A Wild Taxi Ride in Bangkok
How I ended up somewhere unexpected -and what travelers can learn from it
Some years ago I stopped a few days in Bangkok during a trip to Thailand. It was my first time visiting this city, and immediately enjoyed the vibes.
But for first-time visitors, Bangkok can be overwhelming: In fact, with 11 million people living here, bustling street markets selling everything and traffic around the clock, this city isn’t for everyone.
Moving around Bangkok can be challenging, too: Depending on where you want to go you can take the metro, a boat, the typical Tuk-tuk or…a taxi.
To make things slightly more complicated, smaller streets in Bangkok (“soi”) don’t have a name, but are numbered in increasing order; And some taxi drivers don’t speak English.
So, when one evening we got on a taxi waiting in front of our hotel in Sukhumvit district, we had no idea where we would end up.
“Do you know this place?” I ask the driver, showing him the name of a restaurant I had saved on my phone.
“YES YES!”, he answers.
We agree on the price for the ride and he starts driving.
But after a few kilometers one thing becomes clear: He has no clue where we are going. So I open Google Maps and start guiding him.
After 20 minutes, we arrive at destination.
The restaurant is closed. Probably permanently.
There is no plan B, it’s late in the evening and we are hungry. And that’s exactly when we make our first mistake.
“Can you recommend another good fish restaurant nearby?” , we ask the driver.
“YES YES!”, he answers with a big smile. And he starts driving.
He keeps driving and driving. Towards the outskirts of the city, it seems. But Bangkok is HUGE, so we aren’t really sure.
Finally, the taxi driver stops in a big parking lot.
“OK” he says, and switches off the engine.
We look at each other and scan the area around us. We still have no clue where we are. The place doesn’t look too dodgy. But the situation doesn’t feel 100% right, either.
There’s a flashy sign of what looks like a big seafood restaurant in front of us. We pay the driver and get out of the cab.
As soon as I get off the taxi, a middle-aged guy walks towards me.
“Hello my friends! Welcome to my restaurant!” he says, and shakes my hand.
He accompanies us into his restaurant and gives us a short tour of the venue, showing us big aquariums with all sorts of live fish, crabs and lobsters.
“In this restaurant we only serve fresh seafood!” , he says. Then he ushers us to our table.
The menus are in English and the prices are per kilo, making it difficult to understand how much this dinner is going to cost us. But the guy waits patiently next to our table, looking at us, making sure we don’t leave until we order some food.
So we order a few simple dishes, just to make him happy.
There are no locals in this restaurant. Just other tourists looking lost, too.
The food arrives, and the quality is average. But the bill is not: The equivalent of 50 Euros (54 USD) per person, an unbelievable price for that meal, in that place, and compared to usual prices in Thailand.
There was no doubt: We had been scammed. But what could we do now?
We just pay the bill and leave the restaurant. It’s late in the evening, we’re tired and tomorrow we’ve got a plane to catch.
Guess what? The taxi driver is waiting outside, ready to pick us up.
“Can you drive us back to our hotel?” we ask.
“YES YES!” he answers.
And he starts driving…..
Some basic rules when traveling abroad
Episodes like this -or similar- can be part of the travel experience, anywhere in the world. While it’s impossible to avoid them altogether, there are a few basic rules I keep in mind since then. For example,
Making sure I have google translator (or a similar app) installed. Most of these apps also work offline;
Often there’s no need to be connected 24/7, but having a local SIM card or an eSIM can be useful;
Always negotiating taxi rates before the taxi starts driving;
Finally, being alert is very important -but not obsessively so. Never forget to enjoy your trip!
Ever had a similar experience or another weird travel story to share?
Would love to hear about it in the comments!
About me:
As a skilled traveler and tourism professional I’ve experienced the world: From hiking the Andes to flying Business Class, from campsites in Serengeti to luxury resorts in Maldives.
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Yes, finally we did! It was a little inconvenient but could’ve been much worse.
Ah sorry to hear about your expensive fish dinner. I ran into a similar scam in Bangkok with a tuk-tuk driver that was supposed to take me to see the temples but ended up stopping every few minutes at a different tailor shop where I was expected to buy expensive clothes. At least now I know for next time!