Problems in Thailand

Problems in Thailand

Hello dear followers,

Our next destination is Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. It’s not always rainbows and butterflies in this very hot paradise. There are several problems that overshadow the city or affect the tourists.

Tuk-tuks

On the picture you can see what I mean by a “tuk-tuk”. We thought it would be a great alternative for a taxi to take us through the city. We were wrong! This was a very bad decision. First of all tuk-tuks cost as much as taxi’s. What we also didn’t know is that tuk-tuks are related to certain shops and they don’t take you to your first destination but the first stop will be the shop. The driver will pick up a commission if he gets to the shop. You can’t do anything about this but visiting and take a look into the shop. It’s better if you don’t buy anything there because the prices are very high. What we do recommend and actually works is telling the driver that you know what he’s up to before you get in and you don’t mind going to a couple of shops in exchange for a free ride. That's a cheap solution!

Pollution

Unless you've been to Bangkok, you can't imagine how bad the pollution is. Bangkok’s millions of cars and other factories have spit out a lot of pollution and we felt it. You can smell it when you go outside and if you stay out too long and you’re not used to this kind of air you can create breathing problems. Here’s a little fact: The famous tuk-tuk drivers (who I mentioned earlier) have some of the highest cancer rates in the world and that’s from spending every day into the streets.

Traffic jams

No matter what time of the day if you drive a car in Bangkok you will always be stuck in traffic jams. At rush hour you can walk five times faster than the cars. So it’s not a very good idea to move you in the city with cars, taxi’s or  busses. It’s better to just walk. One of the main reasons for these jams are the lack of traffic lights. Not only give the traffic jams a lot of frustration but it also brings a lot of pollution.

Prostitution

The sex industry has grown at an alarming rate over the last few years. More than 10.000 girls are prostituting themselves.  However it goes on unhindered in many areas of the city, and takes many forms prostitution is illegal. It is very sad to see these girls on the street. You can find them everywhere . In every pub, every corner of the street, bar,.. They are very easy to find and to pick-up. I think the government really should do something about this problem.

These problems doesn’t mean it’s not worth to visit the city! We really did have a great time here.

You’ll hear from us next week!

Marco