There are legitimate tuk tuk drivers in Bangkok… people who want to make money without scamming tourists. But this is only the case if you stay far away from Khao San Rd. I remember my first day in Bangkok… It was a fun day
It was my first day in Bangkok; I had arrived at the airport at 3 AM the night before, was officially traveling solo, and had no clue where to go or what to see in the concrete jungle. My first instinct was to go as far away as possible from Khao San Rd; it seemed like an interesting place, but Khao San Rd gets old really fast.
There was a friendly looking local man standing around by himself, holding a map of Bangkok; he approached me and started asking questions about where I was from, what school I went to, etc. He asked me what I wanted to see in Bangkok. I wasn’t exactly sure what to see, so I said that I’d like to see a few temples. He showed me the map and pointed out a few temples, or Wats, that I should see. He also mentioned that he just opened a new tailor shop, and that I should go there to check out the “promotional sale” they were having, in honor of a Buddhist holiday that was taking place that day… sure…as long as there are foreign tourists in Bangkok, every day will be a Buddhist holiday…He told me to find a tuk tuk, show the driver the map, and that the ride should cost no more than 10 baht. This seemed like a ridiculously cheap price, but I was new to the place, and naive to the fact that I was about to fall for a common scam. However, for 10 Baht I could not go wrong. I had nothing else to do that day anyway… Conveniently, there was a tuk tuk waiting for me just up the street; he agreed to give me a tour of Bangkok for 10 Baht.
The scumbag pictured above drove me all over the city, and stopped at the temples the other guy had circled on the map for me. Wow, Bangkok looked crazy! Such a chaotic place! First he took me to a temple with one of the largest Buddha statues I’d ever seen.
He showed me another temple, and then took me to a travel agency. I told him that I had no interest in going inside, but he insisted that I go in, and that they had good deals. I was a bit confused, but went inside anyway to see what it was all about. The guy inside tried to pressure me into booking hotels and tour packages through the company. I told him that I wasn’t exactly sure about my plans yet, and that I’d come back later. (Ha!). After the travel agency, the driver took me to a tailor shop to check out the “promotional sale” they had going on. Inside, there was a sleazy Indian salesman trying to pressure me into buying a suit. I later learned that it is a common scam in Bangkok for tuk tuk drivers to bring inexperienced tourists into these types of shops, where they will be put under a high pressure sales situation. Tuk tuk drivers get commission from the shops for every tourist they bring inside. Over the course of the next hour, my driver brought me to about 3 more of these tailor shops, and about three more travel agencies. I told him to stop bringing me to these places, but he pretended that he couldn’t understand me. The downside of not knowing the local language is that arguing over anything involving money will most often lead to nothing.
The driver brought me to one last temple and told me he’d meet me on the other side when I was finished. This temple looked cool, but it was in the ghetto.
After I was finished exploring the temple I looked around for the driver; he was nowhere to be found. I walked down the street and saw some local people sitting down to eat. Next thing I knew, there was a small dog following me. The locals were staring me down, and this cute little dog was barking loudly and trailing directly behind me. Did my tuk tuk driver really just abandon me in the middle of the ghetto, and was I really about to get attacked by a small dog in front of a temple in Bangkok??? I tried to stay calm; I slowly walked around the block. The dog followed me until I reached the end of the street, then he turned around. Phew! After walking around for about 20 minutes, it became evident that my tuk tuk driver had ditched me. At this point, all I wanted to do was return to my hostel and relax.
I found another tuk tuk. The driver said he’d drive me back to my hostel for free, but that I should check out a few tailor shops first. I told him that I knew what he was up to, and to just take me back to my hostel, but he insisted that I check out these tailor shops and buy a suit. He said that if I went into 2 more shops and 1 more travel agency he’d give me a free ride home. I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go home. There were no other tuk tuks in sight, so I agreed. I went into the shops and endured the high pressure sales pitches. One of the guys in the tailor shops gave me a free beer. After giving me the beer, I told him straight up that I was only there so I could get a free ride home from my driver. I walked out with the free beer… I was taken to one more travel agent and the driver finally took me home. He honored his word. He shook my hand, graciously thanked me (I helped him get commission from the tailor shops), and he didn’t charge me anything for the ride. It felt nice to be back in the tourist trap (Khao San Rd).
At the end of the day, this was a frustrating experience, but it was a nice introduction to Bangkok. Never again will I take a tuk tuk around Bangkok, unless it’s FAR away from Khao San Rd. In fact, meter taxis are usually cheaper and more comfortable anyway. Beware of scams that take place in popular tourist areas. At first they are difficult to catch, but as you gain more travel experience, and you know what types of red flags to look out for.
With all of that being said, I’d say that riding a tuk tuk around Bangkok is an experience that all travelers in Thailand must do at least once before they leave. Just hold on for your life…these guys drive like lunatics.
