The Lat Mayom floating market near Bangkok.

”The essence of Bangkok lies beneath the surface and its physical appearance.” Composer/pianist Pang Vongtaradon

The clichés surrounding big cities always have a kernel of truth. But to let stereotype define the home of millions of people, pick any major metropolis you like on the globe, and I think you’ll understand why, to me, hyperbole and sweeping generalizations are cynical or boring, or both. Jumping to conclusions is not great exercise.

I never thought I’d understand Bangkok. At first it is only big and only confusing. There is the cliché of constant tropical heat.  Then, and what is often a visual deal breaker for many first time visitors, there is the ever present brutalist transit system. Street level exhaust fumes are epic. Bangkok is a city where crossing the street resembles a pedestrian level version of ten lanes of a freeway in Los Angeles or an afternoon stroll in the Lincoln Tunnel.

And I just fell in love. How?

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