Transportation

Sawatdee ka!

Hello from Bangkok!

Quite a few people have asked me what it's like to get around Bangkok each day. With that in mind, I snapped a few pictures on my most recent jaunt into the city so that I can outline each step in detail. Grab your calculators, guys; you're gonna want to total the time!

Step 1

First, I have to walk to the front of my "neighborhood" to make my way to the main road. Total time= 15-20 minutes.








Step 2

The bus stop that leads into the city is across the road. You have to cross the train tracks,








and then  use the bridge to cross the highway. The bus stop is just a short walk from the end of the bridge. Total time= 10 minutes.








Step 3

Wait for your bus to pick you up. I've never had to wait longer than 5 minutes. Once on the bus, find a seat and get comfortable; it's a long ride to the sky train. Just kidding, there won't be any available seats! You can make the ride a little more comfortable by getting on a bus with A/C, but it will cost a few extra baht. Total time, with traffic= 35-40 minutes. Total time, without traffic= nonexistent.


Step 4

Once the bus arrives at Mo Chit station, walk upstairs, purchase a ticket, and wait for the sky train to arrive. Since Mo Chit is the last stop, most of the seats are vacant. It will become crowded as you make more stops. Be on the look out for elderly people, pregnant women, or monks, because you should offer your seat if there aren't any available. If you're a man sitting between two other men, you should be the first to offer your seat to a monk. They can't touch women, so your seat is the best option. Total time= depends on your destination, mine is normally 25-30 minutes.


Step 5

Treat yo self! If you've been keeping count, you know it took between 1 hour 30 minutes - 1 hour 45 minutes, and you still need to walk to your actual destination! It will probably be another 15 minutes. It can be a little frustrating to get into the city sometimes. Sitting in a hot bus or being crammed against a not-so-fresh smelling person on the sky train for half an hour is enough to grate on anyone's nerves, so I suggest you treat yourself to an ice cold                                                            drink or tasty snack before continuing on. I                                                                          recommend fresh, coconut ice cream!


That's all it takes!

Total time= 1 hr 30 min - 1 hr 45 min
Total cost= 55 baht ($1.58 USD)
Total distance= 23 km (14 miles)

Yes, you read that correctly! It takes an hour and a half for me to travel just fourteen miles into the city, regardless of the time of day. If you are someone I bought a souvenir for, please keep that last fact in mind. It took me three hours of travel time, plus shopping time, to buy you a little key chain. It would be great if you could drop to your knees in gratitude, even if you hate it. :)