Asia on the move
Written around 2001
Everything gets a new meaning when it’s looked at from a different angle. “Same, same …, but different”, to use a Thai expression. And it was there, in Thailand, where I first had to realize what the word traffic means in Asia is not quite the same than what I got used to at home. Asia is on the move, in every sense, but it’s most striking on the roads.
A good introductory lesson to Thai traffic is taking the local, 59 bus from the Airport to Banglampoo, the travelers’ hub in the city… well, if after a long, tiring flight you still fancy a 2-3 hour journey through the congested labyrinths of roads. Public transport is cheap, reliable and, if you’re looking it that way, fun. While taxis and the Airport minibuses cut across the city on one of the multilevel toll-roads built to cope with the enormous traffic, the bus, along with myriads of 2, 3 and 4 wheeled counterparts competing for the road, takes you on a different trip. When there is a chance the driver speeds up almost reaching terminal velocity, only briefly slowing down at stops to let passengers exit and jump on, all along relying rather on the horn than the brakes to make a clear passage among the motorbikes. But inevitably the bus gets jammed at another intersection again for long minutes. And it’s the motorbikes that come out winners in this race. While trucks, pick-ups, cars and buses of all size obediently wait for the light to turn green or the dust-masked police to give a go-ahead sign, the two-wheelers, sneaking through between them, keep on gathering at the front. Engines revved up, as the start signal goes, the scene becomes like a Grand Prix of a sort; scores, sometimes perhaps hundreds of bikes shoot out leaving a cloud of blue smoke behind, women sitting sideways in their office attire, kids on the petrol tank, all kind of goods at the back.
And in fact, for shorter distances taking a motorbike is probably the fastest option. All over the city one can see parking bikes lined up next to each other with guys hanging around in bright coloured vests marked with numbers or strange characters – motorbike taxis and their drivers waiting for passengers. And than there’s the famous tuk tuk for more than one person – a cross between the motorbike and the conventional taxi. It’s got a small two-stroke engine, and the front of the vehicle does remind of a motorbike, but there are two wheels at the back and the covered, although still open cabin fits two passengers comfortably, or as many as the driver can be convinced of taking. In the family of the three-wheelers there is the bigger song thaw, meaning two rows, where at the back there are two parallel long seats. Song thaws, unlike tuk tuks, travel along a regular route like a bus, and the limit to the number of people it takes depends on how many can still find a grip to hang on at the back.
To experience Bangkok traffic for the first time might be overwhelming, it seems chaotic and frightening, but it’s one of the World’s biggest megapolises, and taking into account the number of people who cruise its roads, it’s still a safe place with few accidents. For pedestrians there are footbridges over the major roads, otherwise crossing could be a time-consuming exercise. A traveler, if the story is true, found himself trying to go across the road to Sanam Luang, but in vain. Asking a local how to get to the other side, the friendly Thai said: “I was born on this side.”
However, there are other modes of transportation. Water is a very important, sacred element in Thai life. Thais pay their respect to its spirit at every full moon in late November or early December at the Loi Patong festival, floating candles and incense sticks in wreaths of flowers down every river and lake. Not only does water feed the rice fields across the country, providing people with food – rice, food and to eat is the same word in Thai; khao -, but also much of Thailand’s transport is conducted on its waterways. Getting around in Bangkok, if it’s close to the Chao Praya River, it’s faster on the regular “water-buses” than by road, and definitely more enjoyable. Costing just as much as an ordinary non-aircon bus (4 Bahts, 0.08 USD), it’s worth the trip even without a destination. Along the river boats and ferries, ships and barges ply the routes. Or one can take a long-tail river taxi to venture further into the world of the klongs, the small canals branching out in every direction, see people virtually living on the waters in houses built on poles, paddling around to visit neighbours or to go the floating market – a popular tourist destination which despite this retained some of its original charm.
One can still see big, barrel shaped wooden boats. They are traditional Thai house boats, carrying goods between the upcountry and the city. People, whole families, literally live all their lives on them, setting foot on the land only once in the while to purchase some extra things they can’t get along the river. They fish, keep poultry, even grow vegetables aboard – an almost self-sufficient lifestyle. Some tour operators offer 4-5 day cruises on boats like these, of course modified to meet western standards, along the way stopping in small villages. It’s a memorable experience and a good way to see traditional rural life.
There is an interesting, very unique vehicle, found only in the North-Estern regions of Thailand, used by farmers working the fields. It is a “home made” pick-up truck, the body made of timber and decorated with bright paintings, and a small, detachable engine mounted at the front. The engine is easily removed, and can be then used to power a boat, pump water to the rice fields or generate electricity for the household. An ingenious invention born out of necessity in this poor area, where having a separate truck, boat, generator and water-pump is out of question for most families.
Another unique and beautiful feature is the by-product of traffic; furniture made of used truck and car tyres. Waste no more, sofas, seats and so on, they can be found all over the country, but the skillful craftsmanship conceals the true origin of the product. Appropriately, most of the garbage bins on the streets – the ball-shaped with the lid – are made of tyres.
Most people visiting Thailand will stay in Bangkok only for a short time, escaping from the noise, pollution and hectic traffic to some of the islands, beach resorts or visiting the historic sites in the North. Bangkok, or as locally known, Krung Thep, the City of Angels, is a typical, modern Asian mega-city moving into the new global era, and is just as much part of Thai life as the traditional, laid back, easy going countryside. And both in the city and in rural areas it’s the local people who will leave the most beautiful memories from a trip to Thailand, and now and then, venturing off the beaten track is the best way to meet them. While you can reach every major tourist destination by airconditioned luxury coaches, taking a local bus that stops at every village and town where hawkers are selling anything from dried octopus to fried grasshoppers at the stops, traveling with friendly and curious passengers who you can hardly communicate with apart from smiling and laughing back at them, is all part of discovering the real Thailand. But still, after your time’s up and it’s back to the airport, you might not want to take that 59 bus.
