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I've just returned from a job interview in Manila (Ortigas/Pasig). Everyone complains about the traffic. Having never been to Manila before, and having spent only 4 days there, it seems to me that while traffic can be bad, it doesn't hold a candle to Bangkok. A reality check between thos two cities from people who know them would be appreciated. Did I miss something?
people tell me that they're basically cities that are just about the same...
Manila traffic is horrible, I was horrified the first time I went, I had a new appreciation for Dallas traffic.
I've never been to bangkok but my relatives in Manila tell me its all the same.
Well, if you live here for a while, you will know where you should live. Where you choose to live should have a direct coorelation to where you work and your access (or lack thereof) to the SkyTrain/Subway. You can pretty much get anywhere in Bangkok by SkyTrain/Subway within 30 minutes.
If you didn't know, the SkyTrain and Subway are both very new, clean and air conditioned. It's really the best way around the city.
If you are driving yourself, it depends. I've been driving in Bangkok for three years. Rarely do I find myself stuck in traffic for more than an hour. But ... I know what roads/intersections to avoid and when to not bother. When it rains and floods ... well, have a well stocked IPOD.
To the poster who said it takes 7 hours to get to the airport, that is a tale of long long ago (like 10 years ago) before the freeway system was complete. It never takes me more than 30 minutes to get to the (new) airport by car, and I live in the center of the city. Even from the other end of the city, it shouldn't take more than an hour ... so long as you are not too far from the expressway entrance. At the end of this year, the city will open the airport express train too.
I've been to Manila many times and I think the traffic is more avoidable in Bangkok because of better public transportation.
Nice response, PacificJet. I've heard that one of the problems is that there is only one road going to/from neighborhoods to parts of the city, which makes the congestion worse.
im from new york.. iv been in manila and bangkok also *****et and boracay. but manila's main highway is clean and bangkok trashes are hiding somewhere and bangkok ppl are silent wen traffic but in manila are crowding. in beach. all i can say is boracay is a breathtaking beach to swim.. very nyc.. notlyk *****et. children are stricted to swim because of floods.
Manila has areas where traffic isn't that bad, and other areas where traffic tends to be awful. Bangkok seems to have harsh traffic all over the place, but its layout can make more sense than the Manila region, depending on where you need to go. The Manila region is squeezed between Manila Bay on the west and Laguna de Bay to the east, and sort of sprawls out to the north and south as a response.
Quote:
manila's main highway
You probably mean the EDSA, which can be good or bad depending on time of day, but depending on your destination, you may not be going anywhere near the EDSA. If you mean something like Roxas Ave., all of those streets terminate or merge into other roads within the metro area, and it's hard to think of them as "main" highways.
Notice that most of the major highways in Manila run roughly north-south. That's the prevailing manner in which traffic is channeled.
But if you need to cross the metro area in any sort of diagonal or east/west fashion, it becomes much more difficult.
This can be kind of deceptive to visitors, since the airport is directly south of Makati, and not far from downtown Manila itself (as opposed to BK's airport, which is off to the east). But if you ever need to drive a route like the University of the Philippines down to Cavite, you'll see what I mean.
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