Experience Thailand's 'specialty': Traffic jams!

Sitting impatiently in the car and watching hundreds of cars lined up in front, this is definitely an experience that anyone visiting Bangkok (Thailand) has had at least once.

TRAFFIC JAMS IN ANGKOK ARE A DAILY ACTIVITY.

During a training session of Coach Kim Sang-sik's team in Bangkok, Mr. D., a reporter from a Vietnamese television station, hurriedly made his way from the gate to the training ground, his face contorted in frustration: "The traffic jam is terrible!" He explained that he traveled from the MPC (SEA Games 33 Press Center) to the U23 Vietnam team's training ground, located within a university campus. "The map showed the distance was less than 15 km, so I carefully took a taxi an hour early, but I still arrived late," Mr. D. lamented, regretting not being able to film an interview with a U23 Vietnam player before the training session. He could only manage a wry smile and sigh, "I have experience in Ho Chi Minh City, but even here I can't avoid it. I've heard about Bangkok's 'specialty,' and now I understand just how terrible it is." Mr. D.'s case is just one of the unfortunate situations caused by traffic congestion that Vietnamese media in general had to face while covering the SEA Games 33 in Bangkok.

Bangkok streets during rush hour.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

The Thanh Nien newspaper's reporting team arrived in Thailand on December 1st, covering the "hot spots" of the 33rd SEA Games to bring readers interesting news and behind-the-scenes stories. Over the past few days, we've been constantly traveling on various roads in Bangkok, experiencing firsthand the traffic situation. Bangkok's road system is incredibly complex, with some sections overlapping three or four times, from overpasses and elevated highways (four lanes in each direction) to the metro. Yet, traffic jams are still commonplace!

On our way to our reporting location, we almost always found ourselves stuck in traffic, with hundreds of cars bumper-to-bumper. Once, the Thanh Nien newspaper's reporting team hitched a ride with Jaratsapsiri Songpol, a driver with 10 years of experience. Songpol immediately demonstrated his thorough knowledge of Bangkok's roads, constantly maneuvering into side streets and inner lanes to avoid congestion. Even so, his car couldn't avoid moments of complete gridlock. At such times, Songpol would pull the handbrake decisively and answer our questions about the traffic jams: "In Bangkok, there are a lot of motorbikes, and especially a huge number of cars, so congestion can happen at any time. However, the hours from 4 PM to midnight are the worst." "Anyway, you noticed there wasn't a single car horn to be heard, right?", Songpol excitedly introduced, somewhat disappointed when we replied that we already knew about this. After a lively conversation, we finally arrived. It took us almost an hour to travel the approximately 14 km (from Rajamangala Stadium to MPC), even though we left at 10 am, a time considered off-peak.

Vietnam U23 team also got to experience the "specialty"

Earlier, on their first day in Bangkok, the Vietnam U23 team experienced the harshness of the city's traffic. The hotel where coach Kim Sang-sik and his team were staying was less than 6 km from the training ground, a journey expected to take only about 15 minutes. However, according to members of the Vietnam U23 team, it actually took them 35-40 minutes to get there.

However, this only happens when the Vietnam U23 team goes to training. Before and after each official match, the bus carrying Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team is always escorted by motorcycles arranged by the organizers. A Thai police officer, after leading a team bus to the stadium and putting down the kickstand, smiled and friendly said "hello" in Vietnamese to the reporter. He shared: "These days we are quite busy. One of my important tasks is to ensure that the athletes' delegations travel as smoothly and safely as possible."

Leaving Bangkok behind and traveling nearly 100 km to Chonburi, where the Vietnamese women's national team is based and plays at the Chonburi Daikin Stadium, we clearly felt the atmosphere was no longer stifling with traffic like in the Thai capital. Chonburi is more spacious and peaceful than the bustling Bangkok. Here, Coach Mai Duc Chung's team traveled to training and matches without any obstacles.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nem-trai-dac-san-thai-lan-ket-xe-185251205225603938.htm