Riding a taxi in Bangkok can often be compared to riding some crazy amusement park ride as one could easily suffer from whiplash and other injuries as well as go through the same nauseating feelings and the flipping of your stomach. Although this is not true for every taxi ride here, it is more likely so than not.
Taxi drivers in Bangkok either think they are the only ones on the road, that they actually OWN the road, or that they are on some kind of a race track with obstacles along the way. In other words, they are notorious for their reckless driving. It's obvious that in order to become a taxi driver in Bangkok, you do not need to have good driving skills; driving etiquette goes completely out the window.
I've known of taxi drivers who won't shut their mouths (whether they are talking to you or on their cell phones) to ones who only pick 'farang' (non-Asian) passengers to ones who get all up in your business to the ones who get all 'stalker-ish' with you. This has happened to me with one that I used regularly at one point. Needless to say, I 'fired' him. The polite, quiet ones are a rare to find these days--so rare that when you do find one, you can't help but be appreciative.
Why am I writing about taxis, you ask? I'm doing so because in recent days, some friends of mine and I have seem to be striking out when we hail a taxi for service. One of my closest friends was in an accident in two different taxis this past week. Another one was in a taxi who kept speeding even as she said that her turn was coming up soon that when they reached the turn, the driver couldn't slow down fast enough and had missed the turn and therefore had to back up (yes, they allow this in Thailand) and then turned into the exit.
As for myself, one morning as I was rushing to get to work, I hailed for a taxi. When he stopped, I opened the door and told him where I wanted to go, he hesitated and I asked 'Are you gonna go?' (this should've been a sign for me). He finally nodded yes. I stepped in, closed the door, only to find out that he doesn't want to take the route I tell him to go and I have to get out and find another taxi. Although it is against the law for them to turn away passengers, they do it all the time. On some occasions (like a late night out on the town, you're tired and just want to get home already), this gets very annoying!
The very next day, heading home from work, I experience the worst taxi ride of my life. I shared the ride with a colleague. The driver assumed we were both foreigners as we were speaking English to each other. After driving for several meters, he looks back at us and says 'Start meter?' to which I tell him in Thai, yes. He is shocked to discover that I speak Thai and that I may very well be Thai. When we get onto the main road, he drove like the most careless, reckless driver I've ever known--he certainly wasn't driving Miss Daisy! He was the equivalent of Speedy Gonzales going down Bangna's biggest road at about 150 km/hr, zig-zagging all over it. As he did this, he kept glancing back at me and smiling. I was in deep conversation with my colleague and every time that I would laugh or so much as chuckle, he would break into a maniacal laughter. It was really creepy. He continued to speed on and looking back to the point that I said to my colleague that he really should keep his eyes on the road. Then I yelled at him (politely) to slow down. He decelerated to less than half the speed he was going and traveled for several kilometers like this before picking up speed again. When we turned onto the busy street known as Sukhumvit Road, he zips around the traffic all the while looking back and laughing that we nearly crashed into another car. When at long last, we reached our destination at the train station, I was so happy to be getting out of the car. As I stepped out, the driver kept looking at me and saying 'Thank you'. My colleague and I simultaneously broke into fits of disbelief claiming that it had to be the worst ride either of us ever experienced before. As we got on the escalator, the taxi honked his horn a couple of times and kept looking over. I turned to my colleague and expressed how thankful I was that I wasn't the only one in the car, otherwise, I might have had to try and jump out at some point. In hindsight, I really wish that I had taken note of the driver's ID number as well as his plate number so that I could report him. After all, he was a radio taxi. It's kind of a disturbing thought to know that they have these kinds of people for hire when you call in for a taxi.
Despite it all, hiring a taxi is still one of the best modes of public transportation in Bangkok, but finding a good driver is almost like winning the lottery. Here's wishing you luck to picking a winner.
Taxi drivers in Bangkok either think they are the only ones on the road, that they actually OWN the road, or that they are on some kind of a race track with obstacles along the way. In other words, they are notorious for their reckless driving. It's obvious that in order to become a taxi driver in Bangkok, you do not need to have good driving skills; driving etiquette goes completely out the window.
I've known of taxi drivers who won't shut their mouths (whether they are talking to you or on their cell phones) to ones who only pick 'farang' (non-Asian) passengers to ones who get all up in your business to the ones who get all 'stalker-ish' with you. This has happened to me with one that I used regularly at one point. Needless to say, I 'fired' him. The polite, quiet ones are a rare to find these days--so rare that when you do find one, you can't help but be appreciative.
Why am I writing about taxis, you ask? I'm doing so because in recent days, some friends of mine and I have seem to be striking out when we hail a taxi for service. One of my closest friends was in an accident in two different taxis this past week. Another one was in a taxi who kept speeding even as she said that her turn was coming up soon that when they reached the turn, the driver couldn't slow down fast enough and had missed the turn and therefore had to back up (yes, they allow this in Thailand) and then turned into the exit.
As for myself, one morning as I was rushing to get to work, I hailed for a taxi. When he stopped, I opened the door and told him where I wanted to go, he hesitated and I asked 'Are you gonna go?' (this should've been a sign for me). He finally nodded yes. I stepped in, closed the door, only to find out that he doesn't want to take the route I tell him to go and I have to get out and find another taxi. Although it is against the law for them to turn away passengers, they do it all the time. On some occasions (like a late night out on the town, you're tired and just want to get home already), this gets very annoying!
The very next day, heading home from work, I experience the worst taxi ride of my life. I shared the ride with a colleague. The driver assumed we were both foreigners as we were speaking English to each other. After driving for several meters, he looks back at us and says 'Start meter?' to which I tell him in Thai, yes. He is shocked to discover that I speak Thai and that I may very well be Thai. When we get onto the main road, he drove like the most careless, reckless driver I've ever known--he certainly wasn't driving Miss Daisy! He was the equivalent of Speedy Gonzales going down Bangna's biggest road at about 150 km/hr, zig-zagging all over it. As he did this, he kept glancing back at me and smiling. I was in deep conversation with my colleague and every time that I would laugh or so much as chuckle, he would break into a maniacal laughter. It was really creepy. He continued to speed on and looking back to the point that I said to my colleague that he really should keep his eyes on the road. Then I yelled at him (politely) to slow down. He decelerated to less than half the speed he was going and traveled for several kilometers like this before picking up speed again. When we turned onto the busy street known as Sukhumvit Road, he zips around the traffic all the while looking back and laughing that we nearly crashed into another car. When at long last, we reached our destination at the train station, I was so happy to be getting out of the car. As I stepped out, the driver kept looking at me and saying 'Thank you'. My colleague and I simultaneously broke into fits of disbelief claiming that it had to be the worst ride either of us ever experienced before. As we got on the escalator, the taxi honked his horn a couple of times and kept looking over. I turned to my colleague and expressed how thankful I was that I wasn't the only one in the car, otherwise, I might have had to try and jump out at some point. In hindsight, I really wish that I had taken note of the driver's ID number as well as his plate number so that I could report him. After all, he was a radio taxi. It's kind of a disturbing thought to know that they have these kinds of people for hire when you call in for a taxi.
Despite it all, hiring a taxi is still one of the best modes of public transportation in Bangkok, but finding a good driver is almost like winning the lottery. Here's wishing you luck to picking a winner.
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