Bangkok Comes Clean

June 8th, 2006 by Pia Taylor

Khao San Road, Bangkok

Thailand is a very popular backpacking destination. In fact, it ranked third in a recent survey of places backpackers would most like to visit next.

Now, anyone who’s ever set foot in Thailand’s chaotic capital, Bangkok, will never (no, not ever) forget the city’s rather distinctive aroma:

> ‘Memories of Thailand come with memories of smells. In Bangkok, some of those smells are enticing, especially the sidewalk food stalls and the non-durian parts of the fruit stands. Then there are the durians, of course, and the stench of the klongs’.

> ‘The klongs are the little canals that used to run through the whole city before the age of traffic jams. They would be a romantic step back in time if they weren’t stinky flows of brackish water and sewage.’

> ‘Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations’

But, here’s the good news for anyone with sensitive nostrils:

>‘Thankfully, some relief is coming, according to this article. They started cleaning up and rerouting waste lines in Sukhumvit, which is kind of funny since it’s where many of the Bangkok expats live, but as long as it doesn’t stop there it’s a good first step.’

> ‘Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations’

(Photo: Eberhard Dieter)

Posted in Destinations, Travel News