If you are like me, and have driven ever since you were able to get a license the thought of not having this independence could seem, well a bit sad.
I have driven in many of the big cities in the world; London, Hong Kong, New York, Brussels (OMG anyone remember that weird ‘priorite a droit’ priority from the right rule?) but I wouldn’t fancy driving in Bangkok.
Many expats think it’s nuts to have a car in Bangkok, a city recently shamed for having the worst traffic in the world. Bangkok has reasonable public transport options to avoid traffic jams.
We arrived In Bangkok to be presented with a car and a driver for our use as part of the ‘deal’ to move there. I have girlfriends who have been driving here for thirty years and think nothing of it. We are not banned from driving the car, but it was certainly discouraged.
You need to consider whether you want a car, you certainly don’t need a car, and then if you have a car whether you will drive it.
Here are some of my thoughts after a year of spending a lot of time in traffic jams in Bangkok!
1. Thailand’s roads are the most dangerous in the world. Do you want to be in charge of a lethal weapon in this country? No me neither, just call me a chicken but I am happy to leave it to a professional driver.
2.They do say if you ever have an accident the police are allegedly more inclined if they see a ‘Farang’ (foreigner) at the wheel of a car to assume you are to blame, I am happy to say I have no experience of Thai police either way. But think about it.
3. How good are you at driving under pressure? Signage is poor, or not surprisingly in Thai and road rules are not the same as in our western cultures.
You will not be a get anywhere in Bangkok if you want to follow what we would consider are normal, polite and safe road traffic rules. Like obeying stop signs…
4. How much spoken Thai do you have? Ask yourself do you have enough Thai to get yourself out of trouble if you find yourself in it? This is everything from getting lost, needing to know the ‘shortcuts’ or in the likely event of an incident. This is equally as relevant when you are going by public transport.
5. How important is it to arrive at your destination looking cool and composed? With a driver, you sit back relax and arrive at the door of your destination. As long as you can cope with just chillin’ when everything is at a standstill…
6. How far from public transport do you live? Bangkok is well renowned for being one of the worst cities for traffic jams. If you live close to the Bangkok Transportation Stations or Skytrain, or river you will have access to most places you want to go, but for me point 5 is important. I can’t even get from my apartment door, down in the unairconditioned lift and into the car without looking like a Sweaty Betty. Add in a 200m walk to the Skytrain and whoosh there goes any point in washing my hair that day!
7 Are you a FIT person? By this, I mean a Free Independent Traveller. If you hate to have a driver knowing exactly what are doing and where you are going all the time, then this might not be for you. I learned early on that everywhere the car goes is logged for HR records, yep that’s every spa, every lunch with the girls, every shopping centre I take the company car to… and with my HR hat on that’s probably fair enough but…
Taxi’s are cheap however communicating your destination, preferred route and getting the drivers to put the meter on are another thing! Uber and Grab in the marketplace are an improvement, Tuk Tuks are by and large for tourists and the rest, and all the motorbike taxi requires a degree of balls!
8. Company policy – if you have moved to Bangkok with a company you may well find that company policy dictates your decision. We got a car, it was non-negotiable. It was all to do with employee safety and probably company image. My husband’s company has a fleet of cars and a team of drivers.
We inherited our car from the last employee and just so I can set the scene, I refer to it as Popemobile although I doubt the pope has disco roof lighting? It was far bigger than I would have ever chosen, but it comes in handy and one way and another I am often giving people lifts.
For me I love the car, I call it my office. I have everything there, my computer, WIFI, a good book, my gym kit, my flat shoes in case I decide to bail and get on public transport.
I would not be without the car or the driver, it is a big part of me getting out and about every day enjoying Bangkok. I sit in the car and enjoy the most amazing movies of real street life outside.
If you follow me on Instagram @lwwren I enjoy filming Bangkok stories from the car!
What do you think?
D is for Driving in Bangkok and part of Blogging from A to Z April (2018) Challenge. Click here to see the list of all participants!
Thanks so much to the organisers.
10 comments
I rather like the idea of a driver. I hate driving at the best of times, doing so in Bangkok would be my worst nightmare. Walking would be out of the question in the heat so the car and driver sounds really handy. x
I am spoilt rotten here for sure with a driver, how else would I be able to do all my blogging if I had to drive my office myself?!
I do laugh though every time I arrive in the UK and pick up a hire car, and drive gingerly out onto the M4, trying to work out where the windscreen wipers are!
Wren x
No Westerner I know would actually dare drive anywhere in SEA, unless they’ve been here for a while (maybe 5 years or so). Traffic’s not as bad here in Penang, Malaysia… but it’s still scary for those from countries with “civilised” driving 😛
Though I have to say… driving in Los Angeles is a bit of a fright too!
Hello Anna in Penang, one of my favourite places, I do hope we get back there soon, especially to stop by for a photo with the lovely Rolls Royce cars outside the Eastern and Oriental hotel and afternoon tea… and indeed to stay there would be pretty cool, I digress!
You are a braver woman than me, I would draw the line at LA driving, although actually I have done that back in the 1980’s I expect it was a lot, lot less scary then!
Wren x
Sounds like having the driver is the ideal ! 🙂
Hi Deb – it works for me, I love my office! I’m a lucky duck indeed!
Wren x
Looks very nice I mean your car not the traffic ! That’s probably a nightmare.
Yay Gattina lovely to have you here on the post! It would be even better to drive you around in the car and to show you the sights!
Wren x
I remember Bangkok’s traffic well. One taxi ride took us about an hour that would have taken about 10 minutes to walk. The trouble was we didn’t know where our Hotel was and had tons of luggage which would have been a nightmare to lug around. Imagine our surprise when the hotel had been in our view all along!
I think I’d have no problem having a driver and car x
Argh the Bangkok traffic story, we all have them for sure. It’s hard to know what they can do you resolve the issue. Last time we were in Singapore they’d instigated an extra toll fee after 8 am, and London has its congestion charge…but no worries Neesie, next time you visit we’ll pick you up, we won’t go anywhere fast but at least we can have a natter on the way!
Wren x