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Pride of place for Bangkok and Chiang Mai A recent survey by Travel + Leisure magazine ranked Bangkok the second best city in the world after Sydney , Australia , for the third year running. The same survey put Chiang Mai in the fifth place, behind Rome and Florence , while Chiang Mai was also voted the second best city in Asia, with Bangkok in the top slot. What do you think about the ratings? Are you surprised, shocked, proud or do you think they lack credibility?Some of us Thais would certainly be proud of our place in the world. But hang on. Could it be true? How much can we can the survey? Is it just an illusion or for real? These questions beg asking. All I am saying is that we shouldn't bask in a false sense of pride or indulge in self flattery. I've noticed that our tourism authorities like to lend weight to the judgement of others, like international magazines and surveys when it comes to rating standards, believing that they are a good indicator of our standing overseas. I have nothing against the survey but I'd like to add that the outcome was a high possibility because most respondents must have based their judgement on the brief visits they make to cities covered by the survey. Most of Travel + Leisure's readership is made up of high-end travellers who can afford the best value-for-money deals and services available in the market. I believe both Chiang Mai and Bangkok are great cities, especially for wealthy people. If money is not a factor, you can live in both places like a king. On a personal note I would say the best judges _ whether a city is good or pleasant to live in _ are its residents, not the foreign traveller who is only visiting it on a temporary basis. Having lived and travelled around Bangkok for most of my life, with the occasional foray to Chiang Mai, I must say both of them are nowhere even close to cities in developed countries. Two serious problems _ traffic and pollution _ have aggravated over the years and both cities sadly lack adequate town planning. To date there's been no serious attempt to address the problems, much to the dismay of their residents. A city can lay a legitimate claim to being among the world's best only when its residents are happy living there, and not because some international travel magazine tells you so. Begging to differ To underscore the pollution problem, a Horizons reader sent us an article penned by a man named David Hardy, a resident of Chiang Mai, in which he wrote of seeing a tourist biking around town wearing a smog mask eight years ago. In the meantime air pollution in Chiang Mai has risen a few notch. Some observers say it's even worse than in Bangkok . The result is that these days smog masks are a common sight in Chiang Mai. Thais as well as foreign tourists can be seen wearing them. That's the reality in a city that's been voted fifth best in the world. Mobile disco Chiang Mai to Bangkok by train is a convenient choice for travellers wanting to arrive fresh in the capital after a good night's rest. But not all passengers fancy going to bed early. Some are more used to late nights so they end up in the dining car to enjoy a meal or few drinks before retiring for the night. On a recent journey one passenger did just that and much to his surprise noticed something in the dining car that he hadn't seen on his previous trips. As usual, he ordered dinner. Then he detected a distinct change in atmosphere as the dining car was decorated like a Christmas night, minus the "Jingle Bells" music, which seemed a bit weird because the passenger couldn't think of an occasion or event befitting the day or the evening. Perhaps it was a goodwill from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to make the night ride more pleasant for passengers, he thought. Shortly afterward he saw SRT officers attaching colourful light bulbs to the ceiling of the dining car. When the installation was complete the music changed and the dining car took on the atmosphere a discotheque. A mobile disco after all, he told himself, having unlocked the puzzle. Soon other passengers streamed in and they danced the night away all the way to Bangkok . Well done SRT! What's next? Bangkok Post 11 August 2005 www.bangkokpost.com |