why public transportation( sky train )?

[thelastpetitioner 218]

My significant other and I are planning a trip to Thailand in a month or two ( after we get our appointment set ) so I was reading about Thailand and what to do and what not to do and noticed a lot of thais suggest sky train or MRT or different forms of public transportation,pretty much anything but Tuk tuks and taxi.

Now i have read about tuk tuk scam methods,but whats wrong with taxis?Is it because of safety or convenience? Also how easy is it to find your way around sky train or MRT?

any other suggestions or advice in general for a first time traveler?

[Casprd 167]

For Taxis, you just have to be careful that they are not trying to charge you a "flat rate". It will be much higher than on the meter. Your hotel staff can give you an idea of how much the fare should be to the various places in bangkok (or whatever city). The other thing to be very wary of is the Duty Free shops in the airport. DO NOT go in to these (I would stay out of any shop in the airport). There is an ongoing scam where they are accusing foreign tourists of shop lifting and the police demand exorbitant fines(in the thousands of dollars). The consulate will try to help but they admit there is nothing they can really do.

Also keep in mind that there are still government protests going on and it fairly frequently there are bombs around bangkok. You can see the latest here here

Check out the state departments travel advisories before you go also (and register your trip with the state department).

[thelastpetitioner 218]

thank you for the heads up

[Kang Lang 7]

bts is a very efficient way to get around greater bangkok it's clean, cheap and signs are in thai and english for your stops. tuk tuks are ok but the air quality is tough and they spout lots of black smoke, it's a fun way to see thailand but DEFINITELY settle your rate before you start your ride. taxis are metered and typically you only need to say meter when they challenge for a flat rate but in some of the more heavily tourist visited places, yaowarat (chinatown, siam sq/discovery, wat pra keaw) you can find someone trying to take advantage.

i see that either you or your significant other is from iran so perhaps you are muslim if so there is a large muslim area in pathumwan with restaurants (DELICIOUS FOOD) and mosques for prayer as well.

as for safety, i have been to thailand both as a single girl traveling alone right after 9/11 and with a group of friends and never NEVER encountered any trouble, just be prudent as you would on ANY vacation. read travel advisories! i went just in june of 2010 right at the tail end of a very very dangerous period of civil unrest and minded my way to avoid the areas that were hotspots etc.

thailand has some amazing things to see and i hope you enjoy a wonderful vacation there.

Edited November 13, 2010 by Kang Lang

[ThaitoUSA 15]

Sky train and MRT will be cheaper than taxis to most locations. They are air-conditioned and avoid the traffic jams that taxis get caught up in, so they can be quicker at times. If you really wish to travel like a local, ride on the khlong boat. It travels across the city on the open canal/sewer in only 40 minutes (up to an hour and a half in a taxi in traffic) and costs about 20 Baht ($0.70). I used to take it all the time to get from my neighborhood, Hua Mark, in the east to the Chao Praya river on the west side of town.

Tuk-tuks are almost never the most economic method of travel, but can be fun to try once. Don't pay more than 50 Baht (short distance) or they are taking advantage.

[Kaiser 0]

My significant other and I are planning a trip to Thailand in a month or two ( after we get our appointment set ) so I was reading about Thailand and what to do and what not to do and noticed a lot of thais suggest sky train or MRT or different forms of public transportation,pretty much anything but Tuk tuks and taxi.

Now i have read about tuk tuk scam methods,but whats wrong with taxis?Is it because of safety or convenience? Also how easy is it to find your way around sky train or MRT?

any other suggestions or advice in general for a first time traveler?

BTS is great if it gets you where you want to go and it ties together the bigger hotel and (some) tourist areas (Sukhumvit, Silom, Siam Square). MRT is a good, too. If you go to see the Palace, Emerald Buddha, and Wat Po area, you can take the BTS to Saphan Taksin Station and take the boat up the Chao Phraya, which is ridiculously cheap and a nice ride if the weather is good. Just make sure any taxi you get into has a meter and you're fine. Sometimes taxi drivers will decline to take you somewhere if it's out of their way, though. Local buses are not good, but if you go somewhere a few hours from Bangkok the buses from Ekkamai are pretty good and cheap. Whatever you do, don't drive - traffic is crazy everywhere in Thailand.

An important one - don't fall for any limo deals at Suvarnabhumi Airport. After you come out of customs, go to the bottom level and get a metered taxi into Bangkok. It costs less than half as much as the limo deals. There is a train now from the airport into Bangkok that will eventually get you to the BTS or MRT, but I haven't used it yet because my flights were either too early or too late. Reviews on that train have been mixed. I heard the local which goes to the BTS is too slow and there's no room for luggage and the Airport express leaves from a station that is a pain to get to due to traffic jams and a long walk from the MRT.