Bangkok is my favorite city in Southeast Asia. The life of the culture is incredibly good, the street food will change your life, and the insane dynamism is simply contagious. This makes me continue to visit the Land of Smiles every year. However, speaking in all the honesty of my heart to you right now, the educational curve of navigating the city is steep to say the least.
At the beginning of my first two visits, I was so naive. I wasted hours of my holiday in the transit-linked headaches that would otherwise have been completely avoided if I had merely planned a little better. Planning your first trip to the capital city of Thailand and want to avoid some of the things you have to live to learn? Here are some of the lessons that are too hard to learn, and some of the anecdotes of my previous mistakes that will help you to keep your sanity.
The Sukhumvit Traffic Trap
The first time that I came there, I figured I would explore the renowned Chatuchak Weekend Market. I was living in the middle of the Sukhumvit neighbourhood, and my smartphone map application indicated my market was within driving range of 20 minutes only. I was sure to hail a pink street hack, jumped in and soon saw my gigantic error.
The Friday afternoon traffic in Sukhumvit is literally a car park. I was stuck in gridlock, and utterly fascinated by the slow advancement of the meter, as hundreds of motorcycles passed past my window. I was so exhausted by the stressful drive to Chatuchak that by the time I finally arrived at Chatuchak, I had minimal strength to browse the 15,000 vendor booths.
The Moral: The distance in Bangkok is no more than time, approximately, it is time. Assuming that you are using normal cabs in the daytime, a short ride across town can take up your whole afternoon.
The Khao San Road Monsoon Cancellation
On the second occasion, my evening adventure was the first and beautiful experience of the colorful and backpacker-style vibe of the Khao San road. Just when I was about to go back to my hotel on the other side of the town, the monsoon broke and poured and poured and poured.
I soon withdrew my phone and called a Grab (Uber counterpart in Southeast Asia). Due to the down pouring, the app increased the rate to triple of the usual rate, which I paid without any other choice than sheer desperation. The driver canceled 10 minutes later. I tried again. Canceled. A third time. Canceled. I waited in vain, standing under a small, dripping awning over a shop, more than an hour, drenched in wetness, since the drivers of the cars in the town merely declined to risk going out in the flooded streets.
The Moral: Rider hailing applications are fantastic until the time you need them most. There is a rush hour or a festival in a locality, or a sudden downpour and availability goes down and prices go up.
The Game Changer: Trip Number 3
On my third visit, I made one monumental discovery: my limited time of vacation could be much better than the couple of dollars that I was saving by tossing the dice when it came to street cabs and mobile applications. I resorted to changing the whole plan and hired a professional driver to take me on a day-long tour.
It has changed my experience, which revolves around being stressful into being spectacular. Another important disadvantage of ride-hailing apps is that you hail a car in the most urgent situation, whereas a pre-booked personal driver achieves that your car, driver, and route are ready before you land. Set price, no rush, no cancellations. My driver stood in line waiting as I took my time walking around temples, blowing the air conditioner once I was back inside, and weaving through the various backstreets to evade the worst traffic brunch.
Guidelines for First-Timers
Final Thoughts: Learn My Lessons
Travel is a process of learning, adapting and discovering better ways to get knowledge about the world. Bangkok is a fantastic city that can get your full energy and not your worn out self that only wasted two hours waiting in the rain to get a cab. Why waste time beating around the gridlock detectives, forget the game and enjoy consuming the pad thai!
