A tale of three cities

This is a tale of three city so different, it rocks the mind...at least my mind. I'm talking about of Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

What makes a city a city? Is it the buildings? The various mega structures? The facilities? The hotels? The tourist traps? What is it that makes a city A CITY? Look at Bangkok. In a heartbeat I'll declare it a city. No doubt about it. People will look at Bangkok, and said, "Damn, that's a city!". Why did I say that? Well, look at it this way. I was there for like two times, and both times, I found something new and something that I like. No, like is too affectionate a word. More likely, I found something exciting about Bangkok. Something I know I won't find in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

Bangkok is organic, in a word. It is vibrant. It is filled with people! Yes, the people makes the city! They have high rise building rivaling those in Singapore and KL, and they have a street life reminiscences of small town. You could be in one part of Bangkok, and swear on your mother's grave that you're not in Bangkok, when in fact, you ARE! And you can walk a hundred meters and find yourself staring at the most magnificent building Bangkok has to offer. and just as suddenly, you felt like you're in Bangkok again. That feeling is elusive. That feeling in indescribable.

A case in point, my experience from my recent jaunt to Bangkok last week. Come morning, I woke up, goes down to the hotel lobby where a tuk-tuk (provided free by the hotel) was ready to whisk me to the main street. At the main street, already bustling with people criss-crossing here and there with cars shooting pass on the road, I searched for a place to fill my stomach. Walking a short distance either will bring me to a road side stall selling anything from classic Thai breakfast to traditional Chinese soup noodles. Take your pick, and this place didn't even pretend to be a tourist trap, and yet, there they are, tourists by the dozens. Regarding this road side stalls, everyone eats here: from white-collar workers to laborers. The sitting spilled out onto the road, and yet, I see no policemen coming shoo-ing them away. The reason is that the cars slows down upon coming in close proximity. This is what I call driver courtesy. How many city can claim to have such gracious drivers? Even where there are jay walkers, cars invariably slows down to let them pass. People can walk in the middle of the road without fear of being knocked down by cars or tuk-tuks, or worse, getting horned at.

Sukhumvit in the evening.

Moving along, close by is the BTS station; an elevated mass rapid transit. A few stations away will bring you to the most upscale part of Bangkok; Siam Paragon, arguably the most expensive place to shop in Bangkok. Even here, you could spy some stalls tucked away in a corner here and there, and if you looked carefully enough, customers in ties and coats can be seen waiting patiently for their meal.

A trip to the biggest night market in Bangkok, Chatuchak Market, is a whole new experience in itself. Not only do you need a map to navigate the place, you'll think that people here are angels, sans the steep price that is. I mean, they are so gracious! One small bump from them will have them apologizing profusely you'll get red-faced. Ask one small favor will have them bring you right to where you want to be, even if they don't gain anything. And prices so priced that you want to haggle for a lower price even when it is so low, and they'll happily oblige. Maybe I'm not a shopping or haggling person, but I'm definitely a pasar-malam person.

At night, for the adventuress, there are night life here that would make Las Vegas weep. For those less inclined to dabble in adult entertainment, the night views and night time street shopping is a must. Of course, there's always the ever present massage parlors where you can have your tired body kneaded for hours for pennies! It is that cheap!

A bustling skyline

Lastly, people, be them Thai or foreigners, came to Bangkok, and made Bangkok their home; changing it. But you know what they say: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Next, we have Singapore, city in the south. An advanced city by comparison. Bigger buildings, Better facilities. Just one thing is lacking: a soul. For a big city like Singapore, It somehow feels empty. It feels sterile. Too clean, some said. Too systematic, others complained. I think it lacks the human factor so critical in the making of a successful city. Singapore, to itself is a city made to cater to the buildings and facilities and a showcase for the world with the people being brought in to fill the rooms these building provided. There are world class system in place. And yet when you examine it closer, it is lifeless. Therein lies the problem. The city was built for the buildings, not the logical way around. That the city was built for the humans, with the building being built to cater for the people.

Buildings in Singapore were built for the sake of being built. It's utilitarian. It's artificial. It's boring. People goes into the building to work, and leave for a night's sleep only to come back again the next day to do the same thing. When people talks about their experiences in Singapore, they don't say, "I've lived in Singapore..." rather, they said, "I've worked in Singapore...". See the difference? They worked here rather than lived here, this in itself is a worrying trend. And yet Singapore persist, insisting that it is the best place to live. There isn't anything to do once you get off work. And there's so little variation here that once you've seen one part of Singapore, you've seen it all.

And lastly, Kuala Lumpur, arguably the worst of the three cities. It tries too hard to be something is was not meant to be. You could find parts of Singapore in KL, and you can find parts of Bangkok sans graciousness, on another part. Development is erratic and marred by corruption. You wouldn't even want to work here, let alone live here. The only reason they are so many people here (relatively speaking) is because the main transportation hubs are located here, and the seat of government are here as well. And these same people will invariably get conned by hustlers and peddlers plying the streets at every junction near crowded places. You can't walk a decent amount of distance without encountering dangerous car drivers blaring their horns at you for even walking on the road shoulder. Don't even mention the public transport. If they can get away with slitting your throat with their price, they will.

Attraction? None at all. Although KL is more organic than Singapore, and there are places you could go to feel uniquely in KL, you'll have problem reaching it.

In conclusion, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, in that order seems to offer more in terms of liveliness and experience. And in the future, I predict Bangkok will overtake Singapore as the most advanced city in SE Asia while still retaining it's liveliness, it's people and its culture. Singapore already lost its. Kuala Lumpur sold out its soul long time ago.

And this is just three...wait till you read what I have to say about Beijing!