also, the big city se asia high streets don't strike me as terribly gritty. crowdy, decrepit and sometimes poor, for sure, but rather orderly and not overly gritty. i do have a high tolerance for grit tho lol.
If anyone has watched any of those 4K video walking tours around city neighborhoods, I found one from Mumbai that blew my mind as far as grit and general daily life goes.
Others like a torrential rainy day in Manila and back street Tokyo neighborhoods are pretty cool too (not necessarily grit).