'Mode': TO,AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: By Air : Most people enter Thailand via Bangkok's Don Muang Airport, about 24 kms (15 miles) from the city centre. A second international airport is apparently under construction in the Bangkok area, at Nong-Ngu Hao in Chachoengsao province, about 29 kms (18 miles) east of the capital. When it becomes completely operational, Don Muang will become a regional airport.
Taxi : fares vary, depending on your destination, but are quite reasonable. Rates between Don Muang and Bangkok are standardised. Travellers are advised to use only authorised taxis or services under the airport's jurisdiction. Taxi drivers keep the metre running continually or ignore them altogether, so each new passenger should bargain over the fare before they begin their journey. Many hotels advise their guests to use the hotel taxi system, which is expensive but trustworthy. Just be certain the vehicle is air-conditioned or you will quickly suffer from the traffic's dreadful fumes.
The city has thousands of three-wheeled, motorised
tuk tuks that also serve as taxis. They're much cheaper than the four-wheeled kind, although a bit hair-raising. There are also samlors (bicycle-powered rickshaws) and songthaews (pick-up trucks with benches for seats).
The
city buses are not the most elegant way of getting around, but they're cheap, reliable, and cover a lot of territory.
Travelling by
boat through Bangkok's many klongs (canals) is a charming tourist attraction and it is also a very efficient, mode of transportation. The price of a seat in a hang yao (long-tailed motorised boat) is only a few baht, or you can charter your own for about 50 baht (US$2) an hour. Expect to be splashed though. Regular ferries run upriver from the Oriental Hotel, past Wat Arun, Wat Po, and the Grand Palace. You can also bargain a bit with one of the boatmen and make your own sightseeing tour for just a few dollars.
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on Jun 19, 2003
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