Bangkok is the hub of Southeast Asia. This article is exclusively about Bangkok. Other regions in Thailand are different. So here we go.
#5 Street Food Capital of the World
It’s true what they say, Bangkok is the food capital of the world. There are tons of conveniences for food. There are street cart vendors that will feed you all hours of the day anything from sweet to sour and spicy.
There’s even food that looks like candy and vegetables that look like candy. Some stuff you may have never seen before like scorpions, insects, and worms. Although they are really not that common. You can get a lot of things delivered using apps for cheap.
#4 Public Transportation
It is good for Asia, because not all Asian cities have good public transport. There are two metro lines running throughout the city so you can get in and out of most places in half hour. You also have motorbike taxis. You can use the grab app to get motorbike taxis and it will cost you very cheap for around $1 to $2 for a few kilometers. The best part is that you can skip a lot of traffic with a motorbike taxi but not all the time because there are so many motorbike.
#3 Modern Metropolitan City
It’s got two airports, DMK and BKK which make for the hub of Southeast Asia. So if you’re going around Southeast Asia, you’re likely going to fight through Bangkok, it is a very busy airport. If you are going to go to Bangkok on a tourist visa, you can stay up to 30 days. You’re gonna have to take a flight to leave if you want to come back to Bangkok for another 30 days because of the silly visa issue.
That’s because there are so many freakin foreigners and tourists in Bangkok; millions per year.
#2 Safety & Politeness.
Southeast Asia is very safe. So as a Bangkok for a big city, you might get into trouble. But it’s hard to get in trouble. The streets are safe. I walked around all hours of the night, and I was fine. The worst thing maybe being bothered by some lady boys. I don’t know if you like that kind of thing. I don’t. It didn’t happen often and mainly around one area of town. People are still polite and friendly in Bangkok, not the super friendly I’ve experienced elsewhere. But still very nice.
#1 The festivals, culture and temples
You can experience a lot of culture in Bangkok, even though it’s a westernized city, still Bangkok retains culture, through their festivals, like Loy Krathong. You have things to do many times during the week, including big parties, big bar, small bars, couple of night markets if you want to eat late night. Bangkok is full of things you can do. Just make sure you respect the culture and the laws of Bangkok.
Now for the worst things!
They’re not horrible. But because I made a top five list, I just wanted to tell you some negative even though I tend to be an optimistic person.
#5 number five: obesity. For Southeast Asia, Bangkok has obesity. I was surprised to see the amount of obese people in the public metro system and walking around. Of course, it doesn’t compare to more obese countries, like in the West, but still kind of obese.
#4 Conformity
The Thai have they conform to classes, they conform to social-economical classes. So you might hear something like a high society. There’s suprisingly a lot of materialism in Bangkok. Don’t be surprised to see girls with the latest phones, and people driving nice cars because Bangkok has some of the wealthiest Thai people.
You can notice this, when you’re talking to some girls and even when you try a date a Thai girl that is high society. She won’t talk to you, she’ll probably ignore you, because her friends will shame her for talking to a foreigner if she’s in the upper class high society. Remember that you’re not going to save a lot of money, because people there are materialistic especially in the high class. But other than that, you can still live on a low budget.
#3 Fluency of English
Bangkok has a low level of English but if you don’t know Thai, you can will be fine. It’s not a big deal, but I was surprised compared to other Asian countries that not many people speak English in Bangkok. You can buy stuff usually without a problem. The English is limited to sales and transactions unless you go to some fancier places that are more expensive. But if you’re going on a low budget, dealing with street vendors, and things outside the city may be more difficult for you without the Thai language.
#2 The pollution
Air quality most of the year is bad and you have pollution a few months that is dangerous for your health. You will need to wear a mask outside. Otherwise, you might get some respiratory conditions or have some lung problems. So don’t go during the wrong time of the year.
#1 Cost of living.
Because there are so many tourists and expats, the prices of housing have gone up over the years. Don’t be surprised to see apartments over $1,000 especially for short term rentals. Because first of all, short term rentals are illegal. So if you get an Airbnb in a city, you’re likely going to pay over $1,000 if you want it to yourself, like a studio apartment. If you go outside the city past the lake, then you can get a place cheaper by cheaper by a couple hundred dollars.
Since Bangkok has so many tourists and expats that some of them really give foreigners a bad name. So don’t think about doing the wrong things. Please respect the Thai culture.