How to be the worst tuk-tuk driver ever

Published: 29 Jun 2012 at 09.06
Newspaper section: Guru

Regular readers of this column will know that I've written before about my intense hatred of anything road-related in Bangkok. But since it would be silly of me to assume that anyone remembers what I write - or reads anything I write - let me elaborate.

Whether I'm a passenger who just wants to safely reach my destination or a pedestrian trying to accomplish absurd, gravity-defying acts like crossing the street, there's something about me that makes drivers think, "Hey, she looks like the adventurous type! Let's drive completely erratically and maniacally so she can experience the adrenaline rush of seeing her life flash before her eyes!"

To put that into perspective, I think I would prefer being a sex worker with a life-threatening disease who resides in a soggy cardboard box with a family of mutant rats, than ever having to deal with the motorised death-traps that have often gotten thisclose to making street squash out of me.

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metsy911
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Discussion 4 : 02 Jul 2012 at 15.564
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To watch tuk tuks zigzagging cheekily through the cracks in the traffic,
to listen to that deafening two-stroke note that sounds like a defiant raspberry directed at detractors..

To get drugged inside the cab and possibly get mugged or rape..Nah..

Motorbike taxi is still the last option and the best.
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nipper240
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Discussion 3 : 30 Jun 2012 at 11.483
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Excellent article. Can not help thinking if I wrote something like that it wouldn't get published, as many haven't.

Khun Sumati Sivasiamphai, is not alone in her belief of the feral, obtuse and often complete and utter idiocy of the driving skills, or lack thereof in Thailand. How so many drivers profligate their driving behaviour then hide behind darkened glass is indubitably mind-blowing.

Stay safe out there - they are coming to get you.
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lungstib
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Discussion 2 : 29 Jun 2012 at 13.592
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You were a bit upset about that then? Whose next? I didn't know anyone but tourists thought about riding in a tuk-tuk.
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Aussie John
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Discussion 1 : 29 Jun 2012 at 11.261
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Go to Phuket where they are a law unto themselves not to mention the most expensive in the whole of Thailand and if you dare to argue over the price make sure you have health insurance.
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How to be the worst tuk-tuk driver ever | Bangkok Post: opinion