Bangkok is a city quite like no other. From candy-coloured cabs to baby elephants roaming the streets of Silom occasionally at night, the Big Mango is always ready to dish up an unexpected surprise - if you're alert enough to notice! Take a good look around; observe the locals' offbeat habit of eating pizza with ketchup, and take part in the respectable practice of standing up for the Royal Anthem before a movie starts. Some of these things are humorous and feel-good experiences, while others can be somewhat annoying or puzzling. Either way, you're in for many surprises that are uniquely Bangkok.
If you would like to share your own observations with us, or read other people's, just scroll to the bottom of this page.
You know you're in Bangkok when...
...you see monks talking on their mobile phones, queuing up at an ATM, and shopping for IT supplies at Pantip Plaza.
...a taxi driver refuses to take you to where you want to go. Sometimes you're even told to get out of the cab, because the driver's decided he didn't want to take you there anymore.
...drinks bought from pavement vendors come in a handy plastic bag.
...most Thai people you see on a Monday will voluntarily be wearing a yellow shirt to show their love and respect for H.M. King Bhumibol (H.M. was born on a Monday, and yellow is the royal colour in Thailand).
...you have to stand for the Royal Anthem every time a movie starts.
...you see locals pour ketchup on their pizza.
...you come out of a night club at two in the morning to see a whole road filled with food stands.
...a crowd gathers around an odd object (like a penis-shaped bamboo shoot) to rub it for lucky lottery numbers.
...you can have a free tango lesson in Lumpini Park at sunrise.
...construction workers care more about a spirit house being erected - to provide a new home for the spirits dwelling at the building site - than wearing a hard hat.
...it's common to see labourers cladded in designer garb like Gucci and Prada (never mind that it's all counterfeit).
...you see fortune tellers gathered right outside temples - a curious contradiction to the concept of karma.
...you see many huge, unfinished buildings scattered around the city (a visible result of the economic crisis in 1997 that remains a decade later).
...people on buses, the Skytrain and underground are more likely to offer their seats to kids (and not elderly people).
...the seats nearest to the doors (or exits) on buses, trains, and boats are always reserved for monks.
...you can buy a variety of tropical fruit at any hour of the day or night, expertly sliced up into bite-sized pieces.
...yet another (bigger and better) mall is scheduled to open soon.
...you're approached by a complete stranger in Silom Road wanting to sell you a "sek dee-vee-dee".
...barbers are closed on Wednesday because it's believed to bring bad luck to have your hair cut that day.
...you notice a Buddhist amulet or spirit house right inside a go-go bar.
...you try in vain to find a rubbish bin. That's because there aren't many, except for those at the entrances to malls, Skytrain and underground stations, and a few others thinly scattered about.
Share your own unique experience or observation with us
Have you experienced or seen something in Bangkok that's totally unique or different from everyday life in other big cities? Please submit it to us. We'll be posting the best readers' contributions here, and award a mystery prize to the one that really stands out.
Readers' Contributions
You know you're in Bangkok when...
...at rush hour, early in the morning, you see a family of four loaded onto a single motorbike - without helmets! (Louise Vee, Ontario, Canada)
...you see footprints on the toilet seat. ...you see a motorbike piled 3 feet high with eggs on the back. ...you bring your own toilet paper. ... when the food you've ordered comes out as it is cooked, serving one person at a time. (Tom Rawls, UK)
...the tuk-tuk offers you a cheap rate, but takes you to shops or factories where they can get coupons for fuel before dropping you at your desired destination. Worst even, some will even drop you off at the wrong place. (Blackrozz, Asia)
