While traveling in Thailand Bo learn the hard way that not all taxis does the expected thing.
Traveling Thailand or even just Bangkok is sure to provide a number of surpirces, some expected, while others are the kind I never did see coming.
Getting around in Bangkok can be done at least 3 ways, using a bus, inexpensive somewhat crowded and likely not air-conditioned, you could also take a Tuk-Tuk, which is a motorized tri-cycle with a roof over the passengers, it is a blast to travle Bangkok in a Tuk-Tuk and you positively have to take some trips in these colorful vechicles. However, after a while the Yellow or Green Taxis seems like a great choice and the price compared to the USA is positively right. I frequently would hire one for the day at the rate of 1000 Bath, app $30. This turned out to be my prefered mode of transportation while photographing at different locations.
This story on the other hand is about all the days when I optimistically would flag down a taxi outside of the hotel and proudly hand the driver the note written in Thai language by the girls in the hotel reception, a great exsamble would be Wat Benchamabophit. Mostly the driver would look at the note and read out loud the place I wanted to go, much to my delight the pronounsation would be pretty close to what I expected it to be... So I would say YES, YES, that is right lets go. So far so good, I am sitting back and waiting to arrive at Wat Benchamabophit the Marble Temple build by Rama 5. After a while we pulled up in front of a beautiful fortification wall, strangely it looked almost identical to the wall around the Grand Palace where I was the day before... Sure enough, when I looked around it was in fact the the Grand Palace.. The driver turned and exclaimend "Wat Benchamabophit" pointed to the entrance and asked for 120 Bath. I briefly argued with him that this was not the right place and I did not feel like paying for going the wrong way.... to no avail and I finally left the cab without paying, at this point I have to inject that leaving the cab without paying really bothers me, because I KNOW that the taxi driver need the 100 or so bath a lot more than I do... BUT I refuse to reward this idea of taking tourists to a destination completely different from where they expect to go. So with that said, I get out of the cab and the game starts over, mostly taxis would get me to the right destination from the Grand Palace, however there were no rules to garantee this.
My personal best were 3 unexpected visits to the Grand Palace in one day, and I now feel comfident when saying that I recognize the routes leading to the Grand Palace from several parts of Bangkok. Always remember this is one more experience while visiting Thailand, and taken with the right attitude it will add many great laughts when you return, and like me, you might even discover new interesting places along these unplanned routes.
BTW. Wat Benchamabophit turned out to be well worth the few extra trips once I actually made it there. It is a highly recomended destination, if you are a photography buff, remember to bring a polarizer for a few over saturated shots of the pond. You can also see several panoramas from Wat Benchamabophit on my panorama page.
Cheers.