Tourist says Bangkok is 400 times more developed than Kuala Lumpur

He posted photos of Bangkok’s skyline and praised its development on social media platform Threads last month. His post quickly went viral with 4,700 likes and 4,100 comments, with some criticizing his viewpoint in a sarcastic tone.

"You are absolutely correct. Malaysia is 50 years behind Bangkok. We in Kuala Lumpur live in treehouses. No malls, no hotels, no airport. We travel with cows and buffalo," a netizen wrote.

"Yes don't come here, we still don't have shirt and pants, we use leaves to cover our body part," another wrote.

Other tourists said both Malaysia and Thailand are popular destinations in Southeast Asia, each with its own advantages and drawbacks.

A Filipino tourist said Malaysia is clearly better for long-term quality of life. He praised the country’s incredible natural variety, from cityscapes to cool mountains and beautiful beaches, and noted that life is simpler because English is widely spoken.

He also highlighted the rich blend of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures, which makes the food and festivals vibrant.

Another praised Bangkok as "modern, progressive, tolerant and open" and claimed toilets are cleaner in Bangkok than vast parts of Kuala Lumpur. However, the traffic, pollution and the crowd in Bangkok is "crazy," the person added.

Malaysia has been the most visited country in Southeast Asia, with 24.5 million arrivals recorded in the first seven months this year, an increase of 16.8% year-on-year.

The country works towards 47 million international arrivals and US$80 billion in revenue for Visit Malaysia 2026.

Tourist arrivals in Thailand have fallen this year amid safety concerns.