Paul Lindberg

June 20 Bangkok - Tuk Tuk me around
06-27-06 | 10:01

Arrival into Bangkok was filled with mystery, I have always heard so much about this city of stray dogs, sin, and more. I read that it was actually called in Thai, the City of Angels, Threp Lai. I raised my guard so not to be conned by any opportunists but still interested to see this infamous city.

The preacher wished me well on my journey ahead as he watched my bags as I had to make three trips to get everything off the train. God bless my little cart which helps me to shlep more than one man should. I thought as I went to the taxi stand.

Wow, I am blessing God now. The preacher must have had an effect.

The main train station of Bangkok was full of people but I saw many western travelers so I felt that this city would not be as hard to traverse. The biggest thing was to make sure the taxi driver used the meter. All the taxis had the words TAXI-METER on every cab. Before I jumped into the cab, I asked if he would use the meter and he would so off i went.

At the hotel, the area was very centrally located but in the middle of Chinatown. The bustling city was a little too much for me. But I had heard from a Mani Rao, our interviewee in Hong Kong. She said that there are service apartments all across asia which are nice to stay at and cheaper if you stay for a long time a month or two weeks at a time.

So I made it my mission to find a service apartment. I began walking to the public transport which seemed to be miles away. After walking the wrong way, I was staring at my map with a puzzled look in my eye. Then a man walked up to me and told that I should use a tuk tuk. A tuk tuk is a three wheeled cart of sorts. It looks like a golf cart but rides a little higher. There are thousands of them across Bangkok. He said that today was a holiday and it would be only 20 Baht to use it for one hour. I didn't need a tour. I needed a service apartment but I was hopeless with the map so I decided I would use the tuk tuk thing. The kind stranger who talked to me said that he was an elementary school teacher. I felt lucky that this guy had pointed me in the right direction of using some form of transport. I love walking but in some cities it is not always practical.

My tuk tuk driver who the man hailed for me was a wily looking guy who could speak english a little. With my service apartment as a main objective, I made the way to the TAT Tour Agency. The traffic is amazing in Bangkok. The pollution is something as well. Mr. O, the travel agent, found me a nice place but I wanted to check it out first. The rental was for one month but the production would be lasting for one month in Thailand so I made the decision to switch to this service apartment.

I made my way back to the hotel in Chinatown. I would move again the next morning.