The despicable Tuk Tuk Drivers

[kjun12]

Am I alone or do others feel that Bangkok Tuk Tuk drivers are amongst the most low class thieves in the world. Their attempts to rip off any farang silly enough to try to engage them make them most despicable. Their thievery causes me to wish them a less than happy future. Some taxi drivers are almost as bad. Especially at night as one leaves a club. However, the tuk tuk drivers cause me more angst. I really dislike the buggers.

Why on earth would anyone take a tuk-tuk, when they are noisy, hot, dirty, dangerous, and don't have fixed prices?

Get in a taxi and make sure the driver turns the meter on. If he doesn't or won't, find another one.

It's that easy.

i like the Tuk Tuk. god knows i'm sick in the head. it is hot, dangerous, but it's sorta fun. i dunno

the drivers are pretty awful with their schemes, but i've only had one of them not take me where i wanted to go, and i can usually get a decent price out of them by negotiating before-hand.

taxis are far safer and nicer though.

Am I alone or do others feel that Bangkok Tuk Tuk drivers are amongst the most low class thieves in the world. Their attempts to rip off any farang silly enough to try to engage them make them most despicable. Their thievery causes me to wish them a less than happy future. Some taxi drivers are almost as bad. Especially at night as one leaves a club. However, the tuk tuk drivers cause me more angst. I really dislike the buggers.
Many Tuk Tuk drivers are very bad. Like most, I prefer taxi drivers and find most to be ok, if they agree to use the meter. Some taxis do take the long way around, if they think they can get away with it. In my experience, you are less likely to find a low-life driver, if you flag one down driving on the street. The stationary drivers that wait outside of hotels and tourist areas are usually the ones that rip you off.

I make sure they know that I know the direction. Even if i dont have a clue.
Ive never been scammed
If you don't have a clue about the directions, how do you make sure they know that you know the directions? That is quite the trick.

[dab69]

If you don't have a clue about directions,
how could you KNOW you've never been scammed?

I am always amused when a driver quotes
a ride at a ridiculously low rate.
wouldn't even cover their cost of petrol,
so they have to give you the hard sell
and make their money elsewhere.

and even them, who would want to ride
around the city and get sweaty on a hot day?

sometimes they aren't any extra than the overpriced
taxis awaiting the outside of silom,
and kinda fun if you have had a few drinks
or want to smoke a cigarette.

Oh, for crying out loud. Buy a 50 baht map and have a general idea of the direction you want to go and you'll be fine. In general, though, taxi drivers want to get their passengers to their destinations as quickly as possible, so that they can find a new fare. They make more off the flag fall than by sitting in traffic or going around in circles with a fat farang queen in the back seat.

[ceejay]

The first time I ever visited Bangkok, I fell for what I now know to be one of the older tourist scams. I took a taxi to the Grand Palace and, at the gate, I was approached by a well dressed, very charming man who spoke very good English. He was very plausible. He told me that there was a "Buddhist ceremony" taking place and that the Palace was closed to tourists for a couple of hours. He recommended an alternative temple to visit while I was "waiting" and called a tuk-tuk over.

Well, as most of you are probably expecting, the tuk-tuk driver took me to a series of shops - a tailor's, a jeweller's, a silk shop and a place selling "antiques". None of them had any of my money - they didn't look "right" to me - big, expensively fitted out shops in side streets with no other similar shops around. I just went along with it for the first three - I wasn't in a hurry and the trip was quite interesting for itself. Even to naive, newby me it was soon clear what was going on and after the third shop, I put my foot down and told the driver that I had had enough shops, thank you, and to take me to this temple. He was quite open about what was going on - he produced a bundle of chits which he showed me and explained that if he got me to visit four shops, he would be paid in petrol vouchers. (I suspect that if I had started to kick off after 2 visits, his threshold would have been three shops, and so on....). Anyway, I agreed to that and after a very brief visit to the tailor's he did actually take me to this other temple, which was worth seeing, and waited for me and then took me back to the palace.

The point of all this? Well, if there is one, as I learnt on this and subsequent visits, there's plenty in Thailand that you can get upset about if you want to. Just don't expect anyone else to care - all you're going to do is spoil your holiday. Sometimes it's just better to go with the flow, treat it as all part of the experience, and learn from it. You may even end up with a couple of good stories -they may be against yourself, but some of the best stories are against yourself anyway.

Actually, I came away from this temple with one of my favourite Thailand photographs:
[attachment=0:3cyozcav]BK0050.JPG[/attachment:3cyozcav]
It's one I've printed and have up on the wall.
Incidentally, I never knew/forgot the name of the temple. This is it:
[attachment=1:3cyozcav]BK0020.JPG[/attachment:3cyozcav]
Can any of you Bangkok guys tell me the name, please?

[Jetsam]

Can any of you Bangkok guys tell me the name, please?


Google says:


Wat Intharawihan

A soaring 32-metres high standing Buddha is what defines Wat Intharawihan, which borders Wisut Kasat road at the northern edge of Banglamphu. Known as the Luangpor Toh, building on this statue, built of brick and stucco, began in 1867 during the reign of King Rama IV. Decorated in glass mosaics and 24-carat gold, it took over 60 years to complete and is the tallest of its kind in the world.

The Ubosot was built towards the end of the Ayutthaya period, and has several interesting Buddha images, elevated murals on the walls and lavishly gilded window shutters. Outside are unusually carved sema stones and tucked away in an alcove there's a lifelike model of Luang Phaw Toh, a famous monk. In the small museum are old Buddha images and various paintings

[ceejay]

Thank you, Jetsam.

Re: Tuk Tuk Drivers:

On a number of times I have found cute Tuk Tuk Drivers parked on Surawong and after lengthy [sometime two days] discussion convinced them that 1. they needed some R and R in my hotel room. OR 2. Their machine needed some repairs and thus needed to come up to my room to get the funds!

Tuk-tuk drivers are definitely cuter, on average, than taxi drivers. Not cute enough to make me take a tuk-tuk over a taxi, though.

[Shuee]

also the taxi meters, some will try to rip you off, especially if they know its your first trip, i have heard a few horror stories of fares charged, also they like ripping you off in the early hrs of the morning in bkk, when they see a walking ATM = westerner/falang, & charge a bumped up set fee only.
perhaps we should charge our bf's & thai people the 150bt fee when they try to push our buttons!! welcome to thailand walking ATM :thumbright:

[Brad the Impala]

also the taxi meters, some will try to rip you off, especially if they know its your first trip, i have heard a few horror stories of fares charged, also they like ripping you off in the early hrs of the morning in bkk, when they see a walking ATM = westerner/falang, & charge a bumped up set fee only.
perhaps we should charge our bf's & thai people the 150bt fee when they try to push our buttons!! welcome to thailand walking ATM :thumbright:

Did you cut off the blood supply to your heart using your foreskin?

It might ease the circulation if you had a skin graft to remove the pin number tattoed on your forehead.