Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia and one of the places I have visited recently on my travels. Whenever I go to a city in South East Asia I always, rightly or wrongly, compare it to Bangkok which has been my home for the last year.
Most of the cities I had been to before Cambodia put Bangkok in the shade but I think Phnom Penh was the first one that made me realise Bangkok isn’t all bad!
I do like Bangkok but it has a lot of bad points, mainly the layout and planning of the city and the lack of outdoor space.
People moan about the state of the pavements in Bangkok but after Phnom Penh they are a relative luxury. Phnom Penh had a seedy vibe to it that Bangkok doesn’t seem to have despite its infamous red-light areas and dubious massages parlours found all over the city. Phnom Penh didn’t seem to have anything like the open sex-trade of Bangkok but there was an air of deviance down nearly every street.
The poor parts of Phnom Penh seem to cover the majority of the city but turn a corner and it is not uncommon to find yourself on a street of walled mansions with security guards manning the gates. When it came to cars and traffic in general most of the population of Phnom Penh made do with old scooters and clapped out cars but there were a significant number of high end Range Rovers and other imported cars on the road which probably cost a few years slaries to the average Phnom Penh citizen.
The main shopping mall in Phnom Penh was a sorry affair that didn’t realy have any western brands in and I didn’t see a a Starbucks or McDonalds on the streets of Phnom Penh. I guess the poverty levels here makes it not worth investing in for the time being.
So Bangkok wins the day for me. It might be noisy, smelly and dirty but it is pretty easy a city to live in with many of the creature comforts from home plus with lots of the local culture still intact.
Today I woke in Bangkok for the first time for a while after about seven weeks of holidaying. I didn’t bother putting the air-con in the bedroom on last night before bed as I thought the fan would suffice but woke up at about 4am covered in sweat and feeling like I’d been trapped in a green house all night (note to self: always leave the air-con on at night).
When I finally woke up proper I got ready and then went out for some lunch. I’m not sure if it was the jetlag or being back in the humidity of Bangkok or just being in unfamiliar surroundings again but I felt a bit strange walking to the shops. After being in England for a few weeks, being the only non-Thai person and hearing everyone speaking Thai felt quite strange. I’m sure I will get used to it again in a couple of days but I did feel quite out of place. No one was staring at me but I did get a few looks and definitely felt like I was in a strange land. A bit like how I felt when I first moved out here a year ago.
I haven’t braved the streets of Bangkok to take some photos of the current red shirt protests in Thailand but plenty of other people have. Here are some links to the best photos I have seen so far:
Anyone who has spent much time in Thailand will have noticed that the Thais love their little dogs. The soi dogs are at one end of the spectrum but at the other are the pampered pooches whose feet never touch the floor thanks to their overprotective owners. These dogs come in all shapes and sizes but pugs and poodles seem to be the most popular and the longer the hair the better.
To celebrate this one of the malls in Bangkok, Central Rama 3, is holding a dog fashion show at the moment called Dog Street where you can see the best (or worst) examples of Bangkok dogs.
It is free to get in and far from the red shirt action so if you are bored pop down and see how the other half live.
As it looks like the red shirt protest in Bangkok is coming to end thanks to a strong military crack down this weekend I thought it would be interesting to hear from people how the protests have affected them.
Me personally I have not really been affected that much at all. I have had a few close encounters with armed police and military that I probably would not have done otherwise but apart from that it has been business as usual.
A few times taxis have been hard to find that are willing to go into certain areas but overall it has been ok.
How have you been affected during the past few months of protestation?
As the red shirt protests drew on and the military got involved it soon became clear the army were using live rounds to persuade the protesters to go home. But up until now it hadn’t really been reported that the army were firing live bullets with most reports claiming they were firing rubber bullets. Well, since the increased crack down this weekend the army have setup a few ‘live fire zones’ where I presume they will be firing live rounds at will. It’s a shame to see this happening but at least they are warning people what they are doing and therefore giving them a chance to avoid the area or get out now.
A lot of non-Thai people I have spoken to about the protests can’t understand why the army haven’t gone in like this sooner in a bid to flush the protesters out. With the sudden increase in casualties and fatalities I think we can all see now why the army were reluctant to storm in. Besides, apart from to the mall owners, what harm were the red shirts really doing?
Coming from a country like the UK were public protests are very much restricted if allowed at all it can be hard to understand why this one has been allowed to go on so long but I find it quite refreshing that in parts of the world people are still allowed the freedom to protest. Its just a shame this one had to turn so ugly after a long time of minimal violence. Lets just hope this hasn’t ruined it for future generations and the government doesn’t bring in draconian measures to prevent large gatherings of people.
It wasn’t soon after I first arrived in Thailand that I spotted red number plates on some of the cars driving around Bangkok. ”What could this mean?” I though. The cars I noticed the red license plates on all had one thing in common and that seemed to be that they were shiny and expensive looking. Perhaps the red number plates in Thailand were some kind of status symbol like a private number plate in the UK.
Later on I found at that the red coloured license plates you see on cars in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand are actually trade plates and come on new cars. Drivers have a grace period in which to get the regular white and yellow plates in. If they do not they can get a fine from the Boys in Brown.
I have also heard that cars with red number plates are not allowed to drive on the roads after dark. I’m not sure why this is. If it was new drivers I could understand but new cars? Perhaps it is to do with the contrast of the black text on the red plates not being visible at night; but if that is the case why not have a different colour.
Maybe once the current unrest is over we will start seeing yellow number plates in Thailand!
Look out for another exciting post on why some taxis are pink in Bangkok and what the different coloured vest the motorcy taxi guys wear means…
The other night we went out in Ratchathewi. Ratchathewi is one stop north of Siam on the BTS and we had arranged to meet at a bar down there. Across from the station is a road that is closed to traffic and has quite a few bars on. It looked pretty Thai as we approached but the only bar we went in happened to be about 95% farrang but it was a good night and somewhere I plan to go back to and explore some more.
There didn’t appear to be any lady bars so if you are looking for somewhere ‘normal’ to go out it looks like it could be worth checking out and makes a change from Khao San.
Can anyone recommend any good bars or places to go out in Bangkok that aren’t mock ye olde English/Irish pubs or hooker bars?
The other weekend we did a cycling tour in Bangkok. We did it through a company called Spice Roads and picked their Bangkok Jungle tour. It starts in the afternoon and lasts for about 5 hours leaving from Sukhumvit and heading over the river to Samut Prakan which is the big grassy area on the Nancy Chandler map of Bangkok.
There was a bit of cycling on the Bangkok road at the beginning and the end but it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be and everyone survied in the traffic. It is pretty hot so make sure you bring some water (even though it is provided for you on the tour).
I’d definitely recommend it although if you crossed the river yourself you can hire bikes over there and cycle around at your own leisure which would probably be cheaper and easier if you prefer to take it easy in the Bangkok heat.
I’m not sure I will be choosing the bicycle as a mode of transport from now on around Bangkok though!
So far I’ve really enjoyed living in Thailand. I’ve loved going to so many cool beaches. I loved the low cost for a higher quality of life. I’ve loved the food and the sun. But I have to admit I’ve found living in Bangkok a bit boring. I am familiar with the saying ‘only boring people get bored’ and I must confess I am not the most interesting person you are going to meet but previous places I have lived have usually managed to keep me entertained.
The main problem I have found with Bangkok is that there just doesn’t seem that much to do. Once you have done the touristy things there doesn’t seem much to do unless you are happy to hang around bars drinking and doing all that goes with the Bangkok bar scene. Don’t get me wrong I like a good session but not all day every day. Bangkok also has some of the best malls I have ever seen so if you are into buying stuff then that can take up a lot of your time but after a while you will probably have most of what you want or need.
Back home I used to enjoy going out for a walk and visiting markets and seeing the sights and just generally being out and about. In Bangkok thanks to the oppressive weather that isn’t really possible and there also doesn’t seem to be anywhere to walk to. Yes taxis are very cheap but where do I tell the driver to go?
Anyone got any suggestions or things for me to check out in Bangkok?
