Getting from point A to point B is nothing to be taken for granted... and the last few weeks have been a true case in point. Mike is telling the honest truth when he says that getting from home to work may take as few as 20 minutes, or as long as three hours. You'll have to talk to him in person about his 3 hour adventures, and this might be part of why you'll think Mike is "trimming down" when you next see him.
Here are some typical sites out on the streets of Thailand:
Motorbikes are most popular by far... cheap to own and run, maneuverable through traffic, they're really hard to beat... as long as safety isn't in your top qualifications.
Personal vehicles come next- cars, trucks, SUVs, you name it and it's on the road. Probably the most common is a Toyota helix truck. Thai people love trucks, and the pick up beds are just so handy for hauling things, whether that happens to be your extended family, propane bottles, water jugs, onions, lettuce, garbage, furniture... You name it, it's been hauled before, and the bigger and taller the load, the better!
Mini buses and double decker buses are also common sites with all of the tourism in the area.
Tuk Tuks are the most endearing form of transportation. More expensive than they are usually worth, but available for a little zip here and there when in need. This may not be the best picture, but since it was transporting a friend who was having labor contractions every 4.5 minutes and destined for the hospital, it just had to be included.
And that brings us to the most memorable... song taus. At this point, I've experienced my fair share of song taus, and no ride is ever quite the same. We will use today as a case in point.
I left for a home visit to a family living on the other side of town. I gave myself an hour to get there as a goal. It started off with about a 1 mile bike ride to a more mainstream road and a place where I can lock my bike.
Mornings are a good time to catch a song tau, and I only had to wait about five minutes before a yellow one was coming in my direction. A quick hand wave, and he had pulled over to let me on. The yellow song taus follow a set route, and this makes them much more predictable and cheaper. It can also mean that at sometimes of the day you are packed in like sardines, and visibility out the windows to know when to push the buzzer is a little trickier. But today, there were only about 6 of us riding, and 10 minutes later I was at the Airport Plaza Mall for just 15 bht (about 50cents).
I waited and saw a red song tau approaching, gave it a wave, and they pulled over. I had a map in Thai of where I was going on my phone, and thought this would be my ticket to a direct route. Red song taus have no set route, so it's up to you to tell them where you want to go, then agree upon whether or not they will take you there and then haggle a price. This husband/wife driver couple did not appear to read Thai, so my map was slightly less than helpful. We began naming landmarks back and forth, and settled upon a drop off at the Big C store which was within a few blocks of where I wanted to go. This leg cost me 100bht ($3) and I had the ride to myself.
I made it to Big C, and walked to my family's apartment. I didn't quite meet the 1 hour mark, but attributed that to the fact that I didn't take the most direct route in walking to the apartment building.
3 hours later, I knew the family's history very well, had helped with a feeding, eaten a delicious Chinese lunch cooked by grandparents, and it was time for the jaunt home.
Big C seemed like a good place to be picked up. Waiting in the direct sun was hot, and no one was responding to my waves. It took about three attempts until I realized that there was a line of song taus waiting at the Big C exit that I had completely looked over. All the drivers were sitting together shooting the breeze. The driver first in line came up and I named my destination. $150 bht was his price, and he wasn't interested in haggling. I was not interested in his price, and smilingly declined. At this point I said a prayer and decided to just continue standing there for a while. It didn't take but 30 seconds and a driver down the line came over to offer the same destination for $150. However, he was willing to bargain, and I got the ride for $120. After agreeing, we walked around to get in and he called back to his cronies $150 and off we went.
Back at Airport Plaza I waited for a yellow song tau. Being afternoon, these yellow song taus get packed, usually carrying a lot of children home from school. The first one went by with 3 or 4 people already hanging off the back, so they didn't stop for me. But the next driver that came along held to the policy that "there's always room for one more." She offered me the front seat, a pleasure never afforded to me before. And we took off, in air conditioning and with visibility, a true rarity when it comes to song tau riding. I wish I could have taken a video out the front of the rhythm of the traffic as everyone weaves in an out of lanes, around obstacles, and alternating between acceleration and braking in quick succession. Someone almost side swiped us and were honked back to safety. A woman on the street flagged us down for a package delivery which I held on my lap. We stopped to let people off and get on. Another woman joined me in the front seat. People were picked up to hang off the back. And all the while the driver chatted intermittently on her phone earbud and the woman sitting next to me while shifting gears around my knees.
We reached the intersection of my drop off. Called World Club Land, most drivers know where this development is if you say Wool-Club-Lan very fast and with lots of intonation. This worked well today, and she gracefully pulled to a stop, I handed out $15 bht, and then all I had to do was cross four lanes of traffic and ride my bike home.
I successfully made it across the street and was just getting to my bike when I heard a loud clunk, looked back, and realized that there had just been a motorcycle/vehicle crash at the intersection. I watched for long enough to determine that my non-Thai speaking medical skills were not needed, and continued homeward.
Getting back home to sit in front of the fan and have something to drink is worthy of at least a small celebration every single time.
