In respond to Can Amado's Post, I would like to share some of my experiences when I was living back home in Bangkok.
(A night view of Bkk)
"A big city can be a lonely place. Whenever I wanted to be alone, I could walk down the street of Bangkok. It was there, along the streets where no one seemed to notice me. I could be invisible among the many eyes of people. It was indubitable that the people I walked by would see me, but no one would notice me. I became a phantom, a mere illusion of their minds. Maybe this is why I get so awkward walking by someone without people all around. I am not used to the being the only attention. I used to be detached, walking down a crowded street where everyone's attention was only on themselves." - Phumthep Bunnak (Dae)
(As seen from the top of my house)
My neighborhood is not as close nit as John's, but one of the similarity between the city of Bangkok and Izmir is the distance to the vast plain of water. Bangkok is also a coastal city which located in the heart of Thailand. Many people know that this crowded coastal city is the capital of Thailand. However, I doubt that many non-native will recognize the name used by all Thais to call this city of around two hundred years old. Krungtep Mahanakorn can be translated literally from Thai to English as "The Big city of angels". I have to admit, I am quite ambivalent about my satisfaction with this City of Angels. It seems that this city of 7 million people is a place where visitors and its inhabitants can find most of the things they are looking for. Heaven and hell are not that far apart in this area.
(Part of one of the shopping mall)
If I have to describe this city in one word, no other words will suit Krungtep Mahanakorn more than "chaos". This is a place where a Hospital, a convenient store, and my house can coexist in not more than a hundred meters apart. Out of this chaos, one can say that Bangkok can be used as an example of a traditional city in the book Suburban Nation. There seems to be no zoning in this city. My house spawns near everything, from a hospital to a pub. There are also narrow streets around the city. However, despite the fact that Krungtep is a messy place where buildings of all type tend to pop up everywhere, the allure of this city seems to attract tourists from all over the world.
A tourist might enjoy taking glimpses inside a temple then go shopping at a gigatic mall within arm reach distance of the temple. The agglomeration of everything in a small area here is what I value. I remember getting stuck in a traffic for more than an hour for traveling to a friend's house 1.3 miles away. I am also thankful for the train transit system. The trains can get me to most places that I want to go. However, an hour before and after 5pm is the time I usually avoid getting on the train as the feeling of getting canned in a train like a sardine is not so appealling. Sometimes I would think I will enjoy living in a suburbia which I saw in a Hollywood movie more. However, a year in Arlington, Texas changed my mind.
(Walking to School in TX)
I did an exchange program in which I spent 10 months in Arlington, a city located between Dallas and Fort Worth. At first living in a suberb was what I saw as freedom from all those chaos of Bangkok, but I started to have a feeling that things are too far apart. The only way I could go somewhere is to get a ride from someone. I walked to school everyday along a whirling cul-de-sac with the same monotonous, and suspicious houses along the way. I found out later that I do not find sprawl appealing. Houses located in the middle of nowhere in my opinion is not suitable for life. A community where people live should provide its inhabitants means of transportation other than by automobiles. After I went back to my hometown, I started to appreciate the chaos more. In the end, I feel that no place deserved to be lived unless it is a walking distance away from everything.
No comments:
Post a Comment