Most of the time I would say I am a nice person. I, like everyone, have my moments of darkness, such as when I am being horribly competitive in the gym but, on the whole I would say I am a good person who’s easy to get along with. That is, unless you are a slow or inept walker I encounter in the street.
Perhaps I was spoilt by Dubai and the lack of bustling streets — when the only time I encountered at crowd that stressed me out was when Jimmy Choo’s collection launched at H&M and fashionistas were crawling over each other to nab a pair (not a pretty sight) — but Bangkok drives me crazy with its pedestrians.
It’s not just the number of them that bothers me, but it’s the absolute lack of awareness they seem to have for other people. Particularly people like me, who have long legs, walk fast and don’t like to dawdle.
It’s the one thing about Bangkok (OK, the one thing after political instability and potential visa woes in the long term) that makes me wonder if I could actually live here my whole life. But I suspect the problem isn’t only in Bangkok. I expect it’s anywhere where there are a lot of people.
Let me talk you through a few of the things that get me worked up. Firstly: escalators. I wish I could somehow let everyone in the world know that it is possible to carry on moving when you’re on an escalator.
I never understand why people are walking along then stop dead for the twenty seconds the escalator takes to move them up or downwards and then begin to walk again. Are people really so lazy they must come to an absolute standstill on an incline or decline? Argh. Secondly; if you really must stop on an escalator, at least step aside (preferably everyone should stand to the same side so I don’t have to weave in and out of you like you’re obstacles on an assault course) so that we don’t all have to stand and wait because you’re too lazy to walk.
But it’s not just escalators. People just stop in the street in front of you, taking up the whole path, or they walk in a group towards you and don’t make space to walk through, or couples walking towards you holding hands and don’t want people to pass between them.
I always just stop dead in front of them until they move. There are also people who you step aside and wait for or hold a door open for and they don’t even acknowledge you, as if they are royalty and you’re a subordinate whose job it is to open doors for them. I think even if I was a queen I would thank people for holding doors for me because it doesn’t cost a thing and it makes everyone feel better.
There are also people who don’t know how to use trains. The sky train in Bangkok gets very packed and I get off at a station that not many others do. I can say ‘excuse me!’ in English and Thai as much as I want when the doors open, but nobody budges. Nobody steps off the train for a second so I can get off. Instead, I say excuse me a couple of times then get huffy and barge my way through with my massive sports bag. Then everyone looks affronted.
So, yes, I have pedestrian rage. I cannot leave the house without someone bothering me. The more I write about this, the more examples I can think of. Thank goodness I don’t drive or, I swear, I would be the most enraged driver. I have a bad enough attitude when I’m just walking around.
I’m trying to be more relaxed because getting angry only affects me in the long run. Everyone else forgets about that angry woman on the train after a minute or so, but it puts me in a bad mood for a lot longer and perhaps even affects the way I behave with the next person I come across.
All that rage and stress can’t be good for you. So, my suggestion is: let’s all stop walking like idiots and perhaps I can be a bit more zen. If only it worked that way. Unfortunately, all I can change is my reaction to it.
