So, I rented a place about a one minute walk from the Saphan Taksin BTS station while I was in Bangkok, Thailand. I selected it due to the proximity to public transportation, the Bangkok Transportation System and public water taxis were literally 2 minutes walk from the room. Before I headed out to explore the city, one of the locals was nice enough to give me some key information. There are several water taxis operating at the same pier as the public taxi and he identified each one for me. The private water taxis are significantly more expensive and dock at far fewer places.
It’s incredibly cheap to use the public water taxi, the one with the orange flag flying on the roof. You hop on and as the trip proceeds one of the taxi employees walks the length of the boat and signals for you to hand over a few coins. The cost is quite literally pennies, something like 1/3 of a baht. There were also plenty of taxis and motorbikes readily available and depending on the distance you want or need to travel its quite reasonable, perhaps $3 or so.
The day after I landed I took a taxi from a hotel near the airport to Bang Rak, it cost me around $12 and the ride took around 45 minutes, but I had to pay the toll, which was only a couple of bucks.
Oh, here is a word of warning. You should be aware of the Tuk Tuk drivers as they appear to work with an individual who will approach you with some friendly advice or offer like a free ride, sightseeing tour or something similar. Their intent is to get you to a shop or area where another individual gives you the hard sell for something. I did it once to see what they were selling and after the suit salesman realized I was a lost cause, he gave up and I left.
Back to Bang Rak. There are plenty of things to see in the local area like the Asiatique market to the south of the BTS as well as small stores, restaurants, high end bars and local pubs where depending on the time of year you’ll be the only westerner. The Thai people are friendly and I had no problems the entire time I was there.
I didn’t plan on spending much time in my room so I rented something very basic and as I mentioned, close to public transportation. The place I rented was just a room, but suitable for an individual or backpackers looking for basic accommodations. The front door was a collapsible metal grating with a locking latch in the center. Every time you go in our out, it must be locked to ensure locals don’t wander in I suppose. While I was there I met quite a few people from places like the Philippines, Austria, China, Thailand of course, the United States and a few other places, it was quite interesting. I plan on doing it again and stay tuned as I hunt down photos and videos of my many trips.
Wizard of Where
