I know this is a long time in coming since I haven’t been to Bangkok in over a month, but since I had a lot of not so pleasant things to say about my experience there, I wanted to mention some positives about the city.  In particular the public transport systems.

The three systems of public transport right in the heart of the city can pretty much get you anywhere you want to go cheaply, safely, cleanly and in style.  The Airport Rail goes from the Airport (imagine that!) directly downtown.  The over-ground rail and underground systems take you practically anywhere else you’d want to go within the city.

It took me quite a while to figure out how exactly to go where I needed utilizing these three systems and also a while to figure out the purchase of tickets for the underground rail (I literally stood there staring at maps and watching locals purchase before making my own) but once you get the hang of it, I wouldn’t use any other mode of transport.

And unlike Germany where it’s basically an honor system as to whether you buy a ticket for the train or not, since tickets on public transport trains are rarely checked, nothing gets past the systems in Bangkok.  One time I purchased a ticket for the underground (my first try) and got onto the train, but upon exiting my ticket wouldn’t open the gate for me to leave.  I went to the help desk, they took my card and scanned it and found out I hadn’t purchased the correct ticket.  So I simply paid the difference, they updated my card and out I went.

These three modern and clean systems were a real breath of fresh air compared to where I had been and I finally saw Bangkok as it had been described by those who love it: modern and sophisticated.  Again, now that I know about them, I won’t be using a taxi or tuk-tuk again!

On to Crazy Kanchanaburi Nights

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