Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [203]
How useful this service is depends on whether you’re travelling alone and how far your hotel is from the City Air Terminal. Except during the worst traffic (hello Friday evenings!), a taxi covers the same trip in about 35 minutes for about 250B.
An extremely useful in-town check-in service, like the one in Hong Kong, is scheduled to start operating during 2010.
Taxi & Limousine
Ignore the annoying touts and all the yellow signs pointing you to ‘limousines’ (actually cars and 4WDs costing from 600B to 3500B depending on the vehicle and distance), and head outside to the fast-moving public taxi queues outside doors 3 and 10. Cabs booked through this desk should always use their meter, but they often try their luck quoting you an inflated fare; insist by saying ‘meter, please’. You must also pay a 50B official airport surcharge and reimburse drivers for any toll charges (up to 60B); drivers will usually ask your permission to use the tollway. Depending on traffic, a taxi to Asoke should cost 200B to 250B, Silom 300B to 350B and Banglamphu 350B to 425B. Fares are per vehicle, not per person. Break big notes before you leave the airport to avoid a ‘no change’ situation.
Charter taxis also run to Pattaya (1300B), Chonburi (1000B) and Trat (3500B), among many others.
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Several tourist boat services operate, the most regular being between Phra Athit and Sathorn, with services every 30 minutes between 9.30am and 3pm. A one-day pass for unlimited travel costs 150B. All this is best illustrated in the small, folding maps that detail routes, prices and times and are sometimes available at ferry piers – ask for one – or on boards at the piers.
There are also dozens of cross-river ferries, which charge 3B and run every few minutes until late at night.
Klorng Boats
Canal taxi boats run along Khlong Saen Saep (Banglamphu to Ramkhamhaeng) and are an easy way to get between Banglamphu and Jim Thompson’s House, the Siam Sq shopping centres (get off at Th Hua Chang for both), and other points further east along Th Sukhumvit – after a mandatory change of boat at Tha Pratunam. These boats are mostly used by daily commuters and pull into the piers for just a few seconds – jump straight on or you’ll be left behind. Fares range from 8B to 18B.
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BUS
Bangkok’s public buses are a cheap, if not always comfortable, way to get around the city. They are run by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority ( 0 2246 4262; www.bmta.co.th), which hasa website with detailed information on bus routes. Air-con fares typically start at 10B or 12B and increase depending on distance. Fares for ordinary (fan only) buses start at 7B or 8B. Most of the bus lines run between 5am and 10pm or 11pm, except for the ‘all-night’ buses, which run from 3am or 4am to midmorning.
Bangkok Bus Map by Roadway, available at Asia Books (www.asiabooks.com) and some 7-Eleven stores, is the most up-to-date route map available.
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CAR
Renting a car just to drive around Bangkok is not a good idea. Parking is impossible, traffic is frustrating, road rules can be mysterious and the alternative – taxis – are cheap and ubiquitous. But if you still want to give it a go, all the big car-hire companies have offices in Bangkok and at Suvarnabhumi airport. Rates start at around 1300B per day for a small car. A passport plus a valid licence from your home country (with English translation if necessary) or an International Driving Permit are required for all rentals. Most companies can also provide drivers (from about 600B per day, 8am to