What city has the worst traffic in the world?
 

Just got back from 2 days in Jakarta and literally spent more time in taxis then I did working, sleeping or anything else. I've never seen anything that bad. I don't know how they get business done. Moto taxis are popular, but even the herds of motos get stuck.

So - where have you been that's it's worse?

I have seen London in total gridlock - It doesn't look as chaotic and crazy as Mumbai or Jakarta for example - But nobody can move at all...

This city's traffic looks pretty bad in china

http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/Inter..._12x5_1600.jpg

I've felt exactly the same when i've been to Saint-Petersburg, traffic there was the most awful i've ever seen.

China/India probably have the worst traffic jams.

How did you find Jakarta otherwise?

I just did a SG/MY trip. Ive been to Singapore many times but I thought KL was quite a decent place, except for it being a bit of a rainforest of a city with cockroaches the size of mouses!

I agree.. India is probably the worst! Actually China is pretty ok compared to other Asian countries.

If you ever visit Jakarta, go to the CJ bar :thumbsup

Other than that its a pretty boring city

Could you get any work done in the taxi?

Otherwise it was fine. I was surprised at the amount of non-Halal options - they have more than KL from what I saw and it is the most heavily populated Muslim country in the world. The people I dealt with were all very super-friendly and they're very service oriented. Stayed at the Gran Melia and overall may have had the best service of any hotel I've ever been in. I think the Park Hyatt in Tokyo is the most luxiourious, but this Gran Melia was awesome. And it had Embassy-type security. Searches of every car inside and out, metal detectors, guys with serious looking automatic weapons.

It's a quick 2 hour flight from KL and cheap on Air Asia - we'll see if I go back.

I've been in KL for almost 2 years (in Bangsar). The rainy season is just coming to an end - it's been a rough month. In June I moved from a very modern apartment building to a 5,000SF townhouse. I have an exterminator in literally once a week to do battle with those cockroaches. Their size is stunning.

Otherwise KL is ok - very international modern city. Reasonable prices for most things. I saw a CNN report that said it was number 8 in the world for foreign tourists. Lots of Aussies and Middle Easterners. A lot of oil money. Economy is weak, the Ringgit has tanked to 1997 levels. I'm looking at another 18 months here, then back to New York.

I made it to one bar last night - Top Gun in Blok M. Reminded me a little of Tijuana. A lot of available talent for on premises or takeaway.

I did catch up on a ton of emails and was Whatapping plenty. Bought a sim card at the airport for $5 and it was a lifesaver.

They're horrifying. I've travelled all over the world and I've never seen cockroaches so big anywhere else and they make a horrible noise. It reminded me of that horror movie Mimic.

So why don't you like KL enough to stay longer there?

Do you think its a safe city in the longer term?

We were warned about bag snatching and muggings, does this happen a lot?

Your travelling threads are very interesting. I give you a lot of respect. :thumbsup

I have traveled and lived in many different countries. But you have lived in much more "not so" western areas which makes it seem that much more interesting to me.

Keep these types of posts coming. :thumbsup

Purely a business decision. We're growing the brand and slated to open up shop in New York in 2017. I just follow the money . . .

I think it's a safe enough city. They don't fuck with white foreigners much, but the foreign workers (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, etc) make easy targets for the police and muggers.

I live in a great neighborhood, but there are a couple of "beware of purse-snatcher" metal road signs (like a yield or stop sign) literally showing a guy snatching a bag. Never happened to me, but I rarely go to bars or clubs. I work and come home. Boring but productive.

http://s15.postimg.org/xk4szj5bf/purse_snatch.jpg

Thanks! Will do. I'm looking at doing Afghanistan, probably Kabul, next year. A lot of logistics go into a trip like that. If not there, I'm really interested in Tehran.

You're crazy going back to New York. Asia is where its at.

Even in places with noisy cockroaches the size of mouses that can actually FLY :Oh crap

Afghanistan will be awesome.

I like KL a lot. It's not fancy or flashy or shiny like Singapore but it has character and I like it a lot more than Thailand. Its got a kind of really roots Asia appeal but why do people stare so much at foreigners? I think I noticed more staring on the train system and in shopping malls on me in KL than I ever felt in India or China or anywhere else.

And by the way, how come so many of the muslims in headdress look Chinese? They were really sweet and friendly but I just noticed that a lot of them have distinctly and obviously oriental features. Of course I know there are a lot of Chinese in KL but I just wonder what exactly happened there?

KL is good, I like Asia, but it looks like I'm going to get an extraordinary opportunity in NY, so I have to do it.

I don't ride the trains, although the system is great and being greatly expanded - work to be completed in 2017. I have a small motobike that I ride around to our outlets. Or I take Uber X which is super cheap here.

The look of Malays can really vary. Some look like Ewoks, some are stunning model-looking and then some have some Chinese blood in them (or Indian) - a Chinese mother and a Malay father. By law in such a mixed marriage the non-Muslim party must convert to Islam and affirm they will raise the kids as Muslims. No separation of Church (or should I say Mosque) & State here!

I sure hope they did expand it and connect it together properly. I didn't like the train system, mainly because I'm comparing it with the rest of Asia's train systems which are much better and:

(1) Its old, dirty and not that well air conditioned.

(2) It's disorganized and the lines are not well connected.

(3) Some of the trains can not accommodate the amount of people.

(4) Most annoyingly there's no option to buy a ticket that allows you to ride the whole net work for a day, like in Dubai or Singapore or London or elsewhere.

I especially love the Dubai idea of having a first class carriage, that's awesome because you can almost guarantee a seat during off peak and its never overcrowded. I doubt KL will see that type of improvement if the boss keeps stuffing his pockets with billions and getting away with it.

When I was in Brussels it was a really be one...


http://www.dw.com/image/0,,15826869_303,00.jpg

You won't catch me going to Kabul... Tehran is a different story. I know alot of Persians who travel back and say it's great to visit, not so much to live.

North Korea seems super interesting to me. I think you would be super protected... almost to protected to get the real deal. But the country seems super interesting.

cairo egypt...holy fuck talk about gridlock...also parking LOL forget about it LOL

I've traveled to quite a few places, I thought Manila in the Philippines had pretty bad traffic... Drivers over there seemed really rude aswel, everyone beeping at eachother non stop and at night leaving their full beams on not giving a shit lol... I've not been to enough countries/cities to know which has the worst traffic but out of all the cities I've been to I thought London and Manila.

It's probably a city in China or India tho, higher population.

Funny I was going to say jakarta. I have not been there, just from reading the stories..

Nairobi, Kenya - bad traffic and you are literally taking your life into your hands everytime you get in it. Most soul killing traffic - Washington DC.

You mean you might spend those 18 months before NY in indonesia instead of KL? :winkwink:

What if they don't?

Looks like a typical rush hour on the Gardiner or Don Valley Parkway in Toronto.

I was looking at conferences to attend and I saw one is Jakarta, do you think that would be worth attending?

depends on the niche :2 cents:

I guess it depends on the conference, announcers and who is attending (for networking). :winkwink:

I agree with Trump on this:

best speach i've heard from trump

Super! super duper? or just super?

Every marriage must be registered and issued a certificate by the government to be considered a legal marriage. You don't get the certificate until the other party has converted.

Depends of the value of the conference to you. If the conference is in a great hotel, I'd do it - and not leave the hotel during the day. Traffic is more manageable after 10pm.

I stayed at the Gran Melia. If the conference happens to be there - GO GO GO. Best service I've had in any hotel. Embassy-type security. Friendliest staff who all knew me by name within 5 minutes of checking in - which they allowed me to do 4 hours early and upgraded me to a suite for absolutely no reason. Stay a a Red Level room. Awesome.

If you go and want to check out Kuala Lumpur, let me know . . .

I guess there are different lines MRT, LRT. In 2 years I rode the LRT once - for about 10 stops with no changes - so I can't comment on how good or bad it is. They are connecting/expanding everything and it looks like everything will be completed on time.

They work around the clock and it's not like the States where every time you go by a construction site it seems there are 3 guys standing around and one guy with a shovel. These guys work - and with no regard to safety.

Four Bangladeshi workers were crushed to death earlier this year at one of the expansion sites. The settlement? $25,000 for each worker's family and "better luck next time". There's no litigation here for accidents. Even with negligence.

I don't get into politics here (I'm not that stupid) but the amount stolen by the president and then saying it was a "contribution" is stunning. And he fires everyone who investigates. Not to mention the fire that happened at 1pm on a Friday (when all were out for prayers) on the EXACT two floors of the Investigator's office where all of the Official investigators worked. And the fire department was VERY slow in responding.

So the real number of muslims is lower than official numbers because people would fake convert just to get the paper.

If i download whatever disney movie you want and let you play with your lego. Will you promise to leave me and your mom alone? No knocking! Pinkey swear.

Why would anyone live in such a place?

In the entire world? So you are including the countries where grown men routinely fuck goats? Ok I say Cairo. If not including countries where grown men routinely fuck goats then I would say Los Angles where it is common to travel 3 blocks in 30 minutes.

Chicago bad enough for me, no desire to search for something worse.

Sounds about right. Though the Malays (Muslims) make up 60% of the population. And that % is real. Chinese Malaysians are about 30% and Indian Malaysians make up 8%.

I've heard that Cairo has awful traffic...!

Well if muslims are 60% of the population which looks about right, then why celebrate Christmas so aggressively? Decorations and christmas music around KL started in early November.

In most muslim countries Christmas celebrations start after first week December. At least they do In middle east ie Saudi, Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait etc.

I can mention cities I've visited and Hong Kong is the worst followed by LA. London, Paris and Rome.