A politically incorrect but fascinating trip back to old Bangkok

'Siam to Korea,' a travel video produced in 1931.

It seems almost everyone has a story about how horrible Bangkok traffic was before the BTS Skytrain came to the rescue in 1999, allowing commuters to whiz down Sukhumvit rather than simmer in traffic on the street below.

But what about the days before cars, when Sukhumvit Road was just a rice paddy in the middle of nowhere? Sounds pretty dreamy.

We stumbled onto this old travel video, 'Siam to Korea,' which was produced in 1931. If you can get beyond the sketchy editing and blurry video that might give you a case of motion sickness, you'll be rewarded with remarkable footage and observations.

There are interesting claims in here. The narrator observes that Thais don't kiss their babies and says Bangkok covers more land than any city in the world except London. The video is a great example of the widespread Western ignorance about Asia and Siam that was once the norm -- some might find this video offensive. Others will find it amusing.

If nothing else, it certainly is a valuable piece of history.