Bangkok Blogs

Tuk Tuks are a unique way of getting around Bangkok. In theory, they are extremely economical but in practice the driver will always quote a very high price, especially for foreign tourists and it’s never easy trying to bargain with them because even if you seem to succeed you will still end up paying at least double the actual price.

I’ve got some story about Bangkok tuk-tuks to share with you and hope it will be useful. A few years back, my Japanese friend and I were involved in one of the most common scams still practised by tuk-tuk drivers in Bangkok. It’s my friend’s first day in Bangkok and I decided to take him to Wat-Prakaew. One tuk-tuk driver came and talked to us saying he liked Japanese tourists and wanted to take us to the temple for free but asked us to make a few stops before then as it’s too early and the temple wouldn’t be yet open.

He’s very nice and took us to a clothing shop that I found out later belonged to his family and basically my mate had no choice but bought some clothes from the shop. After that he took us to another shop that sold fake jewellery and surprise, surprise it belonged to his family again! Now you should work out why he was so keen to give us a free lift despite his apparent low-paid job.

Anyway after the two wasteful stops, we told him it’s about time to go to the Temple and much to our surprise he said it’s his lunch break and couldn’t take us there and told us to piss off. Thanks very much, he wasted our time and ripped my friend off completely making him buy stuff he never wanted in the first place.

If you want to take a tuk-tuk, there are a few things worth remembering when bargaining with the tuk-tuk driver. If their price is too cheap, you should ask them directly whether they’re going to make any stops, and if they say yes or maybe, then you know you should set off running fast. If the fare seems a bit too high, try to bargain hard and cut down to the half and never give in.

As far as I’m concerned, tuk-tuks are a waste of money for foreign tourists because they are most of the time conned into paying too much. They are also uncomfortable and you are fully exposed to both the extreme heat and pollution in Bangkok. Besides, most drivers seem to believe that you are some sort of scout for F1 looking for a new Michael Schumacher, and therefore try hard to impress you with their driving aggressiveness coupled with lack of concern for passenger safety.

And as you’ve learnt tuk tuk drivers are very often involved in scams claiming to give you a free lift, but instead they take you to their family or friend’s shop, wasting an awful lot of your time and money. Apart from this, their two-stroke engines are responsible for a lot of the exhaust smoke in Bangkok which is another reason you should not support them.