Commuting Time

I’ve been keeping this draft since last October. After one and a half hour on jam-packed bus this morning, which is most unusual, I decided it is about time we talk commuting time.

We Thais make it again to world record, with the longest commuting time in the world…

2 HOURS

vs the shortest time at 2 minutes in Malawi.

(according to Worldmapper)

The survey was published in 2005, but I can assure you that it is not any better today.

I personally spent about half an hour in the morning and another an hour and a half in the evening – so yes, two hours a day. Though the evening one usually includes over 2km walk cause I like walking when I’m not in a hurry. Without the walk, it would take me at least an hour anyway.

Since I’m fortunate enough to live practically downtown, everywhere I go is outbound and the traffic is much better that way. Therefore, if it takes me 2 hours, that 2 hours average in the record is probably an underestimate. I know lots of people who takes longer time and covers further distance. The longest my colleague take is about 4 hours, having to leave home as early as 5 in the morning or risk being late for work.

If you don’t follow a route on a regular basis, you really can’t tell what’s going to happen. Besides BTS and MRT, the rest of the public transportations are simply unpredictable. There’s no schedule for anything; only broad operating time, like 7 am to 10 pm. Whether it’s a bus, an express bus, or a boat, you can only wait until it shows up and you’d never know if it’d be 5 minutes or an hour. Traffic would forever be the most classic excuse why one is late for anything. No wonder we are never on time. Everything is always at least half an hour late from schedule. Though in recent years, with BTS and MRT available, it gets a little better. Not that these are on schedule either, but they come often enough you don’t spent too long waiting.

A Singaporean once commented that Thais are most patient when it comes to traffic. I really don’t know how we could stand it and how we will continue to do so. Most offices do not offer a work-from-home option, nor a flexible working hours. We can only endure. Especially on a day like this with protesters occupying main streets and schools reopening after a week break due to current situation, four-lane streets look exactly like parking lot – the longest parking lot imaginable.

 

Save Our Cyclists

“Save Our Cyclists” is an online campaign calling for save cycling. Cycling has gained popularity in Thailand during the last two years and accidents has also increased. (An infamous one here.)

A Thai author impressed by the campaign has written a poem to help promoting. Then an architect turned that into lyrics and put in the melody.

Just amazing. 🙂

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10151398335394823

On Jarkata traffic

No, I’ve never been to Jarkata.

Among Asian countries, I’ve been to Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, China, and South Korea. The only place where traffic is terrible, in my opinion, is Vietnam. In Hanoi you will be woke up by honks as early as 4 am. The streets are busy, always. Yet we are told to walk straight ahead when crossing the street and don’t wait for cars to stop. They say the drivers themselves will avoid hitting us. It was hard not to be afraid really, but I’ve seen the locals do this with ease. I actually find Bangkok streets to be peaceful with I came back.

If you’ve ever been to Bangkok, you’d know that the traffic here is notorious. Bangkok became the capitol of Thailand in 1782, so the community has started long before cars. Just so you can get the picture – it is said that all the streets of this city can support 2 million cars, but currently there are about 5 million around. And just like any other old cities, to adjust the city plan right now is almost impossible. Since the last decade, things are only a bit better when sky train (BTS) and metro (MRT) became available. Below is Bangkok on Valentine’s night… that was about 11 pm.

For now let me translate some of mk’s experience in Jarkata, in case I never get to visit the place in this lifetime. You can go see pictures in his blog.

• Jarkata is pretty much just as haphazard: people walking in the traffic selling things on expressway, people cross the street under overpass, motorcycles everywhere.
• They drive on the left, just like us.
• The traffic is even worst than Bangkok and NO other alternatives. Only have to be on the road.
• Express bus (here we call it BRT) works well, has its own special lane (also like in Bangkok).
• There are other types of buses in beat-up condition, like in Bangkok again.

Well, mk goes on about buildings, malls, food and whatnot, but that’s not my point so I’ll stop translating here. I’m just happy Bangkok is not the only one with that kind of traffic. No offence, Indonesians. Oh, and Chiang Mai will  follow our path soon enough. I’ll write sometime about other forms of transportation in Bangkok. Tuk-tuk is only for tourist, mind you. It’s much more fun than that for the locals. 😉