Traffic Weaving

The game of “Rush Hour” is played by cramming small plastic cars into a grid with only a few given the possibility of moving a few spaces. The object of the game is to move the ‘red car’ out of the gridlock and off the board.

This game is played on the streets of Bangkok every day, but full size cars and trucks are used rather than small scale plastic vehicles. The jams also seem to appear at random…no real rush hour seems to take place. So when you must travel somewhere a traffic jam is always a possibility!

However, there is a way here in Bangkok to escape the bumper to bumper cars and arrive quickly at any destination. To bypass the immovable pandemonium motor bikes are the logical solution! These bikes and scooters can easily weave their way through stopped traffic and sneak to the front of long lines at intersections and clogged causeways.

Weaving Through the Jam

Using this form of transportation isn’t just limited to those who own a bike. Across the city motorcycle taxis operate! The price is sometimes more expensive than a full size metered taxi, but the savings can be great when time is money and gridlock jacks up the metered bill anyway!

Zigging Across Town

The other day I experienced a motorcycle taxi ride as the streets where heavily packed. I bartered for the price…managing to knock 60 cents off the starting rate of $3.30. The driver donned a construction cap and handed me a similarly shaped brain bucket and the ride commenced! We wove around stuck cars and trucks, joining the flow of other motorcycles and mopeds. I had the perfect view, sitting a head taller than the driver, the two of us zigging and zagging, bouncing along the back streets over bumps that bottomed out the shocks of the small bike. These vehicles were not made for people my size! We whizzed off the main road and through dark alleys, too narrow for cars. It was a whirlwind tour the entire 6kms back to the apartment.