Bangkok Taxis

Riding in a Bangkok Taxi will be one of the craziest rides of your life. From switching lanes every 5 seconds, taking up 2 lanes, driving not in a lane, sudden stops, crazy maneuvers  and not having seat belts makes one want to hold onto dear life.
Ok it's not THAT bad, but it's still crazy. Let me tell you how it works.

The taxis out here are usually Yellow/Green, Yellow, Blue or Pink. If they have a little red light on inside the car (that says something in Thai), that means it is available. Here is the cool part. Most of the taxi's are tricked out Toyota Corollas. Some of them have body kits, crazy lights, chrome door handles or a spoiler. The best is when you get inside and they have a sick sound system. Then you put on 107fm and blast western music.
The taxis are usually clean and don't smell like a dead body.

So you get in and say Sawadee Ka and tell them where you need to go. Sometimes they understand some English which is awesome and comes in really handy. Although, when you just want to chill and they keep talking, it's a bit annoying. You have to make sure they start the meter otherwise they will tell you some crazy rate at the end of your journey. Some charge more if there is lots of traffic, which is bull because there is ALWAYS traffic. Bangkok has the worst traffic ever. No matter what time of day, it is always crowded.

Here is another thing. I noticed their gas meter is always at empty. But then they manage to drive me for 30 min to a casting. So I was thinking, dang! these Corollas have good gas mileage.

One day, the Taxi driver needed to get gas. So he pulled up to the gas station and they opened up the hood to the car. I thought this was odd. And the worker put the hose in the engine. I thought maybe they were topping up the coolant or something. I had noticed before that there are these HUGE tanks in the trunks of the taxis. I then put two and two together. The gas pumps through the engine, to the massive tank in the trunk and the driver restarts the meter in the car and calculates how many miles until he needs to top up again. That is why the gas meter is always empty, cause it doesn't go in the regular gas tank. But then this made me think, What if we get rear ended?????? The trunk is FULL of gasoline!!  I do not think this is safe at all. No way.

Taxi driver can be fun. When a car full of models get in, things get crazy. I usually sit in the front because there is more room. I have had very interesting conversations. I have been asked if I am married. I've been asked where I live and how long am I staying. I've been stared at. I had one taxi driver teach me how to count to 5 in Thai. But I forgot already. Some know already which radio station to put on. But they are usually pretty nice. You just have to act like you know where they are going so they don't try and take you the long way.

I have to say, I am pretty pleased with the taxi service here.