Getting Around

Despite its size and traffic problems Bangkok is easy to get around if you make use of the always-expanding public transport systems.

By Boat

Using boats and river taxis on the Chao Phraya River is probably the most pleasant way to traverse Bangkok. It's a busy river so there is always plenty to see, and you can get great views of many major attractions from the water. The best way to get around is to use the tourist boats that only stop at piers that are of interest to visitors. These boats are the most modern and comfortable, and the 75-Baht daily charge entitles you to as many trips as you can squeeze in. These boats leave every half-hour from Sathorn Pier. The non-tourist boats are a lot cheaper, you can go anywhere for 10 Baht, but they can get overloaded, particularly in the morning and evening rush hours.

If you simply want to cross the river there are numerous ferries that run from all the boat landings and charge a mere 2 Baht for the crossing. The river taxis are inexpensive and will take you anywhere on the river or along the neighboring canals. To get an understanding of living on the water you can hire a boat and take a tour along some of the canals. It's a far cry from the homes along the US Intracoastal Waterway or the charming abodes on England's River Thames.

 

 

 

Bangkok canal

 

By SkyTrain

Opened in 1999, the elevated rail system brought welcome relief to everyone who lives in or visits Bangkok. There are presently two lines - the Sukhumvit Line and the Silom Line - which cover most of the city center and many of the main tourist attractions. Extensions are planned for the outlying areas. The trains are safe and clean, and each one can carry over 1,000 people. They run on time and are a great way to sightsee above the congestion below. You can buy a three-day tourist pass for 280 Baht, which gives you unlimited use of the trains and the shuttle buses that link various routes to the system. Trains operate every few minutes from 6am until midnight. There are bilingual digital signs at the front and the sides of each telling you where you're going. SkyTrain has three tourist information offices, at Siam, Nana and Saphan Taksin stations. They are open from 8am to 8pm. Helpful English-speaking staff will explain the best tourist routes, provide maps, sell river tours and even hand out passes to temples.

By Subway

Bangkok's newest addition to its mass-transit system opened officially in July 2004 - a month ahead of schedule. At the official opening of the subway King Bhumibol Adulyadej named the initial section (the Blue Line) the Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line, which means Celebration of the Auspicious Kingship. This is the first underground rail system in Thailand and took almost ten years to build. The initial section stretches over 20 kilometers beneath the city and passes under two major thoroughfares, Rama IV Road and Ratchadaphisek Road. The line begins at the city's main railway station, Hualampong and goes north. There are 18 stations, which provide a good link between many major hotels, the business district, shopping centers and the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Several of the stations connect with SkyTrain stations. Additions are already planned.

• AUTHOR'S NOTE: During the subway system's testing period, the train operators invited several groups of elderly and disabled people to try out the system to insure that all the special facilities worked for them.
  

There are two park-and-ride facilities, one at Lat Phrao Station, the other at the Thailand Cultural Center station. Parking and travel costs are minor. Each station has ticket-vending machines, which accept coins and notes, and instructions are in Thai and English.

By Bus

Local buses are absurdly cheap and run everywhere, but they don't come high on our list of recommendations. They are color-coded to help you match them with the bus map but most of the signs are in Thai and once on board purses get snatched and valuables disappear. On the plus side there are lots of them, over 5,000, and some are air conditioned.

By Taxi

There are plenty of them and they are cheap compared to taxis in other large cities. Two other big pluses: The number of tuk-tuks, the three-wheeled terrors of Bangkok streets, is on the decline, as is the number of non-metered cabs where you have to haggle about prices. (There are still tuk-tuks around and if you feel like a ride of terror it comes cheap; you can get a fair distance for 30 Baht. Just don't carry the fragile ornament you bought for Aunt Mabel with you.) Minimum fare for metered taxis - the words Taxi Meter will be displayed on the roof - is 35 Baht for the first two kilometers and goes up by 5 Baht for subsequent kilometers. Rates are based on a speed of 6 kph. If you get stuck in a jam, not an uncommon happening, there is a surcharge of one Baht per minute. If you travel on the expressway you have to pay the toll charges, but they are minimal. Have change ready. Tipping is not essential but it is much appreciated; making a living driving a taxi in Bangkok is hardly ideal employment. If you do get a non-metered cab sort out the price before you start the journey. And don't forget, a lot of drivers do not speak or read English. Have something written in Thai that says where you want to go.

If you take a meter taxi make sure the meter gets turned on. Many drivers have the habit of not switching them on and making up their own prices. We found that, in Bangkok, as in many cities, the drivers come in two varieties: the first gives you a pleasant ride, and is courteous to other road users while the other, and quite prevalent here, feels he has to accelerate and brake with unpleasant regularity giving you a ride that is more suited to a Formula 1 race track than the heavily-traversed streets of a city.

By Limousine

Years ago, before the SkyTrain or subway existed, we discussed our shopping plans with the hotel concierge. He suggested we hire one of the hotel limousines. Our fears about the cost were quelled when he explained we would have change back from $20. Several hotels still provide this service and it is well worthwhile, even if the cost is higher today. If you have to travel through the traffic this is by far the best way to do it. Our liveried chauffeur, clad in spotless white, knew all the right places to go, some of which we would never have found without him. We offset the expensive day shopping with an evening visit to a street market, and returned to the hotel in a tuk-tuk clutching two very large suitcases. The tuk-tuk cost 50 Baht, which we felt excessive for the 20 minutes of terror we had to endure.