On the Move

Bangkok Traffic

One of the biggest parts of continuous travel is the transport that takes you in and out of countries, through puddled city side streets, and out into the countryside. 

For me, figuring out new kinds of transport (which happens often) is a little stressful.  Do I need a token or a card?  Am I getting ripped off majorly right now in this taxi?  Oh you need that token or card that I’ve lost now that I’m at my final destination??

BUT, when I do figure out whatever system is taking me here and there and I finally get on it, I really, really, enjoy using it.  

Vietnam

In Vietnam, there were mostly xe oms.  “Xe” means motorbike and “om” roughly translates as “hug,” which is a cute way of calling (often) haven’t-showered-in-three-days men with no official uniform asking if you want a ride.  Having my own moto, I didn’t accept their offers too often, but when I did, it was a fast, cheap and friendly way of getting across town.  If you didn’t use the xe oms, you had to take a fancy taxi car, which was usually painful to negotiate and quite expensive as there were very few cars compared to the moto traffic. 

 

Cambodia

In Cambodia, I was so amused by their tuk tuks!  Once a bicycle and cart operation, Cambodian auto rickshaws are a three-wheeled sensation, and an essential form of urban transportation, especially for 2-4 person groups.  There were also moto taxis of course, for even cheaper than the tuk tuks - but no helmets!  (I discussed these more at length in this post)

Queuing in Vietnam was practically nonexistent.
Look how these skytrain riders file in from the arrows
on the sides!  Crazy!  

Thailand

In Bangkok, moto taxis were again a transport staple, but they wore official orange vests.  There were SO MANY CAR TAXIS.  For such a huge city, I figured most people would rely on public rail transit - and many do - but looking down on a jungle of stagnant traffic, there were multiple colors of taxis as far as the eye could see.  If you didn’t want to take a taxi, you could hop on the Skytrain or the underground mass rapid transit – MRT.  I used the skytrain every day that I was in Bangkok.  It was so intuitive and conveniently connected to many attractions in the heart of the city.  Plus – on those hot muggy days (every day), the Skytrain was the coldest place in the city.  After five minutes, we were wishing we'd brought a sweater. 

In Chiang Mai, Thailand, which is the second largest city, there are tuk tuks, and a new kind of public transit – SONGTHAEWS!  This form of share-taxi is genius.  Songthaews are pick-up trucks with “song” meaning two and “thaews” meaning benches in the back of the truck.  The bed of the truck is covered to keep out the rain and inside, the walls are plastered with ads for Chiang Mai’s attractions and restaurants.  The color of the songthaew indicates where it’s going.  White, yellow, blue and green ones are on fixed routes and red ones can be hired for specific destinations. 

A packed yellow songthaew 

I feel like I’ve got a transport advantage in that I can navigate via motorbike.  The fact that I’m usually lost is neither here nor there.  After a few days in a new town, I’ve got the general layout of the city imprinted in my mind and I feel proud in the freeing ability to head off to wherever I like, the wind (and rain and exhaust and bugs) breezing on my face.  Renting a bike in Thailand was incredibly cheap – only 150 Baht per day (about $4.80 USD).  Since I was staying outside the old part of the city, songthaews and tuk tuks would definitely have added up to more than bike rental. 

Sparkle 50's benches inside the songthaew

One thing I felt particularly giddy over was learning to drive ON THE LEFT!  America and almost every other country I’ve visited has right side driving, but I was really surprised how easy it was to switch my driving brain over.   Only once did I realize I was on the right and quickly steered over but there weren’t any other vehicles on the road so I was lucky. 

Another difference in Thailand is that the roads are swarming with traffic cops, in full uniform, waiting to pull people over for illegal u-turns and missing helmets.  The other day, on one corner of an intersection, I counted EIGHT traffic cops waiting in groups with pads of paper.  A common tale for cops in these countries – like teachers, they get paid practically nothing and rely on bribes and extra jobs to make ends meet. 

My ride while in Chiang Mai

Tonight I had to give the pink motorbike back to the rental place, but I was excited to ride in a red songthaew on the way back to my host’s house.