Taking the bus

You might think that taking the bus could be a simple adventure in Bangkok. You would be wrong.

As there are more then 400 lines in Bangkok, there are no comprehensive map (ok, there is the 1-inch thick one that we decided not to buy). We had a few lines in our guide, we had scouted out the but stop the evening before, so we thought ourselves ready.

(A bus stop may or may not have a sign with the number of lines stopping there ; people, of course, are waiting 50m before the sign, not around it.)

There are buses with air-conditioning and buses without; we were taking one of the former.

So we waited with the other passengers, we went up in our bus, and started wanting to pay our tickets. There is a person with a box of money and tickets who is there for the purpose.

Ok, all was well.

Then, at the end of the day, we decided to go back with the same bus... ah!

Innocents that we were, we went to the other side of the street from where we stopped in the morning. No bus stop sign, but, well... it doesn't mean a thing. And we waited. We saw a number of buses passing by and stopping, but never ours -although we did see several going in the opposite direction. We still to this day don't know why it goes in one direction and not in the other; we took a taxi home.

In Thailand, motorbikes and scooters are everywhere, available for rent, and even as taxi. From the walkways (try to cross a busy thai street!), here it goes: there is a swarm in the front of every traffic light, waiting for it to turn green.

Siam Square