Bangkok Blogs

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been really pissed off with the state of Bangkok weather that has been excessively rainy and caused a great deal of problems. I am certain those of you living here share the same or similar views to mine.

It’s been quite a few weeks since I started getting irritated and the rains still continue with the waters fast rising here in Bangkok. Nobody knows how bad the flooding will get before the skies start to clear. The Bangkok weather experts reckon that the week ahead could be a bit of a nightmare.

Personally, I hope things will not get too bad, though I am fully aware that Bangkokians themselves are getting prepared for potentially horrible conditions in the next couple of weeks. I went to see an old mate at his flat three days ago and was forced to wade through almost knee-high water. I’ve been there quite a few times and the water level has never been that high.

Everyone knows that when it’s raining in Bangkok, the poorly run buses are consistently packed with loads of passengers. Apart from that, the rain also exacerbates the already awful Bangkok traffic, and the soggy commuters are forced to endure nasty conditions that seem like an absolute eternity.

There are times that I simply get out and walk because it’s so much faster. However when traffic does improve, like it was the other night when I took a green bus down Sukhumvit Road, the journey can be speedy and surprisingly painless.

And after all this intense precipitation, the threat of flooding in Bangkok is quite imminent. Such upcountry provinces as Nakonsawan and Phitsanulok have already been heavily flooded, and with River Chraopaya fast rising and high tides due soon this month, Bangkokians are on high alert for massive floods expected to hit many areas of the city.

I have learnt that many of Bangkok’s major canal boat operations have for the time being halted their service this week thanks to the rising water levels that stop boats passing under certain bridges.

Another concern is the possible effects all this rain may have on Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Because the airport was built on land used to be known as Cobra Swamp in Thai, many people say it’s possible that the area and surrounding roads could be vulnerable to flooding. However, I still don’t believe it will ever get bad enough to halt air traffic.

If you read or watch Thai news, you should know that so far all the rain has caused a few leaks in the new terminal and those E-sarn workers are now madly repairing the drips and clearing up puddles, so that the flights can continue unabated.

There have also been reports of missing luggage during the first few days of operation at Suvarnaphumi. I reckon that’s not entirely unexpected for such a new airport. However, I just hope things are sorted out quickly enough as we’re expecting a lot of tourists coming to Thailand later this year.