Bangkok, Oriental setting

the last time and the only time i visited Bangkok was in september 94'. backpackers vacation with friends before i started the university. i didn't see much of the city then. it was was kind of a station between the airport, the islands in the south and the Chang-Mai/Chang-Rai tour in the north. but i still have some memories of the unbearable humidity and the smog at the Khau-san district, the first encounter with the local street food, the clubs at Phat-pong district (i think it was the 'Queens') the temples, the royal palace and the traffic jams. people said that at that time Bangkok held the world record for traffic jams. already then you could say it was very dynamic city and i'm sure it has changed almost completely by now.
some facts:
Bangkok or better Krung-tehp in thai, is the short version of the longest name ever given to a place (it's composed of 21 words).
the greater Bangkok area has a population of 11,971,000.
as a direct result of the 80's and 90's Asian investment boom, numerous multinational corporations base their regional headquarters in Bangkok and the city has become a regional force in finance and business. in 2009, it was the second most expensive city in South-East Asia behind Singapore.
the city's notorious red-light district (Phat-pong) attracts 11 million international visitors each year, following just Paris and London.
according to Travel and Leisure magazine, Bangkok was ranked the best city in world, in 2008 (!).
the hit 'one night in Bangkok' by Murray Head from 1984 is banned in Thailand (for more banned stuff around the world check this amazing link).



p.s. thanks to Nathalie Tours in Khau-san. if anyone has info about her, please drop me a line.

Architecture in the movies

especially for the Academy Award nomination tonight - the Oscar night, here is a link to a list of eight classic films (made almost a year ago) where the buildings are more than a backdrop, made by flavorwire.com.
i would include some other great movies like Star Wars or the Fifth Element, but for me, Blade Runner was definitely the most inspiring one.

Dan Metro System

Dan Metro System (DMS) is a proposal for an underground train system for the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv - 'Gush Dan'. it is the largest metropolitan area in Israel and it is located in the centre of the country along the Mediterranean coastline. the population of 'Gush Dan' is estimated of more then 3.200.000 inhabitants. the cultural, social and financial centre of the area is the city of Tel Aviv but other small centres still exist in the heart of the satellite cities and new centres are created in the outskirts and the open areas between them.

a week ago (22.02.2010), the government announced that it will invest 7.270.000.000,00 USD between 2010 - 2020 in the traffic infrastructure of the country. the development plan consist of building new highways and train connection between the periphery and the centre that will, according to what they claim, reduce the traffic jams and allow an effective population distribution. the development of the train network (and not the highways) might reduce the traffic on the roads but, as far as i see, if the problem of the traffic in 'Gush Dan' will not be solved in the next years, all the investment in connecting the periphery is worthless. the traffic problems in the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv should be solved, as in any other big metropolitan area, with an efficient public transportation system that will reduce the need of the car use.

for the last 30 years many solutions were suggested but nothing really has been done. still today the public transportation in the area is based on buses and taxis which create traffic jams, mess and severe air pollution. the ideas for underground train system were raised by previous mayors and helped them to gain political popularity but somehow because of budget questions nobody really started to dig. the most current option is the "magical" light-train which consist of what we know from europe, Trams. the first line of the light-train (the red line) should connect Petah Tikva to Bat Yam and it is suppose to cross only the centre of Tel Aviv in an underground tunnel. some other lines are planed but still in a very early stage. the light-train is actually a very short term development solution. it has no vision for the future growth of the city. although some similar projects in the world work successfully, it is always because they have a good supporting infrastructure as very wide roads or tunnels. in other words, in most cases unless you have streets wide enough to create a differentiated lanes, the light-train solution is only an additional weight on the existing streets and infrastructure of the city.

the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv is big enough to have its own metropolitan train system. a net of lines that will cross the area in underground tunnels where subterranean tracks are not possible. it should be efficient and connect the centre of the populated areas and not the outskirts. it should provide connection to civil services, cultural and recreation points of interests. it should be built all at once and not in stages if we really want to have a change. it should work 24/7 and also on Saturdays if we want that people, like in every other big city in Europe, will have no need of a car. it should be electric and not on gas turbine. it should have a connection to the state train stations to allow an easy interchange.

for those of you who have a vision i drew this plan. something to dream about.