Bangkok's low standard of living

sums it up nicely. Can't think of too many things I would add.

The myth of gentle Thai people, buddhists, land of smiles, good cuisine, etc. is totally ludicrous to anyone who's lived here for a length of time. Looking through old magazines, I can see how this myth has been built up since the 1960s by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, to the point where it is unforunately accepted as foundational fact by the majority of guidebooks.

Bangkok is a great place to live.
Author: Wake-up call
Date: 17 Feb 2549 08:36

Besides the suffocating pollution from diesel buses, two-stroke bikes and tuk-tuks and idle taxis, never-ending traffic jams, rampant corruption in the police and politicians, multitudes of prostitution parlors and street-walkers, ignorant beggars with innocent babies sitting under bridges, ineffective schooling and law systems, plastic bags littering the last few remaining square meters of green in the city, excessive noise pollution from loud speakers at malls and modified bikes, inconsiderate pedestrians unaware of anything going on around them or people wanting to pass them, lax safety standards or any standards for that matter, suicidal bus and taxi drivers, dilapidated housing, open sewerage rotting in the sun, the smell of excrement every few meters, noisy and insolent children, deep-fried food being part of a child’s staple diet, swindlers, pirates and scams, obtrusive hierarchical systems with incompetent managers, superficial outlooks on money and happiness, glorified focus on appearance, rude people standing in front of an exit of a train or bus trying to shove their way onboard, spoiled children, deserted Buddhist values, cruelty to animals (elephants, birds and fish for example), unabashed yet unwarranted elitism and egotism, and the apathy of people to resolve any of the above, Bangkok is a great place to live.