Don't Follow My Lead

Before I continue on telling my stories, I wanted to put this out there, hopefully it helps others that are doing the same thing as me, and some of this information is scattered across many websites, here I’m trying to compile it all.

There’s official cabs. They have a licensed number by the Thai government. This taxis are hard to spot, and to be truthful I don’t think I can tell the difference between the legal ones and not.   Besides getting inside and see the meter working, I really can’t tell.   On the illegal ones there’s a meter, but is conveniently turned off.  For the latter ones, you want to settle on a price before you get in.  Since you are a foreigner, they will try to take more from you, so bargain hard.  If you think you can’t reach an agreement, let them go, there’s plenty of other taxis around. Taxis are better if you are in a group.  It keeps you together, and you can split the already cheap price among yourselves.  To give you an idea of price, from the Grand Palace area, back to the hostel, 10km or so away, it was 100 baht (around $3).  Divide that among 3 or 4 of you, and you got a good thing going.

Besides taxis, there’s also Tuk-Tuks, this are motorcycles with an open air cabin, if you want to think about it that way.   They look like this:

Like taxis, they are everywhere touristy.   The drivers will ask any non-local “Tuk-Tuk? Tuk-Tuk?” so much so, to the point of annoyance and just for defiance, you will make a pledge to yourself to not get in one.  I got in one.  There were 3 of us, and through happenstance, we made a deal to go to 4 different places, with the one Tuk-Tuk for 100 baht.    Cheap and easy, specially among groups.   Not necessarily my first option, but it works in emergencies.  Again, if there’s something I have a hatred of, is Tuk Tuks.  I know, and understand, they are trying to make a living, but if I’m walking down the street, and there’s 7 of you in a row, and already pass 6 without asking for a ride, you better believe, I’m not asking the 7th either.   In order to avoid their constant asking, I try to go against traffic in one way streets.  It helps, but doesn’t eliminate the problem.

In Bangkok there’s also Subway lines, I could tell there’s 3 of them.  There’s the SKYTRAIN.  This one helped me get to/from the Airport and other areas.  MRT and SRT.  Both of them go through the city.  All of them are in good shape, and very well kept.  Only quirky thing, is how you pay for them.   In most cities I’ve been, you pay one price and now you have access to the whole subway system.  In Bangkok however you pay from Point A to Point B one price, and from Point A to Point C a different price.  Even if is just the next stop.   You pay for this with a rechargeable card, or with a one-time token.  So you need to plan ahead as to where you going and be precise about your stop.

In Bangkok, there’s a healthy supply of public buses, and with Google Maps, it helps you plan your best bus ride.   They are plentiful, and some of them have A/C.   They run in about 10 minute intervals, so if you miss one, another is not far behind.   Once you enter the bus a person will go around picking up the fare.  Few things to have in mind:  Since this is not the preferred method of transportation for foreigners, a lot of bus fare ladies don’t know a lot of English.  It becomes a little harder for you, because not all buses charges the same.   I paid between 6.5 bath to 11 baht.  Also, they’ll try to help you get to where you want, but with their limited English and my non-existent Thai, it becomes a little stressful figuring it out.  GPS and Google Maps are needed for you to know where to drop off to make your connection, again, Google Maps is pretty accurate about this.

In Chiang Mai however, it’s a little harder to move around.  There’s no public transportation available.  So you are at the mercy of your legs (my preferred method), taxis/buses, or the dreaded Tuk-Tuks.   Did I mention how much I hate Tuk-Tuks?   Can’t say it enough.  The taxi/buses are modified pickup trucks that will take you to your desire destination.  I say taxi/buses, because if a stranger is going the same route, they will go on the vehicle with you, and you pay per person when you reach your destination.  I saw a lot of locals using this method.  They are not as annoyingly harassing as Tuk-Tuks.  

Picture of taxi/bus

Another option, almost all hostels/hotels will have a connection for you to rent a motorcycle/scooter or a bicycle if you wish.   Prices for bikes are around 50 baht for the whole day, and scooters from 99 baht and up, depending on location and model.   You will need to give your passport as collateral while using this modes of transportation.   

While I haven’t run into any problems renting anything, be aware of certain places that will try to run a scam, where they claim of damage to the motor vehicles when you return them, and they will want more money.   Again, I haven’t seen it, but I have always rented through my hostel, that offers very similar rates (or better) as other places.

Moving from city to city, is also not that big of a problem.  There’s train rides that connect the country, along with buses.  Buses come mainly in two ways, VIP buses, and XBUS.  The VIP, as the name suggested, do less stops, thus faster, air conditioned, and the one from Bangkok to Chiang Mai included snacks, water, and a free meal with your ticket at one designated stop.  XBUS, I’ll find out tomorrow when I move from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong on my way to Laos.  Is cheaper than the VIP buses, but also a longer ride.  I’ll update once I completed my first XBUS experience.

Another note to make, with buses, you can pay online and with credit cards, but there’s different websites, I went through 12goAsia, and Green Bus Thailand, there probably are others, which makes keeping track of them, not as easy as you would think.  Or take your chances and pay at the Bus Terminal before the bus depart, plenty of people do that.