What's your least favourite city in the world?

[TonyHancock]

Only 5 weeks until back in Bangkok and cant wait.love the place.

Is there a Formule 1 there?

 

[ozmille]

Is there a Formule 1 there?

Unfortunately enough not I think...


Sent from my iPad using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[drron]

Is there a Formule 1 there?

Unfortunately I dont think so.Guess you are stuck with Bela Horizonte.

 

[Fantic125]

My least favourite cities;

Bangalore,
Mumbai,
Delhi,
Guangzhou.

Unfortunately all are the most visited cities for me this year.
In Bangalore at the moment, flying to Mumbai the day after tomorrow then Guangzhou in just over a week...

 

[QF WP]

Unfortunately I dont think so.Guess you are stuck with Bela Horizonte.

You mean Belo Horizonte (CNF)?

 

[JohnK]

I can't stand BKK either.... dirty & sleazy.

Well you do not know BKK then....

 

[JohnK]

I don't think I saw it at it's best. I hated the traffic jams, the fumes from the cars, the humidity, the sleazy girly bars and the corruption in business. :-| I have friends who love Bangkok, but it just never clicked with me. I suppose I should really try to give it another go.

You cannot see Bangkok at it's worst as it does not exist.

 

[haydensydney]

Well you do not know BKK then....

Well John, I've been there three times in as many years and I just can't stand it.

Why do you like it? What qualities does it have that pale in comparison to world class cities like Geneva, Melbourne, Vancouver? I just want to know why you think it's the bees knees, yet I think it's hell on earth*.

*Polliution / Scams / Getting taken advantage of - Ripped off / Smelly etc etc

 

[lmere12]

Naples for me... !
Was mugged within a short time of being there ! If I could go back I would to try and find the nice side of Naples - if there is 1..

 

[JohnK]

Well John, I've been there three times in as many years and I just can't stand it.

Why do you like it? What qualities does it have that pale in comparison to world class cities like Geneva, Melbourne, Vancouver? I just want to know why you think it's the bees knees, yet I think it's hell on earth*.

*Polliution / Scams / Getting taken advantage of - Ripped off / Smelly etc etc

To be fair the majority of Asian cities smell and have pollution in one form or another.

I spent a bit of time in Bangkok early on. I worked there, i lived in an apartment in Din Daeng and I spent time going out to places in Bangkok that tourists do not see.

The people are friendly. Perhaps basic is a better word. New years Eve 2003/2004 in the slums of Lat Krabang was one of the best New Years Eve for me. Everyone from the community came around to celebrate New Years with simple games and fun and laughter. These people are poor yet still make do with what they have.

Everything is so cheap and there are so many choices of places to shop and eat. I know MBK is not for everyone but there a lot of bargains to be found. Some wonderful seafood restaurants in areas tourists do not visit and for <1,000 baht 2 people can have a feast.

You can be scammed or ripped off anywhere in the world. Tourist areas anywhere seem to attract the not so honest people but if you have wits about you then they should be easy to negotiate. Bargaining skills can help and it is a fun game. If someone tries to sell something to you for 1,000 baht then your first offer should be 200-300 baht and you would be surprised how many times they will sell for <50%.

 

[TonyHancock]

I spent a bit of time in Bangkok early on. I worked there, i lived in an apartment in Din Daeng and I spent time going out to places in Bangkok that tourists do not see.

I think that is a really good point. You only really get to know a place when you live there for a while. My trips to BKK, I used to visit for business a couple of times a year, were invariably less than a week and involved eating in restaurants that were "appropriate" for corporate hospitality. They tended to be upmarket and quite expensive. I would get dragged around the tourist markets and bars.

I do remember the hellish journeys back from Bangpoo Industrial Estate. The seemingly endless traffic jams and toxic air as we hit rush hour in Bangkok was stifling. The problem is it is hard to shake off the negative thoughts now. I really should try to go back and find the good parts, and in reality may well find myself there in the coming years on business again, but for the moment my mind has been corrupted by my previous experiences.

 

[Fantic125]

I think that is a really good point. You only really get to know a place when you live there for a while. My trips to BKK, I used to visit for business a couple of times a year, were invariably less than a week and involved eating in restaurants that were "appropriate" for corporate hospitality. They tended to be upmarket and quite expensive. I would get dragged around the tourist markets and bars.

I do remember the hellish journeys back from Bangpoo Industrial Estate. The seemingly endless traffic jams and toxic air as we hit rush hour in Bangkok was stifling. The problem is it is hard to shake off the negative thoughts now. I really should try to go back and find the good parts, and in reality may well find myself there in the coming years on business again, but for the moment my mind has been corrupted by my previous experiences.

I agree, that is one of the main pitfalls of travelling primarily for business purposes.

Very rarely are any of the companies that I visit located in prime tourist locations (or even something remotely scenic!) They are usually located in commercial areas or unsavoury parts of the cities you would usually try to avoid if you were travelling for pleasure. As Tony noted above, usually the restaurants you're taken to and the Hotels you stay at aren't ones you would usually go to as a tourist either.

Occasionally I get to spend a day or even two where I can do some sightseeing and that usually gives me a different perspective of a place, however my usual routine is; airport-hotel-site visit-hotel-airport which can distort your perspective of a place slightly....

 

[dajop]

however my usual routine is; airport-hotel-site visit-hotel-airport which can distort your perspective of a place slightly....

Invariably leads to the conclusion that you have "been" to a city, but never actually "visited" the city. Jakarta and Manila are like that for me, have been to them several times, but never feel like I have actually visited either city. Perhaps, as a result these two are in my least favourite city group ....but they also aren't cities that are necessarily easy to "visit" contrast to Bangkok where it is easy to get around (by foot, train, boat or taxi), feels safe and very easy to explore.

 

[Justchecking]

On all of my trips to BKK I stayed in quiet local residential areas and lived life as the Thais do. Still do not like BKK as a city, 30 baht meals not withstanding. It's possible to not like some place even if you've managed to avoid the tourist traps and experienced it on a more local level. The thing that drives me mental is the illogic of it. For example BTS stations with a lift, that's accessible only through a locked door....wtf! Escalators that only go in one direction with stairs in the other. People that make nice orderly lines to get on transport then rush forward and push and shove when that transport actually arrives. Security guards who will wave you through when the metal detectors go off but insist on searching your bag when it doesn't. An airport rail link that doesnt run when the night flights arrive, the main city terminal (Makassan) is in a residential no-mans land and isnt particularly well suited to people with luggage. BKK has all the appearance of ease and convenience but a lack of the reality of it. The only thing that's really. Good about it is the enterprising nature of the Thais which means you can get a sit down meal on any street corner at any time of the day or night.

The traffic, pollution and smell have got nothing on the more maddening aspects of BKK.

 

[Archphoto]

On all of my trips to BKK I stayed in quiet local residential areas and lived life as the Thais do. Still do not like BKK as a city, 30 baht meals not withstanding. It's possible to not like some place even if you've managed to avoid the tourist traps and experienced it on a more local level. The thing that drives me mental is the illogic of it. For example BTS stations with a lift, that's accessible only through a locked door....wtf! Escalators that only go in one direction with stairs in the other. People that make nice orderly lines to get on transport then rush forward and push and shove when that transport actually arrives. Security guards who will wave you through when the metal detectors go off but insist on searching your bag when it doesn't. An airport rail link that doesnt run when the night flights arrive, the main city terminal (Makassan) is in a residential no-mans land and isnt particularly well suited to people with luggage. BKK has all the appearance of ease and convenience but a lack of the reality of it. The only thing that's really. Good about it is the enterprising nature of the Thais which means you can get a sit down meal on any street corner at any time of the day or night.

The traffic, pollution and smell have got nothing on the more maddening aspects of BKK.

All part of living or visiting Thailand - the total chaos of the norm does get to you sometimes, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. :mrgreen:
Your points about the Airport link are very, very valid - and even my Thai friends can't understand the idiocy of the decisions being made regarding it. A great idea that hasn't been implemented or promoted with any forethought at all; as they say "typical Thai".

I will admit, my very first visit to BKK was back in 2001, albeit just a stop-over at the old Don Mueng airport. Disembark *onto the tarmac* to catch a bus - methinks "This is an international airport???" The airport itself was the grottiest I've ever been to - no stores open for drinks or eats, very little seating and the guy sitting next to me on the flight, commented when we'd re-boarded, that he didn't even touch the QF Lounge showers during the break. I vowed then and there I'd *never* return ever.

Fast forward 5 years, and I had to go back for work. This time via the new airport and everything was soooo much different.

Today, I'm living in Suan Luang (about 10mins from Suvarnabhumi Airport); been here since mid 2009, and yeah, it can be dirty, smelly and (if you *really* want to hit the girly bars - sleazy), yes you can get ripped off - but guess what, last time I was back home in Adelaide the cab driver ripped me off too.

Anyone that's thinking of visiting - get away from the main tourist areas and the city takes on a whole new feel; if you spend the entire time just doing the shopping, the bars, the strip shows etc, you really aren't experiencing BKK at its best.

 

[thewinchester]

1. Perth
2. See (1)
3. See (2)

I live here. It makes watching grass growing seem like a worthwhile past time.

 

[Flashback]

1. Perth
2. See (1)
3. See (2)

I live here. It makes watching grass growing seem like a worthwhile past time.

Aww, c'mon! Now that I've been away from it for a while, I'm looking forward to getting back and rediscovering it (I have someone else to show around while I'm there ). Perth 'aint such a bad place.

 

[oz_mark]

1. Perth
2. See (1)
3. See (2)

I live here. It makes watching grass growing seem like a worthwhile past time.

Off to the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder for you

 

[Sprucegoose]

Aww, c'mon! Now that I've been away from it for a while, I'm looking forward to getting back and rediscovering it (I have someone else to show around while I'm there ). Perth 'aint such a bad place.

I agree with you. There is alot of beauty to Perth worth discovering!

 

[scaredeycat]

Orlando.
Everything that's awful about the Gold Coast, without the beaches.