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.

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.

The city is pretty small and very easy to get around with an underground MRT service and an abundance of taxis but without the traffic problems of Bangkok (mainly thanks to the high road tax and car prices).

There are lots of shopping malls in Singapore.  Although they aren’t as big as Central World (RIP) there are a lot more of them and can nearly all be found on Orchard Road.  Most Western shops can be found here but the prices for clothes tend to be a bit higher than back in England.  You can even see the price in British pounds on the tags which when you convert them should be less than the price in Singapore dollars advertised but I guess shopping here is cheaper than taking a trip back home.

Although it is as hot and humid as Bangkok there isn’t the obvious problem of pollution and the roads and pavements are much wider making Singapore a much more pleasant place to walk around.

There are lots of Western-style pubs, bars and restaurants in Singapore and it definitely feels a lot more like being back in the UK than the expat hangouts of Bangkok.  But the prices here are a lot higher here.  The price of a  local pint of beer (Heineken) in Singapore was about £7 in a run of the mill pub and small cans of beer from 7-11 went for about £3-4.  But if you don’t drink much your wallet could survive without too much of a hammering with prices for eating out not more than in London.

The only problem with visiting Singapore is that it is so nice when you get back to Thailand you realise what a dump Bangkok is!  But don’t worry Bangers, we still love you.

• http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/protests_turn_deadly_in_thaila.html?camp=localsearch:on:twit:bigpic
• http://www.vaitor.com/?p=1640
• The Crackdown

If you have any links you’d like to share please leave a  comment in the box below.

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.

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?

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.

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…

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?

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!