I must say I’m looking forward to leaving Thailand for a few months (that event is coming soon), and one of the reasons is how bad Bangkok water smells. Since the floods in November, the water in my building smells so badly of sulphur (rotten eggs), it’s hard to shower in it or even do laundry. The smell of sulphur often means the water contains hydrogen sulfide gas, and is a good indication something natural rotting in there. After eight years of living in the same building, with no sulphur smell before, that leads me to believe, since the floods, Bangkok water isn’t as clean as it used to be.
Three Thai friends and one Western friend have also said the same thing, and they live in areas all over Bangkok, all of which were flooded. I’ve also noticed the nasty smell in the restrooms of my local shopping mall. That probably means the water in Bangkok, once quite clean, now definitely has problems.
Now, while having water that has hydrogen sulfide gas in it isn’t usually particularly dangerous, it can produce a type of slime (which I’m beginning to notice around my once-very-clean bath), that’s difficult to clean and even worse to get rid of.
Of course, having lived in Thailand for years, I still absolutely love the country but, sometimes, it’s nice to get out to a more developed country, where the water I use for bathing and doing laundry doesn’t stink
A month or two in a cleaner place than Bangkok is just what my sensitive nose needs. That day, thankfully, is coming soon.