At 7:35 a pickup taxi showed up and I boarded for the ride to Mae Chan. I had been told there would be a mini-bus, but the pickup showed up. This one didn't smoke as badly as the one coming up to Mae Salong 3 days earlier, but the fumes were bad anyway. Other passengers got on and off as we went along. The ride was up and down, and around. It took 1.3 hours to get to Mae Chan. Everyone got out and I was pointed to a pickup taxi across the street. I had expected to get on a regular bus, but there were none in sight, so I got in the pickup bed and slid to the front of one of the bench seats. The driver was the first woman pickup taxi driver I have seen in Thailand. After we started I saw 2 regular buses, and they were packed, standing room only. A little ways down the road a large bag on top fell off, so the driver stopped and backed up to retrieve the bag. The owner, probably a high school girl looked depressed but said nothing. The pickup stopped frequently to add passengers, and drop off some a short distance down the road. Most of the riders were school students. When the benches were full the driver had to climb up her ladder on the back and pull down a narrow bench which she slid into the bed for passengers to sit. At one point there were 17 passengers in the bed and 2 in the front passenger seat. Most of the passengers got off before the old bus station in Chiang Rai. I paid 55B, about 3 times the regular bus fare, but I would have stood for the entire 1.5 hour ride on the bus.
I looked around the old bus station to make sure there were no offers in English of a ride to Bangkok, and found none, so I boarded another pickup taxi for the 10B, approximately 10 km, ride to the new bus terminal. I asked at information about going to Bangkok. She said 'now?'. I said 'yes'. She said '1' and pointed to the other side of the building. The only windows on the other side were for Sombat Tours. They had a second class bus leaving at 1 pm and first class and VIP buses leaving at 5 and 6. The 2nd class trip would take 13 hours and the bus has no toilet. The first class and VIP trips are an hour shorter because they don't need restroom and meal stops. It was nearly 11, so I thought about it a while, and decided that arriving in Bangkok at 2am was as good as anything else. The later buses would cost more, but it would be morning and I could take BTS back to Ekkamai. However, there would be tuk-tuk costs getting to BTS and up to Bill's from the Ekkamai station. The taxicab ride would cost more, but not that much. So I bought the 1pm ticket for 475B.
While I waited, I bought 3 dough rolls, 2 with the red bean paste filling and one with a green coating on the dough which was rolled up, for 36B. I saved these for the trip and bought a small tray of rice and an omelette. The omelette was too oily and had no taste. I also bought a 920ml bottle of water for 7B.
The bus left on time. I had a front row seat, which I picked so I could see out the front; however, the driver compartment is separated by a partition, with a door and windows, so I could see down into the driver compartment. The passenger seats are higher than the driver compartment, and the high windows on the front of the bus had curtains pulled over them, so all I could see out the front was the pavement right in front of the bus. I was on the sunny side so my curtains were shut. I could see out of the other side most of the time, so I was able to watch some of the passing scenery: the tropical greenery, fields, orchards, buildings and green-covered mountains in the distance. After 6:30, it was dark and all I could see was the lighted areas along the road and in the cities and towns.
I had forgotten about the video that these long distance buses play. I was just below the screen, so I had to look up to see it, but everything was in Thai so I couldn't understand it anyway. The sound was sometimes too loud, but I think there were speakers throughout the bus. First they played 3 movies, 2 horror films and one Disney film, something about the National Treasure. All American films, dubbed into Thai. After that there were Thai music videos, not too bad since they were all a type of ballad. After 9 the video was turned off.
The AC was left on all the time. I closed my vents as well as I could but still felt the cold air. The outside air wasn't hot, so AC wasn't really needed at all. After dark I needed a blanket, just like nearly everyone else on the bus, even though I was wearing long pants, a Tee shirt and a long-sleeved shirt. Could not stretch out well enough to sleep, but I dozed a little at times.
The bus stopped over a dozen times, sometimes letting off passengers with no sign of a bus stop. The city bus terminals were the only times, other than the 6pm dinner stop, where everyone had at least 5 minutes for a restroom visit. The 6pm stop was at a roadside c
afe, where I had the same as the guy in front of me, pork and hardboiled egg over rice, for 30B. Tasted OK. My only other purchases on the trip were a bag of 5 small ears of cooked corn, still in their husks, for 10B, and a bag of 12 candied fruits, probably plums, for 15B. I saved the corn and had only 3 of the fruit, because they were too salty and had big pits.We arrived a half hour early into Mo Chit station, in Bangkok. The station is the most cluttered station I've ever seen, because of the myriad vendors. On leaving the bus I was immediately asked by 4 men 'Where you going?'. I figured out that each driver has a man to solicit passengers. I told all of them 'Ekkamai, Soi 12.' I was told 'I can take you.' I asked 'How much?'. And was told '35 kilometers, 480.' When I said no, I was told '380'. Then, 'How much you pay?'. I told the driver, the only one still offering, that I would wait for the Skytrain. He laughed and said 'wait 5, morning.' I walked away to look around, use the restroom, for 3B, the same cost as at other bus terminals, and sit down to look at the guidebook. The guidebook only mentioned using a metered taxicab, and that a taxicab ride anywhere in Bangkok should cost no more than 180B. When I finally saw the metered taxicab sign, which was well lit, but hidden from my view when I first got off the bus, I walked over. I was asked my destination and guided to a cab. The cabs were lined up in 4 rows, with guides on each row. It was very efficient and quick. The driver looked Indian. He repeated my destination as though he understood and he drove as fast as anyone on the road. We arrived at Bill's place in less than half an hour, only slowing down once where hundreds of young Thais were milling about, and cabs clogged the road, with police directing traffic. The driver said 'Saturday' as we crept through this area. The meter showed 143. I gave the driver 150B and said 'keep it', being the big tipper that I am.
So my outlay for today is 1400B, $42.
No comments:
Post a Comment