Bangkok isn’t just a popular tourist hotspot; it is also the city of opportunities and dreams. In this city a minimum-wage worker can become a become a billionaire in a lifetime and vice versa. Bangkok may seem like a city of dreams for many, still the truth is not as sweet as the people’s dreams. Only the best and the most fortunate will have a chance to rise above the others. For the rest of the people, Bangkok is simply a place of torture and repetitive pain.
It is a true sorrow to learn that right in the heart of the business centre of Thailand, there is a community of 100,000 suffering deeply. The true irony here is that these people suffer right next to some of the wealthiest groups of people in Thailand. To understand my point that Bangkok isn’t as happy as it seems, just imagine a handful of supercars parked in a fancy hotel. Now imagine walking just about 50 meters to find yourself with tens of raggedy old taxis and motorbikes. Only then can you see the absurd wealth gap of Bangkok, an unfair place to be.
For now, we will drop the depressing realities behind and talk about what you can indulge if you are part of the top one percent of Bangkok! You shall start the day off in your million dollar apartment right in the middle of Bangkok. You will then come down and drive out to the busy streets in your exotic sports car, creating envious glances in the streets. Your car will probably cost more than a middle-class man’s life savings. You then choose among the wide varieties of food choices near your location, there will be great food of all nationalities in almost every corner in downtown. You can eat whatever you want in the menu without even looking at the price, just because you’re that well-off. Needing to shed off some of that peasant money? Well why not stop at one of the most extravagant shopping malls of South East Asia? Whatever you want, you will most likely find. Brand products of price tags reaching up to multi-millions are available just by reaching.
Enough with the dream life, of course Bangkok also offers a place for the middle class. But what is it really like living as a middle class in Bangkok? Alright, you start your day off in a decent sized apartment room on the 10th floor, most likely the mid-ranged units available. You then make your own breakfast and lunch since restaurants in Bangkok are just too expensive. You shall drive out in your miniature eco sedan. You will then see others in their luxury European sedans and can only stare out of envy. You continue to your small cubic work space where there is a pile of work waiting for you. From then, the cycle repeats everyday non-stop except the weekends.
Alright, that ain’t so bad right? I know some of you readers are probably living that typical lifestyle as well. Now I will take you to the REAL Bangkok. This will be a part where no Thai citizen is proud of, something we wish we could hide from the internet and foreigners. Imagine starting the day waking up in a small shack near the main business district of Bangkok. You then make your way to your factory or workplace by foot. You are completely exhausted from you minimum-wage job but must endure. When you start work, you never see the sunlight for at least five hours, an inhumane even on its own. Your job would most likely be a salesperson or a serviceman in a luxury establishment. You will see all the luxuries your eyes can take, but can never own. You finish your shift at around midnight and head home; the cycle repeats.
You all can now see the different parts of Bangkok. We can all see that even though the three events mentioned above are occurring simultaneously in the same area, we can see the completely different comforts that one receives. The rich get to enjoy pride and comfort because they work smart. The middle class at least get to enjoy an air conditioned cubical even though it ain’t much. The third scenario enjoys nothing and is living in constant pain. He has little hope of leaving his raggedy shack and must live on in pain. Bangkok has many sides to it all crammed into one city.
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