Arriving in Bangkok

Having been at JFK airport in New York, I understand that there are illegal taxi drivers that hassle you right when you walk outside. However, this was taken to a different level in Bangkok. One right after the other, cab drivers came up to us, and asked if we wanted a ride. I looked around and tried to find where the line for the regulated taxis were, saw it, and tried to head straight there. We told the dispatcher where we wanted to go by the name of our hotel. The dispatcher seemed to know where we wanted to go, but when we got into the cab, the driver had no idea where to go, nor did he speak English. Luckily, we had a phone number, so he called the hotel, and straightened everything out.

Driving into the center of Bangkok, I saw a lot of shacks that were made with corrugated metal. I doubted that people lived there, but then there were clothes hanging outside, probably drying after being washed. There was even more poverty once we drove through the center of Bangkok. We could see little camps of people who lived in little groups on the side of the streets. We could see clothes hanging on the sides of crates and carts that were offering to sell little trinkets and food. This actually got me a little excited to go out and see more of the city, since this type of third world poverty was not anything I had experienced before.

However, after we checked in, and walked outside, I could smell a stink that permeated through the air. The whole city seemed more like a swamp, as there were waterways, rivers, and canals everywhere. When we walked past these canals, the smell coming from them told me that they were contaminated with raw sewage.

Walking around outside, there were a lot of people coming up to us, telling us that they could give us a ride to wherever we wanted to go. These guys usually drive tuk-tuks. These are little more than go carts with three wheels and a canopy to protect us if it happens to rain. It so happens, so it says in our guidebooks, that these tuk-tuk drivers offer people rides wherever they want, but then take them to stores that offer the drivers kickbacks for bringing tourists to buy their stuff. Since I didn’t want to get in the middle of any of this, I didn’t accept any cab rides from anyone, and didn’t talk with any locals who came up to start a conversation with me, and there were many.