Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [205]
Skytrain (BTS)
The BTS Skytrain ( tourist information 0 2617 7340; www.bts.co.th) allows you to soar above Bangkok’s legendary traffic jams in air-conditioned comfort. Known by locals as ‘BTS’ or rót fai fáh (literally ‘sky train’), services are fast, efficient and relatively cheap, although rush hour can be a squeeze. Fares range from 15B to 40B, and trains run from 6am to midnight. Ticket machines accept coins and notes (when they’re working), or you can pick up change at the staffed kiosks. One-day (120B) passes are available, but the rechargeable cards (130B, with 100B travel and 30B card deposit) are more flexible. There are two Skytrain lines, which are well represented on free tourist maps available at most stations.
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TAXI ALTARS: INSURANCE ON THE DASHBOARD
As your taxi races into Bangkok from the airport your delight at being able to do the 30km trip for less than US$10 is soon replaced by uneasiness, anxiety and eventually outright fear. Because 150km/h is fast, you’re tailgating the car in front and there’s no seatbelt. You can rest assured (or not), however, that your driver will share none of these concerns.
All of which makes the humble taxi trip an instructive introduction to Thai culture. Buddhists believe in karma and in turn that their fate is, to a large extent, predestined. Unlike Western ideas, which take a more scientific approach to road safety, many Thais believe factors such as speed, concentration, seatbelts and simple driver quality have no bearing whatsoever on your chances of being in a crash. Put simply, if you die a horrible death on the road, karma says you deserved it. The trouble is that when a passenger gets into a taxi they bring their karma and any bad spirits the passenger might have along for the ride. Which could upset the driver’s own fate.
To counteract such bad influences most Bangkok taxi drivers turn the dashboard and ceiling into a sort of life-insurance shrine. The ceiling will have a yantra diagram drawn in white powder by a monk as a form of spiritual protection. This will often be accompanied by portraits of notable royals. Below this a red box dangling red tassles, beads and amulets hang from the rear vision mirror, while the dashboard is populated by Buddhist and royal statuettes, and quite possibly banknotes with the King’s image prominent and more amulets. With luck (such as it exists in Thailand), the talismans will protect your driver from any bad karma you bring into the cab. Passengers must hope their driver’s number is not up. If you feel like it might be, try saying cháh cháh soothingly – that is, ask your driver to slow down. For a look inside some of Bangkok’s 100,000 or so taxis, check out Still Life in Moving Vehicle (www.lifeinmovingvehicle.blogspot.com).
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SI LOM LINE
Starting at National Stadium on Th Phra Ram I in central Bangkok, this line passes the Siam interchange station and bends around via the eastern section of Th Silom and western end of Th Sathon, crosses Chao Phraya River at Saphan Taksin and (since late 2009) finishes at Wongwian Yai. The Saphan Taksin station, on the river near the intersection of Th Charoen Krung and Th Sathon, is superconvenient because it connects to the Chao Phraya river ferries Click here.
SUKHUMVIT LINE
Four new stations are planned to be added to the southern end of the line, which means that by the time you read this the Sukhumvit Line should be running from Bang Na, at distant Soi 105 of Th Sukhumvit, north and then west right along Th Sukhumvit, connecting to the Metro at Asok station. The Sukhumvit line then continues into the shopping and commercial district and the main interchange station at Siam, where it meets the Si Lom BTS Line. From here the line turns north up to Mo Chit, near Chatuchak Weekend Market.
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TÚK-TÚK
Bangkok’s iconic túk-túk (pronounced đúk dúk; a type of motorised rickshaw)