Bangkok is often touted as a cheap city. But while tourists and expats praise the relatively low cost of living in Thailand, many local residents watch, helpless, as more shopping malls take over the city and complain about the rising cost of living.
Still, Bangkok has more free public facilities and services than one would expect. The problem is coverage and visibility, not to mention the stigma of being branded "poor" if you rely on the state's free buses, public toilets, free Wi-Fi, or going to a park instead of a mall.
While still lacking compared to developed cities, the government and City Hall have made significant plans to create more public areas in Bangkok. One includes evicting a century-old community from the historical Mahakan Fort to turn it into a park. Another project, the Chao Phraya riverside promenade, draws 14 billion baht from taxpayers' pockets and is running into opposition from the public and conservationists.
Life takes a look at existing public facilities, administered either by the state or City Hall, that are free of charge. During one day, this writer used and reviewed public amenities and services, with the goal of not spending a single baht. Turns out, you'd better have a lot of time on your hands and the water-storage capacities of a camel.
9am
I head to the closest bus station where I know I can catch a free bus. Thankfully, I live very centrally or this experiment could have easily turned into a nightmare from the outset.
After a mere 10 minutes' walk, I reach the bus stop and see not one, but three free buses pass by. Beginner's luck.
9.30am
Reaching Lumpini Park in record time -- 15 minutes -- I realise there are very few cars on the road. Either the rush hour has passed or most commuters are still stuck in horrendous traffic jams on tollways and roads leading to the city centre.
At this hour, many joggers have already left the park, trading their running gear for more work-appropriate outfits and cyclists aren't allowed in yet.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has a strict policy of only letting cyclists ride in the park between 10am and 3pm, making it impossible for people who commute by bike to use it as a shortcut on their way to work.
10am
Early in the morning and on weekends, the outdoor fitness equipment installed by the BMA is a popular attraction for people of all ages who come to exercise in Lumpini.
Pu, a 58-year-old Bangkok resident, says she was initially reluctant to use the equipment -- until she tried it and became a convert. "I thought the machines would be dirty and of poor quality, especially compared to other gyms' facilities," she says.
Nowadays, she comes here three times a week and would never think about going back to an indoor gym, preferring the open air and green setting.
However, Pu's main concern is that the public equipment may not last long. She has no idea whether the BMA takes care of it or repairs broken items.
11am
The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority advertises today that it has installed more than 800 drinking water fountains all over the city.
One (at least) of them is conveniently situated in Lumpini Park, where you would expect throngs of thirsty runners and cyclists to rush to it post-workout. Except that I've hardly ever seen anyone drink from it.
Instead, vendors selling bottled water and juices have prospered in and around the park.
Ood, a cyclist, stands next to one of these stalls while keeping an eye on his Italian brand lightweight bike. He cycles in Lumpini Park five times per week and although he has seen the water fountains, he swears he would never drink from them.
"Is the water clean?" he asks. "I'm not sure that in Thailand the water meets international standards."
He quickly corrects himself: he's certain the water is perfectly fine but the pipelines carrying them could be dusty, rusty and full of germs.
It would be a fine idea, Ood agrees, to have free drinkable water. "But to be honest, I don't need it myself, nor do most of my cyclist friends."
He prefers the sports drinks and herbal juices sold at nearby stalls, although they can be pricier. In his view, he is helping vendors make a living.
11.44am
I am back at the bus stop and two free buses pass by. However, these buses take a "special route", which is only "specially" short. Instead of heading to their end destination, they stop midway and turn back.
Another two buses arrive, but they're not free. While sitting under the midday Sun, I ponder how much time I would normally wait for transportation before switching travel modes. Fifteen minutes? Twenty? For the sake of the experiment I give it half-an-hour.
12.08pm
Finally, a bus.
12.30pm
I reach the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), which has become in recent years a convenient rally spot for human rights or environmental activists who have held several protests in front of the building.
The BACC offers many free activities -- the museum itself and temporary booths held by collectives are dedicated to arts or social actions -- as well as movie screenings, coffee shops, books and craft stores.
Not only that, but the BACC is also conveniently located, making it a completely accessible public space. A quibble we often hear is there are no outdoor spaces to further diversify what it offers.
2pm
Traffic has resumed and most people on the bus are falling asleep due to the heat. A few passengers headed to Sanam Luang get off and indicate that they will take a 13 baht ride on an air-conditioned vehicle. Right now, all free buses are "hot buses" with no air-con. (The free Wi-Fi service, however, is available on around 600 Euro Two air-con buses covering 36 routes, and is provided by a private company that earns revenue from advertising).
2.45pm
Stepping out on Ratchadamnoen Road to catch another bus that will take me to Thewes is harder than expected.
"That's not possible," a policeman tells me. "You'd better take a taxi."
Motorcyclists weigh in, advising me to walk to Bang Lamphu and take the bus from there. I'm hot and thirsty and the walk takes me about 15 minutes.
So far, I only had to travel short distances to places accessible by free buses and on foot. But many don't share this luck.
Ten, who is an office maid, commutes every day from Bang Na, where she lives, to her workplace in Klong Toey. There are no free buses passing in her area, she says, and she must pay 40 baht in travel fees for her daily round-trips.
A single journey can take up to two hours when there is a lot of traffic but taking the BTS is not an option for Ten, as a ticket to the city centre would cost her 52 baht. Make that two, and it's already a third of her daily salary.
3.15pm
As soon as I reach the National Library, I ask the clerks if there is a water fountain where I can refill my plastic bottle. There may be hundreds of these in Bangkok, but I hardly saw any during the day.
In Hong Kong, there is a mobile application to locate free drinking water spots but here, a Google search only finds you press releases from the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority.
As it turns out, the National Library doesn't have free water either.
However, they do provide free Wi-Fi, as well as spacious tables where one can work. Electricity plugs are for charging your laptop but not your mobile phone (it's forbidden).
Still, the floors are rather empty and quiet even by a library's standards, although this may be because they are renovating the buildings and some areas are closed to the public.
Lack of mass public transport connecting the library to the city centre is also to blame, says Kanis Saengchote, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Business School.
For many, the National Library is hard to access, making it less popular than other facilities such as the TCDC library in CentralWorld.
4.30pm
Most land plots along the Chao Phraya river are privately owned. Only 3.3km or 14% of the riverfront land stretching from Krung Thonburi bridge to Krungthep Bridge can be considered public space that can be enjoyed without spending money.
The Suan Santi Chaiprakarn Park, at the corner of Phra Athit and Phra Sumen Road, is part of that 14%.
Lush green, with little to no litter, it's the perfect spot to enjoy the evening breeze without having to whip out your wallet. If you're in for some entertainment, aerobic classes often take place there.
It's also where one of Bangkok's spookiest public toilets are located -- a seemingly underground bunker with flickering white neon lights. After seeing the place, you may think twice and decide you don't need a bathroom after all.
The flush works perfectly well though and the taps too -- a little too well, flooding the floor at every usage.
What's in a public space?
When it comes to increasing the amount of public space in the city, authorities often think in terms of quantity rather than quality, argues Yossapon Boonsom, co-founder of Friends of River, a network of architects and civic groups opposing the Chao Phraya river promenade project.
Currently, the BMA is trying to multiply green spaces in Bangkok, in order to meet international standards -- 9m² per inhabitant, while we only reach between 5-6m² at the moment.
Often, they will plant trees along the roads or in the middle of alleys to make them look greener. But it won't result in a green space that residents can use.
Free air-conditioning isn't the only reason why people choose malls over parks or other public spaces. "They're just not attractive enough," Yossapon slams.
At a park, families can only enjoy the grass and a pond. However, if they head to the mall instead, they can take part in various activities suited to each of their tastes -- cooking, reading or playing, on top of shopping.
Controversies surrounding projects like the Mahakan Fort community eviction and the construction of the Chao Phraya riverside promenade stem from conflicting points of view, he adds.
While authorities have one vision of what public space should be, it differs from communities and users' needs and expectations.
In recent years, many local initiatives regarding urban redevelopment have emerged to tackle specific needs in different neighbourhoods. However, these projects are often discarded in favour of official policies.
The state or City Hall should act as an intermediate or facilitator between local groups and policymakers, the architect argues, rather than strictly enforcing top-down approaches.
"Taxpayers deserve more diversity from their public spaces."
For economist Kanis Saengchote, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's School of Business, lack of access to public spaces is the main problem.
While what's on offer in Bangkok is relatively diverse in his view, encompassing libraries, parks and museums, not enough people make use of the facilities. The BACC or TCDC's library in CentralWorld are twice as popular than the Rattanakosin Contemporary Art Centre or the National Library, because they are situated next to BTS lines, he argues.
Most facilities are accessible only by road and travelling around Bangkok has many uncertainties, Kanis adds. Bangkok's rail modal share is only 3% of the total transportation in the city, while the capital tops traffic jam rankings. There's a loss of productivity when most people spend on average three hours per day in their car, but their quality of life also declines.
Along with the lack of physical public space accessible to most, "public areas" have shifted online with the emergence of social media. While Thais spend on average three hours on their mobile devices per day, they mostly interact with like-minded individuals.
"Social media doesn't have the same properties as a physical public space in promoting democracy," Kanis said.
The city is a connecting platform between people from different socio-economic groups, who have divergent beliefs and attitudes. Public spaces concentrate such diversity and encourage social interaction, which in turn can create mutual understanding.
