The Bus Ride
One hand in the air and...kreeek...k! the taxi stopped. "Victory Monument" said Tenzin. The driver said something in Thai, denied our proposal and left. Tenzin waved his hand back and another taxi stopped. "Victory Monument", He said. The driver thought for a while and said," Oh Vic..toe..re..mo..nu..ment..(breaking the words)" and gestured us to hop in. 'Beep' the taxi meter showed 35 (35 baht). The a.c was in full swing and a Thai lady was singing on top of her voice from the radio, not a word of which we understood. Moving for a while, the car stopped. It moved slowly forward as we scanned the new environment. Not again...! it stopped again..?!! There were cars and buses all around. But everyone (especially the drivers) seemed to enjoy it because there was not a single 'honk'. The only sound that you can hear was the sound of the engines'. I felt the minute hand on my wrist watch go..tick..tick..tick.. and so did the numbers on the digital meter. After having waited for what felt like ages, and having moved in a snail speed, finally reached the destination.
This is what happens whenever we try to go somewhere in a taxi. First, they don't understand what we say and we, what they say. And even if we could speak some of their words, they don't understand that either (as we don't know how to speak in their tone, I guess). Secondly, its quite expensive and some say that the drivers purposely take the longest route. So, many advised us to catch a bus as there were plenty at every corner. They also have others like the mini van, tuk tuk and the bike. We were hesitant at first but after having spent a huge amount just on travelling, we decided to give it a go.
We were trying to get home by BTS (Bangkok Mass Transit System) sky train and Mochit BTS was the farthest that we could go. From there on, we usually took taxi. So, that day we decided to try the bus. Right below the BTS platform, there were many buses lined up. We tried to find out 'our' bus but unfortunately everything was written in Thai. I asked a girl near me, all she did was looked at me. I mean neither she understood my English nor I understood her Thai. We didn't lose hope, we were adamant to find our bus. We spotted a person who seemed like he was helping people find their right bus. Though he was also speaking in Thai, we tried our luck. Tenzin went to talk to him and after analyzing, he understood where we wanted to go. He stopped the bus that was about to leave, talked with the driver and the driver, with a broad smile asked us to get in. Thanking the man we got in the bus. Phew! finally...we looked at each other with a feeling of accomplishment. This may look like one smooth journey but wait for what came next.
I heard a lady talking in English. That was my chance and in-order to be extra sure I asked her, " Does this bus go to Wongsawang?" No reply, I think she didn't get it so i rephrased my question, "Which is the last station ?" and she said, "Mochit". Wait what? we came from Mochit and were going back to Mochit? "hmm.. I should not be asking any more questions", I thought. One by one people started getting out at stops until it was only the two of us left. The feeling was not good. We looked outside but no, it was not our destination, the place was not familiar. It was dark by then. The driver pointing to a place, said 49 and 13 with a smile. What the hell was 49 and 13!.There was no point in trying to ask questions and having no choice, we started walking to that place. Yes! this place was Mochit 2, 'Mochit Bus station' ( we haven't been here but had heard about this place). The lady was right indeed.
There were few people waiting near the counter and all eyes were focused on us as we walked towards it. We went to one of the counters and asked, "Wongsawang?" Not again! he didn't get it. After saying it for the second time, he said, "Wong Sawang" with a laugh and it was a great relief when he said, "Bus number 49". The bus was parked at a distance. We looked around, nobody seemed to move towards the bus. Thinking that theirs' must be a different bus, we started walking towards it. "You you..", said a voice from behind. Looking back, the lady told us to wait where we were. Soon the bus came near us which was the 'Pickup point' (no wonder the lady shouted). I believe it was the last bus for the day but we just wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible. But no! we had to wait for about half an hour before we finally started. The conductor collected 13 baht each from us for our destination (So,that was what the driver of the first bus meant by 49 and 13..how stupid of me!). Without any obstacle we finally reached home and trust me, that was the happiest moment of the day.
So yes, this was my first bus ride experience in Thailand. Looking back, I think it was not so bad after all, but not to forget the rough start. Now it has become the most used mode of transportation for us apart from the BTS. All you need to do is find the 'Right Bus'.
This is what happens whenever we try to go somewhere in a taxi. First, they don't understand what we say and we, what they say. And even if we could speak some of their words, they don't understand that either (as we don't know how to speak in their tone, I guess). Secondly, its quite expensive and some say that the drivers purposely take the longest route. So, many advised us to catch a bus as there were plenty at every corner. They also have others like the mini van, tuk tuk and the bike. We were hesitant at first but after having spent a huge amount just on travelling, we decided to give it a go.
We were trying to get home by BTS (Bangkok Mass Transit System) sky train and Mochit BTS was the farthest that we could go. From there on, we usually took taxi. So, that day we decided to try the bus. Right below the BTS platform, there were many buses lined up. We tried to find out 'our' bus but unfortunately everything was written in Thai. I asked a girl near me, all she did was looked at me. I mean neither she understood my English nor I understood her Thai. We didn't lose hope, we were adamant to find our bus. We spotted a person who seemed like he was helping people find their right bus. Though he was also speaking in Thai, we tried our luck. Tenzin went to talk to him and after analyzing, he understood where we wanted to go. He stopped the bus that was about to leave, talked with the driver and the driver, with a broad smile asked us to get in. Thanking the man we got in the bus. Phew! finally...we looked at each other with a feeling of accomplishment. This may look like one smooth journey but wait for what came next.
I heard a lady talking in English. That was my chance and in-order to be extra sure I asked her, " Does this bus go to Wongsawang?" No reply, I think she didn't get it so i rephrased my question, "Which is the last station ?" and she said, "Mochit". Wait what? we came from Mochit and were going back to Mochit? "hmm.. I should not be asking any more questions", I thought. One by one people started getting out at stops until it was only the two of us left. The feeling was not good. We looked outside but no, it was not our destination, the place was not familiar. It was dark by then. The driver pointing to a place, said 49 and 13 with a smile. What the hell was 49 and 13!.There was no point in trying to ask questions and having no choice, we started walking to that place. Yes! this place was Mochit 2, 'Mochit Bus station' ( we haven't been here but had heard about this place). The lady was right indeed.
There were few people waiting near the counter and all eyes were focused on us as we walked towards it. We went to one of the counters and asked, "Wongsawang?" Not again! he didn't get it. After saying it for the second time, he said, "Wong Sawang" with a laugh and it was a great relief when he said, "Bus number 49". The bus was parked at a distance. We looked around, nobody seemed to move towards the bus. Thinking that theirs' must be a different bus, we started walking towards it. "You you..", said a voice from behind. Looking back, the lady told us to wait where we were. Soon the bus came near us which was the 'Pickup point' (no wonder the lady shouted). I believe it was the last bus for the day but we just wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible. But no! we had to wait for about half an hour before we finally started. The conductor collected 13 baht each from us for our destination (So,that was what the driver of the first bus meant by 49 and 13..how stupid of me!). Without any obstacle we finally reached home and trust me, that was the happiest moment of the day.
So yes, this was my first bus ride experience in Thailand. Looking back, I think it was not so bad after all, but not to forget the rough start. Now it has become the most used mode of transportation for us apart from the BTS. All you need to do is find the 'Right Bus'.
Practice makes perfect. So is riding the bus. Keep practising and learning from mistakes. This way you'll get better and better la :)
ReplyDeleteYes you are right. And now we are expert in finding out our right bus..haha 😉
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