Nobody told her, I could see that right away. She looked up at her man, dolefully. Then the complaining started, a screech, a loud UGH! He pulled her to his side as she kept spitting out Korean obscenities I suppose. After she regained some of her composure, she ended up doing the thing we all do–She shook her leg and moved on.

Apparently, nobody had warned her of the Bangkok Sidewalk Squirt.

That squirt, that dirty, muddy, bacteria infested squirt occurs when the tiles on the sidewalk have loosened up and water seeps underneath. The source of the water can come from either a fresh rain or someone has thrown out cooking or cleaning water from a food stall. The tile looks innocent enough but that is what gets you. You step, the tile shifts and releases a pressured VERTICAL stream of water right up your pant leg.

Sure there might be something to complain about. In Bangkok, responsibility for repairing the sidewalk belongs to the sidewalk owner–that’s right–it’s private property not public property. We just get to walk on it. The rent we pay for walking on the sidewalk is browsing the wares of the street sellers and eating from the food carts that sometimes saturate the sidewalks. And yes sometimes the rent could be a swift squirt up the leg.

How to Avoid the Squirt

• Beware of uneven pavement!
• Note suspicious looking tiles, is it loose or missing?
• Look for water accumulated just around the cracks.
• Step where others are stepping.
• Careful when stepping on and off curbs.

The Bangkok sidewalk squirt is just one of the things, a small nuisance. If you do get the squirt, well…now you have another fun travel story.

Bangkok is both weird and wonderful!