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Information On Getting Around Bangkok
Getting around Bangkok is now so much easier than it was six or seven years ago. Back then there was no skytrain, no subway, no expressways. Traffic was almost litereally bumper to bumper and the simplist of journey could take literally hours. The car journeys were so bad that a small, plastic bottle was sold called The Comfort 2000 which was designed to allow you to take a leak into the bottle without having to leave the car or worse still, turn off the road to find a toilet. If you turned off the road, you lost your place and it was incredibly difficult to edge back into the main flow of traffic again.
Back before all the changes, you had to bargain for each taxi ride and the taxis were often so run down that you sat praying that it would last the distance.
Thankfully, Bangkok has changed. The traffic is still terrible and Thais still insist on driving their cars no matter how bad the traffic gets, but at least there are now alternatives to just sitting in the traffic getting frustrated.
Roughly 7 years ago, the much awaited skytrain was finished and all of a sudden it was possible to get from one end of town to the other in a matter of minutes rather than hours.
The route the skytrain takes is good enough for visiting all the main shopping centres and even Chatuchak market, but it is nowhere near comprehensive enough to make a serious dent in the traffic jams.
Again, roughly 18 months ago, the new subway / underground system was opened. This is our favourite means of travel as it is cool and not so crowded.
Unfortunately, the underground pretty much follows the route of the sytrain with a smattering of different stations thrown in for good measure. It is still years away from being able to cover any decent area that will allow people to leave their cars at home.
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