The sidewalks of Bangkok play an integral part in the city’s life. Coming from the West, you don’t think much about sidewalks. They are an ubiquitous part of the urban landscape, pretty much the same from one city to the next. You use them as a pathway to reach your destination; they serve as a safe zone, a protected walkway from the traffic zipping by. Using a sidewalk in a downtown area of a major city may mean occasionally stepping over a bum homeless person. About the only other danger you face in using a sidewalk is stepping in the results of a dog’s most recent meal.

Sidewalks in Bangkok are a different matter. Whether poured concrete or pavers, many are in disastrous shape. You don’t have to walk far before realizing that you really need to keep an eye on the ground. Trip hazards abound. Look away for a brief moment and you can find yourself a few feet below ground having stepped through an uncovered sewer grate.

Crumbling sidewalks and large areas covered with plywood not designed to hold a person weighing over 100 lbs., used to be a much more common sight in Bangkok. The city has improved greatly in taking care of its dangerous sidewalks. Nowadays when you go out for a walk, repairs are often being performed to keep the city’s sidewalks safe. That means instead of stumbling over a trip hazard, now instead you walk in the street because a group of about half a dozen Thais are busy fixing the sidewalk you wanted to walk on. On a recent trip there was an area of sidewalk being repaired by my hotel. It must have been a good three feet in length. And the workers were there daily doing their job for the entire two weeks of my stay.

But then to Thais, using a sidewalk to actually walk on is a foreign idea anyway. Sidewalks in Bangkok are shopping malls, gathering spots, and extensions of the road. They are not so much of a path but rather a blockage. Anywhere where people gather, sidewalk vendors set up shop. They block the surrounding stores, access to the street, and the sidewalks themselves. What little space vendors leave for pedestrians is quickly filled by locals moving slower than a snail on Quaaludes. Guide books warn you against walking in Bangkok because of the heat, humidity, and air pollution. The real reason you should avoid walking anywhere in Bangkok is that you’ll never get there.

Traditionally markets have been a gathering place for villagers, an opportunity to catch up on the lives of friends and acquaintances, to share news and spread gossip. That rural mindset has followed Thais into the city. Since every major sidewalk area in Bangkok is a market, locals gather in small groups to talk and kill time, often huddled together right smack dab in the middle of the walkway. It’s amazing that for such a small people they can manage to take up so much room.

Surprisingly, the one thing you don’t run across on the sidewalks of Bangkok often is dog poop. Or maybe that’s not that surprising. No one leaves enough room, or provides enough peace for a dog to do its business. Humans are a different story. Evidently Thai culture provides for little Thai boys to use the city’s sidewalks as a urinal. Not on their own. Usually under the guiding hand of mom. I guess the plus is that since its not just a small bowl to aim into, you never overshoot.

One of the basic rules of the road for driving in Bangkok is that no portion of a street should go unused. If the lanes designated for the direction you are travelling are full and one for those driving in the opposing direction is somewhat free of traffic, Thai drivers all know that it is perfectly acceptable to lay claim to the free portion of the roadway. Tuk Tuk drivers, on the other hand, often ignore unused portions of the road. If they need a free lane they hop a curb and use the nearest sidewalk. Same same motorcycles and scooters. Though sidewalks more often serve as a parking lot for those.

You don’t run across too many beggars on Bangkok’s sidewalks. They tend to prefer the stairways of pedestrian overpasses where the passageway is even tighter; the small portion of free space on a sidewalk would allow you room to avoid them. If you are begging, it’s better to position yourself as a toll taker. Unless you truly are a person in need. If you are missing appendages, preferably at least three of them, then the sidewalk is a better option. It’s difficult for anyone to avoid you when you are slithering along below their feet.

Making your way along a sidewalk in Bangkok can be a real chore. Even for locals. So it’s not unusual to pass a few who’ve decided they are in need of a rest. In Bangkok, sidewalks serve as a path to wherever you are going, even if your destination is dreamland. Sleeping on a sidewalk doesn’t look very comfortable, but then I’ve never actually tried it. It’s probably a more successful endeavor than attempting to walk on one in any case.

Once you have the art of sidewalk use in Bangkok down, Thai sidewalk habits start to make sense. All that hustle and bustle hurrying along your way doesn’t make a lot of sense; it’s a Western mindset. Instead, in Bangkok, sidewalks aren’t viewed as part of the journey, they are seen as the destination.