A day in Bangkok

That people in the Netherlands and Belgium, who are about to holiday to Thailand to go, worrying about what awaits them upon arrival, I can vividly imagine.

There is a major flood that has already claimed lives in large parts of Thailand, made many people homeless and flooded industrial sites, leaving hundreds of thousands of Thais without work.

Roughly speaking, a third of Thailand suffers from the large amount of water that comes from the North, which also means that two thirds of the country has nothing to do with that flood disaster. In traditional tourist centers in the North, Chiang Mai and Chiang, Pattaya, Koh Chang, Koh Samui, Phuket, Hua Hin to name a few, life goes on (for now).

In recent days, Bangkok has also been increasingly mentioned as a flood area, but beware, the capital of Thailand covers an area larger than the province of Utrecht. Quite a few neighborhoods on the north side have now been flooded and what will happen to the center of the city is still uncertain. Then you hear again that that part of the city will also have to suffer, but again other voices say that it will not happen for certain political reasons, which I will not go into further.

Anyway, just like those people who still have to arrive in Bangkok, I was also in the rats because of all those contradictory messages. I live in Pattaya, sometimes here too (a lot) stir, but comparatively it means nothing. (Tourist) life is normal here and I have not noticed any shortages of water or food. The point was that I definitely had to go to Bangkok at short notice for a new passport. Time and time again postponed and waiting for the messages, but the expiration date was getting closer and the need to go to the Embassy was increasing.

Then today was the day. Normally I would go with my own car, but I thought that if I go by bus and then get stuck in the water, at least you're not alone. So by bus, the bus station is about 300 meters from my house. Normally I would wear long pants and shoes when visiting the Embassy, ​​but with the prospect of having to wade through maybe half a meter, I decided to wear shorts and (neat) slippers.

Arrived at Ekkamai an hour and a half later, it's almost 35:10 in the morning, the sun is high in the sky and the temperature is XNUMX° Celsius. No water to be seen yet, gosh! Then take the Skytrain to the Embassy. First had new passport photos taken in a large department store nearby, yes, it wasn't busy inside there, but what do you want at about XNUMX o'clock in the morning. I still haven't seen any water and walking to the Embassy I'm thinking that the Khlong walking down that street could use some fresh water. It is low, it smells and is full of waste from people and nature.

It is not busy at the Embassy and within 20 minutes my application was neatly processed. Now the crowds at the “Dutch” counter are usually not that bad, but it struck me that there were also few visa applicants. Would that appointment system still work well? When leaving the embassy I ask the two guards why there is no water in that canal and when it will come. The answer is predictable: Mai lou, Kap! And if it does come, no problem, because we already have the boats ready! The guard, saying this, is almost doubled over laughing afterwards.

I don't like Bangkok, it's oppressively hot and I'm canceling my original plan to take the Skytrain to the river to have a look and possibly take some pictures. (Sorry, editor!) With a cigar in my mouth I take the walk to Soi Cowboy to have lunch at Old Dutch. It's the usual hustle and bustle on Sukhumvit Road, not only the suffocating car traffic, but also the tourists, who stroll past the countless stalls selling souvenirs, clothes and what not. No trace of flooding, although some sandbags are ready at a few shops just in case.

After a ball sandwich and a croquette sandwich with the Skytrain back to Ekkamai and from there with the comfortable bus for 133 Baht back in Pattaya. Immediately checked Thailandblog for the latest news and then hear Michel Maas say in an audio fragment that life in Bangkok is almost at a standstill and that the shelves in the large supermarkets are almost empty. This may be the case in the flooded areas of Bangkok, but this is not (yet) the case in the business and tourist centre.

The news of this story is that it is not news. Everything seems normal, but of course I give no guarantee that it will stay that way. The coming weekend seems to be crucial again with even more water from the North and spring tide from the South. Add to that the possible political forces at play and who knows what the center of Bangkok will look like.

I hope it stays dry there, not only for the people who live and/or work in the center, but also for myself, who likes to receive the new passport in a dry envelope.