This Metro System was brought to you by the Government of Japan

Bangkok is famous for its traffic jams, which occur partly because until fairly recently the city didn't have a public transport system worth squat. Unless you count the buses, the network of which is cunningly designed so that they sit in the same traffic jams as the rest of the traffic.

Since 1999 however it has the Skytrain (currently two lines), and since 2004 a shiny new metro line, which help somewhat but only cover a limited area of the city and haven't yet reached that critical mass which makes it useful for getting from any given Point A to the respective point B. Indeed, for a multi-million-populated megacity (officially the population is around 6 million) the trains on both systems are remarkably short, with just three or four carriages. Also both Skytrain and Metro are comparatively expensive, and unless you happen to be travelling between two locations within walking distance of stations, a taxi will not be much more expensive (and for two or more people is probably the cheaper option).

One thing that struck me on one of my few trips on the Metro is that the stations looked as if they could have been in Tokyo. The Japanese tend to build modern but extremely bland stations with not much in the way of the cool! chic! internationally renowned architect! type of design. The Bangkok Metro stations reminded me of that. And look: there's a discreet plaque "erected in appreciation of the financial support extended by the Government of Japan through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand for the construction of the M.R.T. Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line". At the very bottom four companies are listed, of which two are Japanese (Tokyu Corporation and Kumagai-Gumi), one German (Bilfinger Berger) and one Thai (Ch Karnchang Public Co.). Aha. That would explain it.

(The trains, by the way, were constructed by Siemens, and on the inside look as if they could be from say Berlin or London.)

Evidently Bangkok is quite enamoured with its Japanese-sponsored public transport infrastructure, and according to the Bangkok Post is now requesting assistance to build a further three lines for an estimated 130 billion baht or so. Presumably once these (as well as some extensions to the Skytrain) get built, they will provided that critical mass which will make a tangible difference to the city's traffic problems. Butdon't hold your breath (although breathing shallowly will continue to be advisable at peak congestion periods).