Pollution and other Bangkok, Thailand Warning Or Danger Tips

Bangkok is notorious for horrible pollution. It is so bad that many people die each year due to it. It is common to see traffic police wearing masks to try and limit the amount of pollution going into their lungs. Many people would say there is not much you can do about it, but you can try and help the situation by trying to cut down in using pollutants. It's a huge and growing problem in Bangkok.

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Bangkok taxi Scams are amongst the worst in the world. I'll share some stories that happened to me to show all of you just how bad it is... OK I got in a closed metered taxi in Bangkok and asked to set up a price before hand so they wouldn't just drive in circles rising the meter. The driver said ok, and I'm positive it wasn't a miscommunication because I speak fluent Thai. I set up a really good price, 40 Baht per person to go from Banglampoo to the area by Little India. So we get in two taxis (there were eight of us) and have the same deal set up for both taxis, they worked together. I didn't have a map with me, so I didn't really know the streets to where we were going, but the driver promised me he knew where to go, in fact he repeated it! So I trusted him and thought he would get us there fast because he was only getting 40 Baht per person. Boy was I wrong, he and his buddy drove us to the other side of the city. We paid them thinking that we were in the correct location, until I realized we weren't. Then I told them we were in the opposite side of the city and threatened to just leave us there unless we paid them 80 Baht more per person. Well, my friends and me wouldn't stand for this so I try to argue with the drivers in Thai, to no avail. Then I noticed there was a police stand nearby so I walk to the station and got an officer to help. Once the drivers saw the officer they just agreed to take us to where we wanted to go no problems, but still a huge ordeal and almost an hour wasted. And they thought we would give up, haha!

Well this is only one story about Bangkok taxi scams; there are a lot more, lol.

Here's what to do to try and avoid these problems:

Always work out the price before hand, but do give the drivers a fair amount, if not... well what happened to me may happen.

Carry a map so you know where the drivers are going.

If you don't speak Thai carry the address of the place that you are going in THAI to show to the drivers.

Try to avoid metered taxis.

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Flying taxis eh...hmmm... sounds like something from the future right in Bangkok. Well... flying in a sense anyway. Whether you are in a TukTuk of Taxi remember to buckle up. Taxi driver drive extremely quickly, and traffic accidents are amongst the leading causes of death in Thailand. Hold on very tight when in TukTuks, you can fall right out of those. Be careful!!

Here's an important Thai word:
SLOW DOWN - CHAH LOHNG (the chah is pronounced with a high tone and the lohng is pronounced with a normal tone).

Oh, and this phrase is very good to know:
PLEASE BE CAREFUL - DTOHNG RA MAT RA WAHNG (the dtohng has a falling tone, the ra, mat, and ra all have a high tone, and the wahng has a normal tone and is spoken very quickly).

And if the driver continues to drive horribly/dangerously say: BAO BAO (relax), HYUT (stop), and JAK BPAI (I'm leaving).

Just make sure to add the masculine/feminine endings to the end of each statement you say (KRAP for men/KAH for women).

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This is a horrible thing, which I have personally seen in Bangkok (and Bangkok only). Fake monks on the streets. These fakes love to steel money and make "illegal" business deals. Be careful, these people must be bad if that pick wearing a monk's robe as a disguise. I actually got a photo of a fake, and the signs were blatantly obvious, first of all the "monk" was smoking, which real monks don't do, and second of all he was hugging a woman, which monks don't do either (it is forbidden for monks to even touch women). Be aware and be careful, there are some bad people in Bangkok (but a lot of very good too!!).

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