Urban exploration for a trip to the doctor
I don’t get why I like staying home much more than exploring my hometown Bangkok. The city has much to offer — a vibrant cultural heritage, a growing business hub, a vivid nightlife district and lots more — and I still prefer staying locked up in my 32 sq. m. apartment.
One day, I decided to change things up. Four o’clock, class is dismissed, and instead of heading straight for home, I head right for adventure. Today I will explore the city, a popular destination for hungry backpackers and retiring expats that I have under-appreciated. I skip the subway and wander by foot. A big red public bus buzzes through the street. It leaves behind a trail of black smog. The smog stops by my face. I take a big inhale. Now I get why I’d rather stay home.
Thailand’s capital, home to over 10 million people, can go well into choking its inhabitants with unacceptable levels of air pollution, sometimes with PM2.5 particulate matter reaching four times the World Health Organization’s safe level of 25 micrograms. Similar to inhabitants in other major developed cities like Beijing, Delhi and London, Bangkok’s residents are left no choice but to trade their leisure in for their health.
You’d probably think twice about checking out that new contemporary art exhibition if you had to walk on the footpath in 20 minutes of toxic air, ride a motorbike taxi through 10 more of exhaust fumes, and spend another hour doing the same on the way home. You’d probably hesitate about taking a walk in the park if the walk to the park was half an hour of breathing chemicals and dust under the hot blaring sun.
You might as well skip urban exploration altogether if that could accumulate for a more frequent trip to the doctor’s office. Why build cool monuments and host fun parties for the people, when the people could barely walk to the entrance or stay at the venue?
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