Thailand is a country that makes a lot of money on tourism, but the common refrain is, "You don't want to stay in Bangkok very long."
There is a reason.
Pollution
and another reason
Traffic jams
Like many cities in Asia and perhaps in the world, Bangkok has grown too fast, and when I sat on a bus that didn't move for over 20 minutes I thought it was unusual. It apparently wasn't.
We also take our grid system for granted. Not a good idea. Many people here can't seem to read maps, there are few street signs and today a taxi ride of less than five kilometers took over 90 minutes because the driver got lost.
But there are saving graces. The skytrain was wonderful and reminded me of Seoul, and apparently there is a subway system that is great too. In addition, there is a wonderful commuter boat ride on the biggest river that takes people to an amazing set of shrines.
But these are such small parts of the overall transportation system...
I wonder why transportation isn't studied more in math, science, and social studies classes. It has so much to do with global warming, the way people spend their time, health conditions, and even happiness---note that my favorite part of the day is running to school and even better running home...
Bye for now
Chocolate Hills
17 years ago
2 comments:
Zeus:
That is interesting. Maybe you should record folks giving directions in Thailand and see what methods of communication and logistics people use in general to provide directions. A good experiment that we generally do in clases too is to ask students to describe/instruct how to reach from place A to place B and one then realizes all the necessary features you need in mapping an area. I wonder how a person in Thailand or India would give directions as compared to folks giving directions in the US. The present class of 7th-8th graders had a class with me two years ago where they mapped a journey in Hyde Park and realized the details needed and how much of it was based on actual coordinates of addresses. Urban planners ofmany cities in India and many parts of the world have a challenge of mapping an area created by a very "on the spur of the moment" culture driven and "social need" driven society as opposed to planned/zoned worlds we live in the US :)
Bangkok is growing really fast but what do you think will happen when one day all foreigners here will leave the country? sometimes i feel like i see more foreigners in the mall than Thai people.
It's not hard to commute here but you have to leave really early when you go to a certain place if you don't want to be caught in traffic. Yes, they should think more on how improve their means of transportation here...glad i'm leaving bangkok soon yeyy
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