even more dangerous. The never ending traffic flow of cars, trucks, tuk-tuks, and motorcycles extends beyond the streets. Often you have to dodge motorcycles and motorcycle taxis driving on the sidewalk. The streets have lanes but the are only as guides as drivers weave in and around them. Driving in a lane of oncoming traffic is a regular occurrence.
Perhaps the most dangerous part of the Bangkok traffic is crossing the street. I personally use what I call ‘human shields’ which are the Thai people I wait for to cross some busy streets. Often times there is no sign or signal which you can use to determine when to cross the street. Even if you do cross at a little green guy walking light you still have motorcycles weaving in between cars. You have to be on the lookout on both sides of each car for motorcycles as you cross any street. Compound all this with the fact that the sides are switched from the USA and traffic is the most dangerous thing about Bangkok.
Last 5 posts by Mike Behnken
- Bangkok's Best Kept Secret? Places to Eat in Bangkok: Sanjorn Cookshop - July 1st, 2010
- Places to Visit from Bangkok: Ancient Siam - July 1st, 2010
- The Great Wall of China - June 11th, 2010
- Beijing, China - June 10th, 2010
- Taipei, Taiwan - June 5th, 2010
