The north end of Thong Lor (Sukhumvit Soi 55) gets really backed up with traffic, especially on weekend afternoons. Lots of shoppers going to lots of shops and sometimes you end up sitting for several minutes. Yes, these moments of stuck traffic give me amazing opportunities to really see this fascinating neighborhood in which I live.
The street is about 3 km (2 miles) long with a Skytrain station at the south end. There is a special transit system, a fleet of aging Mercedes Benz busses that spew coarse black smoke, that run up and down the soi, picking up riders at the Skytrain station, several stops along the way, until terminating at the khlong (canal) pier on the north end of the street.
These bright red unairconditioned busses park at the north end of the street when they are not in use. While sitting in traffic, I watched as two men refueled one of the buses in the most ad-hoc manner: gravity-fed through a rubber hose connected to a plastic fuel jug.
The color and the composition both spoke to me but I was equally fascinated that the younger man was smoking while doing this. I wondered if I kept the camera ready, would I be able to capture a good picture of the explosion without losing my life in the process?
I never found out as traffic started moving and there was, to the best of my knowledge, no explosion.
Also along the street, which is known for its abundance of wedding boutiques, I saw a plant vendor pause in the shade in front of a window displaying a wedding gown.
Again, a wonderful contrast that exemplifies this neighborhood: it is called the Beverly Hills of Bangkok, but at the same time all segments of the socioeconomic spectrum are represented here, both living and working. That is something I really like about Krungthep: there is a huge gap between the haves and have-nots, but the gap isn’t physical.
christao408 
“there is a huge gap between the haves and have-nots, but the gap isn’t physical.”
In Hong Kong, those living at the peak are the richest, less rich are those living at the mid-level. But compared with those living at sea-level, those living at the mid-level are very rich. So, in Hong Kong, the higher social economic status you are in, the higher you live in.
Fascinating…that’s why I love Asia…miss living in such an environment sometimes..the food, the people, the smells… but Europe ain’t so bad either..just more middle class… America is a whole other story though..
“there is a huge gap between the haves and have-nots, but the gap isn’t physical.” – very well written!
@choyshinglin – Lately, you can rent something in the Peak for a very reasonable figure compared to those in LA! Not bad for someone thinking of relocating back to HK.
While stuck in BKK traffic (preferably in an air-conditioned car), I’m always interested to observe the variety of shops dotted along the soi, and the swarms of motor-bikes around you. Remember the police always blocked the whole road whenever Royalty/VIPs passed by? That’ll add more grief to the traffic jam.
Stark contrasts indeed. As a compliance officer, I cringed at the cigarette! Good thing he wasn’t within my arm’s reach. lol
Smoking and gasoline explosion is a hoax apparently, since nothing happened
Smoking aside – there’s something very intriguing about that pose, not sure what it is.
How fascinating! I always felt the economic bi-polarity in Westwood. When I worked down there, I always felt so odd that there were so many Bentley’s and Aston Martin’s parked along ‘chic’ streets but with homeless people co-habitating them as well. LA will always be a complex and confusing city to me. Anyway, I’m glad that the bus did not explode. And I have to admit I did not expect you to half-jokingly wish that it would. :o) The dark side of Monsieur Chris that I was not aware of? :o)
@kenpcho – Not a dark side at all. Just looking for news to blog about… =)
@ElusiveWords – Perhaps it is his “come hither” look?
@Wangium – Yes, see? Since it didn’t happen, it proves that gasoline is not flamable.
@murisopsis – As a compliance officer, you’d have a heart attack here.
@curry69curry – There is a silver lining to the traffic jams, right?
@Dezinerdreams – Thank you.
@snowjunky8 – America (and to a lesser extent, Canada and Australia) are very unique, especially because of their size and vast wilderness areas.
@choyshinglin – That’s very true. Interesting how topography defines wealth in some areas, isn’t it?
@curry69curry – You thinking of returning to HKG? Would certainly be nice to have you closer to Thailand. Easier to visit.
It seems like I have just seen that, and experienced it myself Chris. I got home last night and will post some of my pictures of Indian life. I enjoyed being there and really felt great being in Dubai, but when the plane landed at J FK, I wanted to kiss the ground or sing.. ” my country tis of thee.” With all the problems we have here, we are still the best country in the world…I think. Looking forward to reading your posts. I have missed doing that the last two weeks. Shall be posting my pictures in a day or two.