It may not be fashionable to admit this, but sometimes I take the bus. Hey, I’m one of the few people in the city that doesn’t own a Mercedes Benz, or employ a driver to wheel me around town in style, so what else can I do? But really, taking the bus in Bangkok is not such a horrible plight. in a town with such a plethora of enticing transportation options – BTS Skytrain, the subway, metered taxis, canal boats and motorcycles – it sometimes makes more sense to simply take the bus. And not those comfy air-conditioned models either; I prefer the cheap old dirty windows-open buses. Go ahead and call me weird, I’m used to it!
And even within the bus category Bangkok offer commuters a dizzying variety of choices. The smallest one is the notorious “green bomb” – a tiny little bus (if you’re tall like me, be prepared to bump your head on the roof) that drives around like it’s fueled by amphetamines. There are a couple of other brands of cheap fare, non-AC buses as well as air-con varieties, all categorized by color, culminating in the pricey “we guarantee you a seat so you don’t have to stand” Micro Bus.
When it’s raining in the city the fleets of buses are invariably packed with passengers. But the rain also makes traffic much worse, forcing the soggy commuters to endure claustrophobic conditions for what seems like an eternity. It’s those times that I just get out and walk; it’s much faster. But when traffic is light, like it was last night when I took the number 58 bus down Petchburi Road, the journey can be quick and painless. And cheap. Total price for the non-AC buses ranges from 6 to 7 baht.
Meanwhile, the Council for Democratic Reform – which is the official identity of Thailand’s new Military-backed interim government – has announced new measures to combat over-exuberant fans of the recent coup. According to newspaper reports, the CDR “has told soldiers it will not allow dancers to perform near tanks, nor can they give their weapons to tourists to handle” when posing for photos.” You gotta love it. Only in Thailand!
