My Very First Trip To Thailand

[Livinginexile]

I have just finished reading a topic on bad taxi drivers. Here is one that counters the worst.

Years ago I was on one of my usual 3 month surfing holidays in Bali and instead of doing my usual visa run to Penang I desided to go and spend a week in Bangkok instead.

By myself and my only knowledge of Thailand was Patpong, I asked the taxi driver at the airport to take me to a nice cheap hotel within easy distance to Patpong Road.

I arrived at the hotel around 10ish and promptly got ready to go out and sample the famous nightlife. At about 1am and with a lovely young lady in tow, I hailed a taxi back to my hotel only to discover to my horror that the hotel key ring did not have the hotel name and address, it only had some useless local advertisement.

I had absolutely no idea where it was. My only help to the taxi driver was that my hotel was about a 10 minute drive from Patpong.

The 3 of us drove around for 2 hours trying to find a landmark that I recognised untill finally we gave up and with the little money I had left booked into another hotel.

I was panic stricken. Passport, all my money, very expensive camera equipment...everything was in that hotel. I was truley stuffed.

The next morning the patpong taxi driver turned up at the hotel all excited saying "come with me I know your hotel!!" I first thought he was trying to scam me and drive around for another couple of hours but low and behold....we pulled up at the right hotel.

I never saw anything so beautiful in my life.

Turns out he had driven to the airport after he droped my friend and I off and tracked down the taxi driver that had taken me from the airport. (this was in the days when they didn't log all the airport pickups too).

I could have kissed him. I gave him a handsome reward and thourghly enjoyed the rest of my visa run.

I really feel he didn't just do it for the money...he was genuinely concerned that this was my first vist to Thailand and that I was pretty much screwed. Lesson learned though...now I ALLWAYS check what hotel I am staying at.

[Ping]

Incredible. Truly incredible.

[tmd5855]

Livinginexile.

Thanks for posting a postive experience. Always hear about bad. Myself have never had a problem (YET ?) with Thai taxi's whether bike or car.

Do not know why? Just an average guy like everyone else?

[GungaDin]

A positive story, thanks for sharing.

I've never had a problem with taxi drivers,

I put it down to always hailing cruisers & not the priks parked up waiting to screw newbies leaving their hotel.

[harleyclarkey]

Nice one.....I had a similar about 2 years back. I dropped my wallet on the back seat. Guess what? He phoned the hotel...said he would drop it back after his fare and he did! Of course I gave him the fare and a fat tip/reward. Again...the money was not the driving issue.

Nice to have decent folks about!

[bruceboy]

Excellent experience.

[JimsKnight]

I'll add to that excellent post about when I went to Phuket.

Well I got their and like a complete goose I left my passport in the cab once I stepped out to check into a guesthouse.

Oblivious to this and blissfully breezing about the thriving streets of Patong and lording it up I got the news two days later that the cab driver, while sorting through the cab had found my passport!

The reception girl had to tell me 3 times cause at first I honestly believed I still had my passport!

When I saw it wasn't there the heart pumping realisation kicked in.

With visions of what could of been with police checks or getting into trouble and so on buzzing about i awaited for the taximans arrival.

Part of me feared it might be the wrong passport and I'd lost it elsewhere

It was the middle of Songkran and the roads were jammed to boot!

The taximan still made the journey. It took him 5 hours to get to the Lucky Mansion but he made it.

I was a happy man and get this, he wouldn't take a satang of money for gas or anything.

It really is a case of people doing their thing and playing it forward / good karma deeds man

He is the unknown taxidriver and I never learnt his name.

Maybe he's still out there driving about and doing his bit as one of the Saints of Taximen

[ThaiPauly]

Yep....many Taxi drivers are decent people, there are some rouges but thats true of every profession.

Remember that taxi driver that found 100,000 baht in the back of his cab and returned it...Amazing Thailand !!

[pampal]

small world, isn't it

good to hear about positive experiences

[Geekfreaklover]

Yes, i took a taxi from Mor Chit to a hotel in sukhumvit a few months ago. Checking into the hotel, the taxi driver runs into reception with my digital camera in one hand and the keys to my office, home etc in the other. I had left them on the back seat.

[Boater]

on my very first trip to thailand, i got a taxi from the airport in BKK to Pattaya.

after checking into the hotel in Pattaya i realized i left my mobile phone in the taxi! ... the hotel called my mobile and spoke with the taxi driver who turned his taxi around and drooped it back off for me !

[Boater]

oh and this same thing happened 3 weeks before!, but with a different outcome, $400 of calls to Pakistain where made

[zorro1]

nice one!

[koheesti]

I doubt there will be any nice taxi drivers on Samui stories posted here.

..now I ALLWAYS check what hotel I am staying at.

[lazeeboy]

I have just finished reading a topic on bad taxi drivers. Here is one that counters the worst.

Years ago I was on one of my usual 3 month surfing holidays in Bali and instead of doing my usual visa run to Penang I desided to go and spend a week in Bangkok instead.

By myself and my only knowledge of Thailand was Patpong, I asked the taxi driver at the airport to take me to a nice cheap hotel within easy distance to Patpong Road.

I arrived at the hotel around 10ish and promptly got ready to go out and sample the famous nightlife. At about 1am and with a lovely young lady in tow, I hailed a taxi back to my hotel only to discover to my horror that the hotel key ring did not have the hotel name and address, it only had some useless local advertisement.

I had absolutely no idea where it was. My only help to the taxi driver was that my hotel was about a 10 minute drive from Patpong.

The 3 of us drove around for 2 hours trying to find a landmark that I recognised untill finally we gave up and with the little money I had left booked into another hotel.

I was panic stricken. Passport, all my money, very expensive camera equipment...everything was in that hotel. I was truley stuffed.

The next morning the patpong taxi driver turned up at the hotel all excited saying "come with me I know your hotel!!" I first thought he was trying to scam me and drive around for another couple of hours but low and behold....we pulled up at the right hotel.

I never saw anything so beautiful in my life.

Turns out he had driven to the airport after he droped my friend and I off and tracked down the taxi driver that had taken me from the airport. (this was in the days when they didn't log all the airport pickups too).

I could have kissed him. I gave him a handsome reward and thourghly enjoyed the rest of my visa run.

I really feel he didn't just do it for the money...he was genuinely concerned that this was my first vist to Thailand and that I was pretty much screwed. Lesson learned though...now I ALLWAYS check what hotel I am staying at.

how taxi drivers have changed over the years..

[chavy]

You should have got him framed !!

[sassienie]

Back in 1994, I visited a small market to buy some coke (drinking kind) at a small market near Chiang Mai railway station.

I was wearing a money purse containing about 10000 baht, the type that straps around the waist.

Than I got on to my motorbike and began off down the road. Suddenly I felt dizzy, stopped than me and the bike just fell over and everything went blank, I must have passed out. The next thing I can remember is coming to, being pulled up by 3 men, my money purse had spung off spilling all the money onto the road. A young man picked up the money put it back into the purse and handed it back to me, not 1 baht was missing.

The men than took me into a noodle shop where the owner gave me some water and let me stay until I recovered.

The age of chivalry is not dead.

[mrtoad]

I doubt there will be any nice taxi drivers on Samui stories posted here.

..now I ALLWAYS check what hotel I am staying at.

You forgot to mention Phuket as well.

Great story from the OP though.

[Lucifer]

Back in 1994, I visited a small market to buy some coke (drinking kind) at a small market near Chiang Mai railway station.

I was wearing a money purse containing about 10000 baht, the type that straps around the waist.

Than I got on to my motorbike and began off down the road. Suddenly I felt dizzy, stopped than me and the bike just fell over and everything went blank, I must have passed out. The next thing I can remember is coming to, being pulled up by 3 men, my money purse had spung off spilling all the money onto the road. A young man picked up the money put it back into the purse and handed it back to me, not 1 baht was missing.

The men than took me into a noodle shop where the owner gave me some water and let me stay until I recovered.

The age of chivalry is not dead.

That was 14 years ago.

Like the world over, there are (still) some fantastic people around.

[roamer]

Well less than 5 years ago 2 of my friends got off the airport bus on Sukhumvit to find that they had left the bag containing BOTH sets of credit cards, passports and money including 40K Baht just changed up at the airport, on the bus. After she finished hitting her husband round the head with one of the other bags,(it was he who had decided it would all be safer if it was under his care!) they set about phoning the airport. Told to phone back later when bus returned, this they did to be told that the driver had handed a bag in matching the description....but they would have to come out to describe its contents and then the staff would open it to confirm it was theirs, it wasn't locked, just a small holdall but apparently they have to wait a certain amount of time before they can open stuff !

And yes they did leave a nice tip for the driver...

I also had a tap on my shoulder whilst taking a much needed drink at Chatuchak market and turned to see somebody holding my wallet !!! Turns out I had dropped it some yards away whilst fumbling with my shopping, they had picked it up, saw my drivers photo, looked around and spotted me ! And they refused any financial reward as well...

So it happens.

[dumball]

A few years ago , i was in my apartment and had severe chest pains , i went outside and hailed the first taxi , gave him my BNH card and said"Heart attack " clutching my chest , we arrived at the hospital with a wheel chair already waiting , the taxi driver and attendant assisted me into the chair and i was hurried off to intensive care . I later was informed the taxi driver had phoned ahead and also had not been paid his fare but had left his phone number , i called him after i was released to pick me up at BNH , he told me it was more important i get immediate attention than for him to get paid .

That taxi driver most likely saved my life and more than over ruled the few incompetants i had used .

[whatsoever]

On my first visit to Thailand I took a taxi from the airport and instructed the driver to take me to a nice hotel near to the suckumvit. He seemed to understand aknowledging my request by repeating 'nice hotel'. I became a little concerned as he seemed to pass quite a few decent looking hotels, driving in and around small streets for some time. Eventualy he stopped beside a rather delapadated building - anouncing that we had arrived. I said 'sorry this looks unsuitable' at which point he pointed to the sign above the entrance which said 'Nice Hotel'

[Livinginexile]

A few years ago , i was in my apartment and had severe chest pains , i went outside and hailed the first taxi , gave him my BNH card and said"Heart attack " clutching my chest , we arrived at the hospital with a wheel chair already waiting , the taxi driver and attendant assisted me into the chair and i was hurried off to intensive care . I later was informed the taxi driver had phoned ahead and also had not been paid his fare but had left his phone number , i called him after i was released to pick me up at BNH , he told me it was more important i get immediate attention than for him to get paid .

That taxi driver most likely saved my life and more than over ruled the few incompetants i had used .

Wow, amazing!!

[LittleWidgit]

On my first visit to Thailand I took a taxi from the airport and instructed the driver to take me to a nice hotel near to the suckumvit. He seemed to understand aknowledging my request by repeating 'nice hotel'. I became a little concerned as he seemed to pass quite a few decent looking hotels, driving in and around small streets for some time. Eventualy he stopped beside a rather delapadated building - anouncing that we had arrived. I said 'sorry this looks unsuitable' at which point he pointed to the sign above the entrance which said 'Nice Hotel'

Sure. Nice joke though.

[jayjayjayjay]

nice