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Thailand, December 27, 1999

Not For the Timid, Motorcycle Taxis Are Fast!

Hold on to that plastic helmet, Motorcycle Taxis are wild!

The only way to see Bangkok, by Motorcycle Taxi!
Get that suit outta my way!
The only way to see Bangkok, by Motorcycle Taxi!
Gentlemen, start your engines!
The only way to see Bangkok, by Motorcycle Taxi!
No, Mom, I swear this isn't me!
The only way to see Bangkok, by Motorcycle Taxi!
Yes, even the Fuzz!

So you are in Thailand's capital city, dreading the awful traffic, and unsure of where the buses or limited metro goes? There is a simple solution, that unbeknownst to you, you've heard from the moment you set foot in Bangkok: Motorcycle Taxi!

You can see them parked alongside any major road, distinctive in their colored jerseys and plastic helmets, waiting for the next fare to pay for their passion. Once you define the objective and the rate, climb on the back, slap the spare plastic helmet on your head and get ready for the best adrenaline rush money can buy!

Yes, plying the streets, at speeds exceeding sanity while weaving a dodging through the idling cars like they were potholes on a backcountry road, motorcycle taxis are the only civilized means of transport in this Asia banya.

Oh, don't think motorcycle taxis are just for the brave and stupid. Everybody in Bangkok takes 'em to get around this congested city. Near the airport, I watched stewardesses, fresh of a Thai Airlines flight, climb on 'em in mass, to zip home after work. Professional men in suits, ladies riding sidesaddle in skirts, and all manner of random passengers take this efficient mode of transport around the city.

Yours truly, after pitching fits stuck in Beijing taxis who were to afraid of the police to swerve, much less cut lanes, usually laughs with maniacal happiness as the drivers take me across four lanes of speeding traffic, just to cut off a bus for the exit I need.

(Whoops! Actually, Mom, I always take the taxi-meters, full sized Toyota/Honda cars, wearing my seatbelt and urging the driver to exercise caution.)

The other morning, as I sailed along to the Cambodian Embassy to apply for a visa, I took the shots at the left. Then, that night as I saw a friend off at the airport, I took the night shots below. Click on each one to see a larger version (you can do this to any photo on my website, actually).

I hope the photos can convey just how amazing the ride really is and I urge anyone who visits Thailand's capital to try 'em.

The only way to see Bangkok, by Motorcycle Taxi! The only way to see Bangkok, by Motorcycle Taxi!

Home before the ice cream melts!

Yes, ladies in skirts too!

The only way to see Bangkok, by Motorcycle Taxi! The only way to see Bangkok, by Motorcycle Taxi!

I-ya! I want the next fare!

The slow (and safe?) option

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