Yahk by Thanon Chan, rayo rayo!

Living in a city of 13 million people continues to be a source of amazement and curiosity to me. How do so many people manage to make their way through the maze of noise, buildings, food-stalls, shopping malls, wats, and more?? Even more so, how do 13 million people handle the chaos, congestion, and entirely overwhelming experience of Bangkok traffic? The answer is seen darting down every hidden soi, and zig-zagging in between bumpers in a grid-locked thanon. As I am car-less and forced to explore other means of getting to and fro, I thought I'd share a bit on the eccentricities of Thai transport. Enjoy.

Metered Taxis

Metered taxis tend to be the most economical route to take in Bangkok, as the meter starts at only 35Baht, roughly 1USD. The meter climbs slowly and if you split the cab ride with a few friends, even a more expensive long-distance ride is a great deal. The cabs are all brightly painted, especially in a bright pink -- The King's color. 

       Taxis are the pits in grid-locked traffic, and if you get in one at the wrong time (anytime between 4:30 and 9:00pm), you can expect to be sitting in the overly AC-ed cab for close to or sometimes ever over an hour. 

       The taxi driver's here are exceptional at getting thisclose to each other (and everything else in their way) without hitting anything. The first few weeks in Bangkok, I did a lot of wincing... but after a while you realize just how competent these drivers are. 

An excellent representation of the car:taxi ratio on the roads of Bangkok.

 Tuk-Tuk

Probably the most famed form of Thai transport, and definitely the one I utilize the least. Tuk-tuks are motorized three-wheel carts that are open on the sides. The drivers are usually spastic, at best, and terribly eager to rip you off. Admittedly, riding in a tuk-tuk is pretty damn fun. The jolting and heaving and racing down roads is a definite way to get your heart pumping. But unless you know exactly how much it should cost you to get where you are going (and you aren't afraid to barter/argue in Thai), I don't think they're quite worth the price.

 The Motorbike Taxi

Motorbike taxis in Bangkok are easily the most accessible and most convenient way of getting around the city, especially in heavy rush-hour traffic. They are also easily the most dangerous form of transportation here, but coincidentally the form I take most often. The taxi-men work in little colonies, donning brightly colored vests over their clothes to signal the company they work for. They can be found in little posses at pretty much every street corner, hovering outside of apartments and gathering at the base of the BTS stations, waiting for customers. 

      I love motorbike taxis because they are usually incredibly cheap -- usually between 20-60baht for a one-way trip -- and equally as convenient. When you need to get somewhere in a hurry, a motorbike taxi can dodge, dive, and daredevil its way in between cars. Shooting around turns and driving a hairs-width from other vehicles, these drivers usually have me saying prayers by the time we reach our destination. But there is no denying the exhilaration from being on the back of a motorbike flying down the road, especially after doing some hard negotiating in Thai to get a fair price. True assimilation. :)

A typical clan of motorbike drivers, waiting for customers

The Bangkok Skytrain (BTS)

Bangkok's elevated rail system, the Skytrain, is one of the most ueseful ways to get around central city. With a central station located at busy the Siam shopping district, and two lines to travel on (Sukhumvit and Silom), it is the choice of transportation for over 400,000 people every day. This can make for quite a sardine scenario in the evenings, but trains come by about every five minutes, so it's never an inconvenience to wait for the next one. Fairs are extremely reasonable (between 10 and 40B) and flying high above the traffic during rush hour is reason enough to hop on often.

Songthaews

In Thai, the word songthaew translates directly into “two rows.” Fitting. Songthaews in Bangkok are essentially just red, covered pick-up trucks that have two rows of bench seating planted in the bed. Thai commuters use them as shared taxis, especially for shorter distances. Songthaews are great for such shorter jaunts – at only 5.50 Baht (30 Baht to 1USD) they are beyond even the best bargain – and a true “Thai” experience. The drivers rarely speak English and the songthaew routes aren’t marked at all, so it’s really only smart to take one if you know exactly where its headed. In other parts of the country, you can wave down a songthaew and just tell the driver where you want to go. If he happens to be going that direction, he’ll nod and you can hop on board. If not, he’ll drive off and you simply wait 5 minutes till the next one comes along. 

I often take a songthaew to get to yoga, as I usually have time to kill before the 6pm class starts, and the trucks move quite slowly. When the trucks get packed there is usually only standing room, and you may need to even hang off the back. But this, like with most of Thai transportation, is just as fun as it is dangerous.

River Taxis

Something I didn't know about Bangkok when I first moved here is that it was once coined the "Venice of the East." The reference makes sense to me now, of course, as I've become familiar with all the various klongs (canals) and the grand Chao Praya River -- main arteries in Bangkok's transportation system.

       One of my favorite routes to take visitors on when they first visit, is the songthaew jaunt to the Saphan Taksin BTS station, which is directly adjacent to the Sathorn river taxi stop. There, you can hop on an express river taxi and ride it up or down the river as far as you want for only 16Baht. Stops include popular tourist locations like the Wat Arun and Khao San road, as well as a variety of more localized, hidden gems. The river taxi gets you breezing past grid-lock traffic for a fraction of the price. . . and who doesn't like to spend some time on the water?

Living in Bangkok can definitely be daunting, especially for someone who spent a few too many years living in barely-there Richland, WA. But with the various forms of transportation at my fingertips, it's been anything but a dull experience to find my way around the big city madness.