Airport to Hotel

[firecat69]

"f the taxis were 6star affairs and that was plain to see I might think of indulging their little quirks like trying to charge first world prices." by Cedric.

 

He continues to say stupid things like the above ,even in the face of my facts that it is his home HKG that charges First World Prices without offering even a competetive product.

 

 

 

Not surprised that Cedric never paid for a Breakfast Buffet but I am surprised he .had no blather about my hard facts that taxis in HKG are 5x as much and yet the cars cost the same to buy and put petrol in.

 

He has nothing to say because it is true .  He appears to be  an entitled person who thinks people should treat him like a King.

 

 

Possibly he needs to travel to more places where exorbitant taxi fares are Legal such as HKG ,Sydney , Montreal  etc. or Prague , Budapest  etc where most of the taxi drivers will try to quadruple the legal fare.

 

Him trying to say that taxis regularly try to get 500 baht from him is plain ridiculous.  BKK is a large city and there are in fact trips where the trip can take over an hour even in normal traffic and the fare might approach 400-500 baht.

 

Anyone who travels in the Main Tourist areas would find it unlikely for a driver to ever mention such a ridiculous amount . Does it happen sure but rarely.

 

 

Proof is in the pudding.!!  There is nobody here supporting his ridiculous assertions . The most he can get is everyone who regularly takes taxis sometimes has to deal with someone asking for 200 baht for a 75 baht fare and driver quickly accepts 100 baht .

 

And even then a great bargain compared to the city Cedric lives in which by the way has many more old and falling apart taxis then BKK.

 

 

But of course he does not know that because he never takes public transportation . Would not surprise me if he has a Driver most times.  hehe

[Smiles]

CEDRIC SAYS: " ... makes a stay in Bangkok unpleasant. Sometimes I just dont feel like the problems and pay way over the odds for a hotel limo if Im going any distance, like to Hua Hin or wherever (hoping to one day catch a glimpse of the legendary Smiles with his boy), or 800 baht for a larger mini bus style taxi for a trip ... "

 

------------------------------------------

 

WOW! ... 'Legendary, eh? My noodle doth swell.

My only comment would be that you are just not looking hard enough, try NOT "just glimpsing" next time. Yes, we still live in Hua Hin, and thank you very much, but 'His Boy' is now 46 ~ closing fast on 47.

 

Noted that you are still up to your old elitist/White Man's Burden/Breakfast at Tiffany's schtick when it comes to posting on message boards. Still having trouble with Bangkok (I'm sure you say 'Krung Thep') taxi dudes I see. By the way, walking away without paying is a stunt you should not attempt more than once. The second time may well introduce you to the REAL meaning of 'Taxi Mafia'.

[ChristianPFC]

And Christian unlike Vinapu or I being the problem for worrying about spending an extra 60 cents (17 baht) for a taxi ride, you may be the problem for being a Cheap Charlie.

 

I frequently take taxis in the middle of the day (non traffic periods) and weekends where the fare is 40- 60 baht and the Skytrain would cost 30-40 baht and not be close to either my departure point or destination.   I should worry about pennies like 20 baht?

 

I guarantee most of the time you wait for the change if the meter say 55 baht  and you hand the driver 3- 20 baht bills.

 

I should have been more specific. I meant "taking taxis from spots where they stand and block one lane of the road, forcing customers like me and honest drivers onto second lane". How much each of us tips is their own business.

 

cedric: Bangkok taxis are a drain and very unpleasnt in the main, there are exceptions but they don't prove the rule. I've just come back and I've been going for many years. Its just a sad fact and they are getting worse, there is every reason in the world to talk of the Taxi Mafia at this stage.

 

I disagree with every word.

 

Anyway, it seems the op has other motives than wanting to know alternatives to get from airport to hotel.

[gumbleby]

Concerning taxi's, I know of no better city than Bangkok. Unfortunately, the ones in my home-city are some of the worst (very expensive, arrogant and often dishonest).

 

I've been coming to Bangkok for 10 years and had nice rides without issues on 95 percent of my taxi-hires. The biggest issue is that the seat-belts in the back seats are usually inaccessible.

 

Rule number one is to avoid taking a taxi waiting along the road. Except for airport, bus stations etc, taxi's are supposed to pick up customers along the road. They do come handy when the bars are out and it's raining though.

 

A big issue for the drivers must be that the flag fall rate for taxi's stayed at a 35 Bath all those years. On the other hand taxi's remain affordable even for average Thais.

[Guest Cedric]

 By the way, walking away without paying is a stunt you should not attempt more than once. The second time may well introduce you to the REAL meaning of 'Taxi Mafia'.

 

Sound advice. It's worth everyone doing it at least once, though. Highly recommended. It can only help.

 

Im getting the distinct feeling there are a lot of posters here who dont use taxis at all, or maybe they haven't been to Bangkok in the last thirty years.

 

It's that obvious.

 

Yes things were very different in the old days.

 

Smiles I only have your avatar as reference (chortle), it could just be an illusion but everyone seems so relaxed happy in Hua Hin? At one point I was sure it was you but then I remembered even in Thailand hot pants for men lost vogue around the late 90's. 

 

With my photographic memory it was in fact boy special I was after. Maybe you should stop blending with the trannies.

 

Absolutely, congratulations are very much in order. We await the secretes of a long happy relationship with an off by Smiles, which will no doubt include such priceless gems as locking them in the hotel closet while making them bark like a mad dog. 

[vinapu]

Sound advice. It's worth everyone doing it at least once, though. Highly recommended. It can only help.

 

Im getting the distinct feeling there are a lot of posters here who dont use taxis at all, or maybe they haven't been to Bangkok in the last thirty years.

 

It's that obvious.

 

I hope you are not serious recommending walking  without paying. What it can help with? It's just dishonest.

 

Distinct feeling failed you big time at least when comes to posters to this thread, I had pleasure to meet and shake hands with three of them in Bangkok in the last 8 months , so obviously they have been in BKK in the last 30 years.   

 

What is obvious though that yours and other posters experience with BKK taxis are completely different .

[Guest Cedric]

 

Not surprised that Cedric never paid for a Breakfast Buffet ........Would not surprise me if he has a Driver most times.  hehe

 

We will just have to agree to differ on this one as it's obvious you haven't used a taxi in Bangkok for the last thirty years.

 

No in fact I don't have a driver, not since I left home.

 

I have very fond memories of our outlandishly handsome Parsi driver, though. Hardwin (you figure), sharp features and hooded eyes, luscious moist lips he used to keep us in stitches with mixed metaphors, mostly unintentional of course. My sisters were constantly in love with him and used to flirt shamelessly feeding him biscuits by hand while he was busy driving and sliding little love letters secretly into his pocket. He only had eyes for horses, though, and especially if my mother was on one of them. Terrified of my father he once peed in his neatly pressed trousers in front of him. My father had found one of the little love notes on the gravel drive outside his quarters. This endeared him to me forever, since I often did the same in my bed, well at least until I started school.

 

I love driving. I have a car in Bonkers. 

 

True I dont use taxis as a means of daily transport in Hong Kong, I did when I broke my collar bone in a riding accident, it was just too sore driving for the first few weeks.

 

You're talking nonsense. The cars are fine and cheap compared to the cost of living in Hong Kong. 

 

Beyond that Im not sure what point you're trying to make. 

 

A lot of Hotels include breakfast, hardly unusual. 

 

Bangkok taxis are a pain in the arse, more so than anywhere else. Haggling with a driver over a 500 baht fare you know shouldn't cost more than around 100baht is just plainly outrageous and a complete waist of everyone's time and patience.

[Guest Cedric]

I hope you are not serious recommending walking  without paying. What it can help with? It's just dishonest.

 

Distinct feeling failed you big time at least when comes to posters to this thread, I had pleasure to meet and shake hands with three of them in Bangkok in the last 8 months , so obviously they have been in BKK in the last 30 years.   

 

What is obvious though that yours and other posters experience with BKK taxis are completely different .

 

That's the whole point isn't it?

 

Maybe they walked.

 

Not sure. It does sound like it though.

[firecat69]

You can repeat the same drivel here as many as times as you want.  It will never make you right and you cannot find one poster that will agree with your ridiculous assertions.

 

I'm glad to know that since Taxis in HKG are 5X as much as BKK that you are paying 5X as much for an apartment and 5X as much for a meal and 5X as much for clothes because cost of living is so much higher.

 

All of which is not true except that taxis are 5X as expensive and you have already admitted you are ignorant because you never take them.  

 

Lucky you that you don't have to stand in line at some designated spot for taxi pick up , for 15 minutes or more . I had to do that repeatedly my last trip to HKG in November.  Then I had to pay 5X as much for the fare that I pay in BKK.

 

Approximate  fare HKG to Kowloon  320 HKD  about 1400 that baht .  This is less of a distance then BKK airport to Siam Paragon.  Oh and by the way you have to pay more for luggage and late at night with HKG taxis.

 

Any 3rd grader can do the math.  

 

 

Anyone who doesn't  think BKK taxis are a great bargain compared to most of the rest of the world needs to go back to school and take some math courses.

[vinapu]

It will never make you right and you cannot find one poster that will agree with your ridiculous assertions.

 

agreed but firecat , I have feeling Cedirc is just teasing you

[Guest]

Pricewise, Bangkok taxis are a bargain.  If they use a non-fiddled meter and take you directly to where you asked to go, that is a bargain.. 

 

Just ignore anyone who tries to claim otherwise, without putting forward a proper justification.   Better still if they persistently fail to offer a sensible & polite argument, just put that person on Ignore in user preferences.   If a proper justification is put forward, fine. 

I haven't seen it yet.

 

Whether I want to use a Bangkok taxi is another matter.  

[Guest alkoe]

hello - after the good advices in this forum i had no problems during my first trip to go from the airport to silom - simply after arrival one floor down and i took a regular taxi. The driver switched on the meter - but at the end he wanted 500 Baht - no poblem - this was exact the price i had in my mind including tip. In my country the price would be minimum 3x more than this for the same route. I was thinking to  travel with public transport also - but i had one very big bag and a small one too - to heavy to take it in a train.

Normally i wanted to take a bus to Pattaya few days later - but the concierge of my hotel in Bangkok convinced me to take a taxi to Pattaya - he said it´s more comfortable and cost just 1500 Baht for a route of 150 km - unbelievable.

Now my question: any experience of members here to take a regular taxi from Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya? I heard about Mr. Tom or others - but how is it to take a normal taxi with meter?

 

Thanks in advance for responding

[firecat69]

I don't thinks taxis would ever turn the meter on for that trip but ask for a flat rate.

 

I prefer to book a car where driver is waiting for me when  I exit Customs.  The most I have ever paid is 1200.. Same from downtown Bangkok to Pattaya or the reverse.

 

Some take the bus from the airport assuming their flights arrive before 10pm . I can't be bothered waiting for a bus and then looking fro transpiration to my apartment/ Hotel in Pattaya.  After 24 hours in airplanes, the last thing I want to do is prolong my trip to my bed with a cute Thai Boy.

 

I think it is one of the great bargains in Thailand and have paid the same or more for a 20 minute trip in most of the rest of the world.

[Guest anonone]

Agree 100% with firecat.  I always have a car waiting for me when arriving at BKK, regardless of the time of day.

 

For 1200 baht, it is a prompt and relaxing way for me to get to Pattaya.  I have been using The Limo Pattaya and have been very happy.  You can get a BKK->Pattaya trip for 1000, but I find the extra 200 for TLP is a great value.  Better cars, better drivers, more organized and reliable. 

 

http://thelimopattaya.com/

[forky123]

Thanks Anonone. Bookmarked for my next trip.

[vinapu]

 

 

I think it is one of the great bargains in Thailand and have paid the same or more for a 20 minute trip in most of the rest of the world.

you got it right!

 

I live at most 10 minutes drive from the airport and  just met my neighbor leaving taxi  with suitcase up front. Out of curiosity since I always take a bus I asked him how much was meter , at today's rate equivalent    of 715.50 baht , 500 more and one is in Pattaya.

 

By the way , Indonesia has also great value taxis i.e. Ubud to airport /Bali / ~20 USD