By population, Bangkok is the 33th largest city in the world with around 10,890,660 people living in the metropolitan region as of 2019. To put this in perspective, the entire population of the country of Cambodia is 16.5 million. Bangkok has roughly five times the number of residents as Phnom Penh. It was interesting to visit during Caleb’s visa run as Thailand is similar to Cambodia in many ways, yet is very distinct from Cambodia in many other ways.
In Phnom Penh, we often use the TADA and GRAB ride sharing apps but learned the hard way that these are far less reliable in Bangkok. Instead, it turned out that old fashion taxis were the way to go when traveling by car. They turned out to be cheaper and more responsive – where as we waited and waited on drivers from ride sharing apps who accepted but then never came.
However, in our experience, cars were not the best way to get around Bangkok due to the city’s epic traffic jams. We had to take cars to/from the airport (there is a train but we had too much luggage) and to the Cambodian Embassy, but the rest of the time we were able to walk, take the subway, or take the sky train.
Walking
Crystal and I love walking. Charlotte was also a great walker before we moved to Cambodia, but between the COVID-19 pandemic and the poor walking conditions in Phnom Penh she’s fallen out of the practice. This trip helped us realize that walking is a family practice we want to bring back.
We had a much better time walking in Bangkok than we do in Phnom Penh. There are still challenges, the sidewalk are not always uniform and some side streets didn’t have sidewalks or had very small sidewalks.
That said, there actually were sidewalks on many streets in Bangkok. That’s not the case in Phnom Penh where sidewalks are uncommon outside of the old city, waterfront, and certain new developments. Even when there is sidewalk in Phnom Penh, it’s often used as a lane for traffic or a parking lot.
Our first afternoon we walked from our hotel to the Benchakitti Forest Park. The 4.6 mile walk turned out to be a mistake because it started to rain just as we reached the park. So we sheltered near the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center and called a ride sharing app to take us back to the hotel. It was really disappointing to see the trees of the park but not be able to walk in the park itself. We just got too excited to explore a new city and needed to remember that it’s rainy season here too. We did pass some wonderful restaurants and street food, including one of the highest mango and sticky rice places in the city. So the walk was not entirely for naught.
On later days, we walked between stations and our destinations. This was a fun way to explore the city that let us do our walking at the parks and not along the street.
Crystal had wisely picked a hotel for us that was within easy walking distance of a Sky Train station.
Sky Train
The Sky Train is by far my favorite way to get around Bangkok. It’s inexpensive, convenient, and clean. It can be crowded but that’s less of an issue when you’re tourist and can adjust your schedule to avoid rush hour.
The monument commemorates the 1941 Thai victory over the French in Cambodia.
The Sky Train also lets you do some fun sightseeing while you’re traveling and has many wonderful destinations are along it’s route.
Crystal had the girls book our tickets for the Sky Train and it was fun to watch them figure out how to navigate the machine. It’s good practice for traveling in other cities.
The Sky Train issued cards. Initially, we had the girls take responsibility for their cards as part of the experience. But as they got more tired I started keeping the cards for them.
Most of the Sky Train stations provided an interesting view of the city. It wasn’t always a great view – sometimes the station was sandwiched between skyscrapers – but it was still interesting.
The first time we took the Sky Train it was crowded. Not Tokyo crowded, but crowded. We soon learned to plan around rush hour and after that we were largely able to avoid the crush.
Even when it was crowded, the Sky Train didn’t stay crowded for long. There was an ebb and flow of passengers passed on the stop. The Sky Train really emptied at some of the more popular stops.
Charlotte got sick on our trip. So one day, Catherine and I went out without the others and we took a Sky Train all the way to the end of it’s line at Chatuchak Park.
Tuk Tuks?
But wait! What about Bangkok’s most famous form of transportation? The Tuk Tuk? We saw very few of them – they were about as common as cyclos have become in Phnom Penh – and the ones we saw were clearly for tourists. When we asked at the hotel we were told that Tuk Tuks are now more expensive than taxis or ride sharing apps. They also often come with city guides who try to extend each trip for as long as possible. So we didn’t try one but it sounds like it’s not quite the experience it was in the past.
Metro/Subway
The Bangkok Metro/Subway has many of the same advantages as the Sky Train but lacks it’s charm. It’s a Subway. I’ve never been on one that didn’t have at least a hint of urine in the air and this was no exception. But it was fast, convenient, and inexpensive.
The Metro/Subway lines up with the Sky Train at strategic points so between two systems you can really see an incredible amount of Bangkok. Unlike the Sky Train, the Metro/Subway used tokens so we had to carefully hold on to those.
In closing, there have been plans floating around for a Sky Train in Phnom Penh since my first term. It would be a wonderful way to navigate the city but I’m not sure when or if it will ever come to fruition. Until then, the ride sharing apps still work well here in Phnom Penh – and of course we drive electric moto a lot – but also Charlotte has been working on her biking skills. She can now bike from our house to Russian market and is eager to bike to school.
What great learning for the girls. I could use some of that!!