Transportation in Thailand is pretty interesting.
To get to and from class, we, very fortunately, have a shuttle. It picks us up right outside our apartment and drops us off outside of the school building. Oftentimes, it’s too full, but too full is a matter of perspective. If there’s room, be it standing, 3 people to a seat, lying on the floor, sitting in between seats, the odds are that someone is going to take it. The drivers are totally fine with this, and I’ve yet to see someone get kicked out of a shuttle or a shuttle that has reached capacity.
Taxis are similar, although a little stricter. It’s very normal for my friends and I to squeeze 5 or 6 people into a typical taxi when we head into Bangkok, and the drivers rarely have an issue with this. Safety isn’t really the first concern, and this is emphasized by the lack of seat belts in taxis (the belts are there, but the part to click them in is gone.)
In terms of other transportation, Thailand is pretty endless. There are motorcycle taxis, tuk-tuks (3 wheeled scooters with seats in the back,) taxi boats, mini vans for rent, mopeds for rent, pick-up trucks converted into taxis, long-distance buses, ferries, trains, subway, skytrain, and these are just the first that come to mind. To get to islands, we typically take a taxi to a bus to a ferry to a taxi to our hostel.
Oftentimes, the easiest and cheapest way to get around (once at the destination) is by renting a moped. Less than $3 for 24 hours, no license needed, helmet included. It’s a bit daunting at first, especially with Thailand’s horrible, horrible drivers, but it’s very fun, cheap, and easy once you get the hang of it (getting to this point, however, is terrifying.)
The pros to public transportation are that it’s cheap, pretty extensive, and fairly easy to use. The cons are that it’s a bit daunting at first, because Bangkok is huge and there are so many different ways to get around. The best way to get somewhere may require 3 different methods of transportation, and that’s a lot to tackle when you’re new to a country and don’t speak the language. I haven’t really gotten the hang of the public transit yet, albeit a few bus rides, but it would be immensely helpful once mastered. Taxis are the go to for myself and most of the people that I know here, just because they’re easy to use, and fairly cheap when divided 5 ways.
A note about taxis: The drivers here often don’t know the best way to get somewhere. They might go the wrong way, not to jack up the meter, but because they legitimately don’t know the best way to get somewhere. This was another factor in my decision to take a Thai language class, as being able to give directions to a taxi driver is very, very helpful.
