Really Thai Taxi Drivers? Really?

Let's face it. Having lived in New York for close to five years now I know first hand what it is like to deal with the occasional "bad attitude" cab driver. Troublesome taxi experiences have run the gamut from Joe "Won't make more than one stop", to Bob "grunts when selecting the credit card form of payment", to Pete "acts as if you are interrupting my cell phone conversation to give me an address" (who are they talking to all day anyway?) to the ever frustrating 4pm Bill "I'm only heading downtown.. sorry ma'am."

While my travel to third world countries, albeit limited, has given me some insight to the slippery set of urban taxi drivers, nothing... absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the hysterical habits of Bangkok's own breed of cabbies. They deserve their own reality show. Really.

Taxi hailed for trip from hotel to The Grand Palace. Mind you The Grand Palace is one of the biggest if not the most frequented locations in the great city of Bangkok for tourists and locals alike. Mike and myself entered the cab to a confirmation of a fast an easy route there, negotiated a fair price - 400 Baht - and zoomed off. Three minutes into the cab ride the driver turned around and, while giggling, told us he had no idea where he was going!! Smile and all!! 

Luckily we took out a map we had on hand and pointed out the route to him. He began to nod with reassurance and just as our confidence returned, he leaned over to the glove compartment and pulled out a magnifying glass to take another glance at our map! It was absolutely perfect. At that point we could not decide what was worse, that he did not know the way to the Grand Palace or that he needed a magnifying glass to see!!

Taxi hailed from Chinatown to Hotel. Being well aware of the challenging Thai taxi system our hotel prepared us well with cards featuring its address in both english and Thai. What it did not prepare us for were the ever enterprising freestanding stores, predominantly in the Gem and Tailor business, who have an incredibly organized system to encourage taxi drivers to bring tourists to their shops.  

Our taxi driver explained to us that if he could simply bring us to a specific tailor store that employed his services to encourage tourists to shop there, he would get one stamp that would bring him closer to redeeming a bonus of sorts. The bonus would be provided by the shop and could range anywhere from cash to a tailor made shirt to a bottle of fine whiskey.  The stores even had "stamp cards" as a way of accumulating and tracking stamps. Once redeemed, the stamp card would be replaced by a new, fresh one ready to be filled. Talk about organized labor! He even went so far as to tell us that we did not have to buy anything, simply feign interest in order for him to redeem a stamp! This is exactly the type of cut throat thinking we need in times like these!!

The Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

While in Bangkok one should make a point of visiting The Grand Palace, a magnificent and expansive collection of structures comprised of Thai pagodas, palaces, halls of government and beautifully adorned houses of Buddhist worship. Visiting the palace is not a passive suggestion made by our Thai friends.  I've learned that Thai culture is rich with superstition and it is believed that you will encounter years of bad luck if you pass through Bangkok without paying your respects at the palace.  Being one not to tempt fate, particularly during my first trip to Southeast Asia, I passed through to honor this timely Thai tradition.

The Grand Palace lies on the east coast of the Chao Phraya River. Built over the course of three years - 1782 to 1785, King Rama I desired it to serve as a hall of government, a residence for Thai royalty and perhaps most importantly, a vast and protected center for worship.  

Today the palace is still in use; principally for ritual purposes performed by the King such as symbolic water celebrations during the Thai New Year, coronations, royal funerals, marriages and state banquets. It is no longer the center for government nor is it the main residence for the royal family.  King Rama IX transferred their main residence to the Chitralanda Palace in 1945 after a mysterious death inside the palace walls.

One of the most impressive structures within the Palace walls was the Phra Sri Ratana Chedi.  This site of worship is covered from top to bottom in minuscule hand-layed tiles of 14 karat gold. Only the King may enter this site and specifically to pay his respects to Lord Buddha himself. 

While taking the time to walk through the palace grounds we noticed many families coming to the palace to pay their respects to Lord Buddha and give him offerings in the form of lotus flowers and orchid garlands.  When making an offering to Lord Buddha one enters a palace shrine (after removing one's shoes) and sits with one's feet pointed away from Lord Buddha and places ones offering on a dish specifically there for that purpose.  Photographs were not allowed but experiencing this offering ritual first hand was particularly moving. The meditative quality to the entire palace grounds is something that I recommend experiencing as it stays with you even after you leave.

First Stop: Bangkok, Thailand

After several weeks of anticipation and planning, I have finally arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, otherwise known as the Gateway to Southeast Asia.  For the purposes of my blog I've decided to use my middle name Darcy, to not only be a bit silly, but also to represent what feels like an intermission in my life, and a superb one at that!

While planning our getaway, Mike and I had one clear vision in mind.  We wanted an authentic experience.  One free of tourist traps, "remote village day trips" that pretty much double as village camps manufactured by the Thai Gov., and so on.  On my trip from the airport to our hotel I experienced first hand what Mike meant by "authentic".  Our hotel, DREAM Bangkok -http://www.dreambkk.com/, is located in Bangkok's very own Red Light district!  My heart raced as my driver drove through the dark, 

foreign city's narrow passageways while Thai women approached the car.  I was certain that doom was eminent.  A plan of action ensued - passport down the pants, camera chip in bra and pepper spray in hand. I was armed and ready.  

Never fear, after what seemed like a few more left and right turns, I finally arrived at DREAM - an oasis in the desert of female trafficking!  (I clearly had watched too many movies before taking my trip here, one of them being Liam Neeson's new film, TAKEN).

After settling in we decided to throw on some flip flops and go explore Bangkok's infamous nightlife.  My mood quickly changed from fear and trepidation to curiosity and excitement, a welcome change at that!  Bangkok's streets were alive and roaring with food vendors, mini-liquor-club carts decorated with holiday lighting, flourescent pink taxis, putting tuk-tuks (small motor led carts) and young backpackers.  I was on sensory overload and enjoying every moment of it.  Just as we turned the corner to stop and grab a beer Mike shouted out - Elephant on the street!!  I turned my head and sure enough, trodding down the city's bustling street right in between two shiny pink taxi cabs was a baby elephant making its way home.  I knew then and there this would be the beginning of a trip of a lifetime.