Bangkok's Shaky Infrastructure That Won't Quit (2.2)

Hey, you're still here! How awesome is that? Welcome to the 2nd
episode. Today, we're talking infrastructure. No, wait! Before you
decide to skip the episode, this isn't an episode filled with
mechanical engineering terms. Have you met us?

(Direct download .mp3)


  The Big Mango is… big. Big city with huge
skyscrapers and sprawling concrete to help accommodate the
millions of people that live in and visit Bangkok. This is the
City of Angels, the second largest city in SE Asia. We're sorry
if that damaged your idyllic notion of rice paddies and floating
markets. Thailand has them. Bangkok metro? Not so much.
Here we have the Mahanakon Tower
- some call it the Jenga or Tetris Building -- the fourth
tallest building in SE Asia. We're looking forward to the grand
opening, because that rooftop bar is going to rather
swank. But Bangkok isn't stopping there. There are
loads of new buildings, both giant
and strange, that will continue
to give Bangkok it's own special character. Just one more reason
we both love living in this crazy town. We have world class
shopping centers, with more on the way. Traffic
sucks. Just plan on that when you visit. The good news is the BTS
or MRT work pretty good. And if all else fails, jump on a
mototaxi. They flow through bad traffic like water. But we're
getting new lines. Greg made a nifty map
to show where some of them will be. Will they all connect?
If history is any judge, probably not. Ah, Bangkok.
Of course, all that new development has to happen
somewhere, and often that means old structures -- sometimes
interesting and historic -- are knocked out of the way. Progress?
Or a loss of culture? We'll offer our opinions on the topic of
how the changing landscape impacts these two expats. And we'd
love to hear what you think! Also, The
Windup Girl is a good future-of-Thailand book. Will
Bangkok look just like that in 200 years? Eh, probably not. But
scifi really doesn't predict the future as much as it portrays
the present. So if you want a fantastical look at what we're
talking about, download the book.