Bangkok voted world's best city

[Spitfire]

Magazine: Bangkok world's best city
Published: 14/07/2010 at 03:04 PM

Travel&Leisure Magazine, which caters to the luxury travel market, has released its 2010 "World's Best" list, with Bangkok voted by readers as the top city in the world, followed by Chiang Mai.

The magazine said in its press release that it was quite certain there had to be a bit of celebrating going on at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), which had been battling hard to bring back tourists following the March-April unrest in Bangkok, although it must be noted that the survey was completed before the mass protests.

Rounding out the top 10 on the "World's Best City" list, after Bangkok and Chiang Mai, are Florence (Italy), San Miguel de Allende (Mexico), Rome (Italy), Sydney (Australia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Oaxaca (Mexico), Barcelona (Spain) and New York City (the United States).

The votes were based on: 1. Places for sightseeing, their beauty and greenery; 2. Arts and culture; 3. Food; 4. Shopping areas; 5. People's friendliness; 6. Value for money spent.

A source at the city hall said Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra would travel overseas to receive this award at The Trump Soho Hotel in New York on July 21.

Thailand’s hotels did well too, with the Peninsula Bangkok rising from No 66 in 2009 to No. 7 in 2010, while Thai Airways was voted the world’s eighth best international airline.

Bangkok was previously voted the "World's Best City" by the magazine's readers in 2008, over Buenos Aires and Cape Town of South Africa. Then-Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin went to receive the award.

Source - The Bangkok Post

Comment - Well, slightly surprising with all that has been going on, probably even took TAT by surprise. Sometimes I reckon this place is made of teflon or something.

[richard]

Luxury travel??? A minority then

[HuntingTigers]

Bangkok voted world's best city

[BaaBaa.]

*snigger*

[Spitfire]

Welcome back Mr BaaBaa, glad you could return.

[BaaBaa.]

Welcome back Mr BaaBaa, glad you could return.

Cheers, I'm not glad I had to return to the UK though.

[The understudy]

Heck Yes that's just what we just need a Magazine fir the glitzy and rich had voted best City for their World wide client tell. What the middle class and the lover class o people? Not being considered at all in Here.

Your's. The understud!!!

[PeteC]

More insight. Pete

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/1 ... -best-city

[johnnyk]

What about Lagos?

[crazy88]

"The votes were based on: 1. Places for sightseeing, their beauty and greenery; 2. Arts and culture; 3. Food; 4. Shopping areas; 5. People's friendliness; 6. Value for money spent."

Based on these it deserves to score fairly high IMHO

1 spot on and if you get out of the main city there are some beautiful areas.

2 Plenty of it and not hard to find.

3 Blows most places out of the water on this as far as I have experienced.

4 Hate the pastime but plenty of choice.

5 Pretty good in general but Malaysia and Bali better. All of them preferable to the UK.

6 Too big a can of worms for comment.

Crazy 88

[charlesh]

I wonder what rewards the panel got before deciding??

[usual suspect]

who came 2nd &3rd..beruit & Lebanon..??

[PeteC]

From the Bangkok Post Letters section. Seems many scratch their head about this selection. Pete

An absurd choice

To have readers of Travel + Leisure magazine vote Bangkok and Chiang Mai as the world's best cities is clearly absurd. Obviously the people who voted failed to venture far from their five-star hotel rooms or a few upmarket shopping malls.

Bangkok is absolutely filthy, with inadequate good-quality public transport and poorly maintained sidewalks, and Chiang Mai is becoming more famous for its polluted air than its temples. In the 2010 Quality of Living Survey by Mercer Consulting published recently, Bangkok did not rate in the top 10 even in Asia-Pacific, let alone the world. Singapore rated highest in Asia, and that city was only 28th worldwide.

BARRY WOOD

[Takiap]

I think you also need to think about what the votes were based on. If we're talking about things like infrastructure and the condition of sidewalks, sure Bangkok would lag behind. On the other hand, if we're talking about visiting a city which well and truly can blow you away the first time you visit, then yes, I think it would take a lot to beat Bangkok.

When I first went to the UK, I spent four days in London and then got hell out of there. Living in the UK for ten years, I never visited London again. Now, when I first came to Thailand, Bangkok appeared totally awesome and I couldn't wait to get back again, and again, and again. Once I started living there though, I couldn't wait to get out, and even now, I have not been up to Bangkok for about two years, apart from going to the airport on one occasion. So, when I first experienced it, it was great, but now I can't stand the place. With that said, for me it's just because the place is too hectic. Hell, even Hua-Hin is getting on my nerves with all the traffic and etc.

Hell, when we bought our place, there were no street lights, no developments, no nothing, now we're smack bang in the middle of it all, and that all in the space of four years.

[Jimbob]

I usually read Travel + Leisure magazine- when I go a medical specialist's waiting rooms. He at least can afford to buy this indulgent magazine and plan to travel to conferences. I'm not envious of people who can be in high rise hotels and look out of their suites across places like Klong Toey and not see them. Ah well, at ground zero in Bangkok, people still have genuine smiles and not just for the tip.