Bkk Is A Bloody Nightmare To Drive Through

[dmax]

decided to take wife an kids to hau hin this morn, got lost around taksin bridge area , drove around and only got back to pratunam hotel 4 hours later, never again, ive drove cars all round eurpoe every major big city and never seen anything like the roads and signs here in bkk....the guy whio sold me the car is from bkk, he still gets lost

Edited October 16, 2010 by dmax

[harrry]

A gps is a must un Bangkok. You still get lost because of deviations but it gets you bac on track.

[Kilgore Trout]

Just take the highway to Dao Kanong and keep going straight. Its a no brainer.

[LaoPo]

A gps is a must un Bangkok. You still get lost because of deviations but it gets you bac on track.

I agree; nowadays there's the comfort of GPS and I can't understand why the OP didn't have one.

A few weeks ago, my wife took her parents in her car right into the very center of Paris (a ride of some 450 kms from our home) but she couldn't have done so without a GPS.

She did an amazing job.

NOTE to OP:

If you EVER get lost again..SIMPLE: hire a taxi driver, follow him, and he will get you out of town; it cost you a little but you don't have the nerves and problems.

LaoPo

[Cobalt60]

I drove to Cha Am from Rom Klao a couple of weeks back, I used Tom Tom app on my I phone, it was quite easy, have to concentrate when multi lane options come along on the highways/slip roads.

Its not often that you are travelling fast enough around and in Bangkok to need to make instant decisions.

[PatLogan]

I don't think I would have ever tried to drive in Bangkok before getting a GPS either...

And I would suggest you get an Easy pass card, and always chose "highways" if you go a bit far. Shortest is the best way to spend hours stuck in jams.

[lonewolf99]

A gps is a must un Bangkok. You still get lost because of deviations but it gets you bac on track.

It is not just BKK its the whole of bleeding Thailand...Look at the turn off to go to the Airport The very sign you need is actually at the turn off. Miss it and you are goosed.

I have never been in a country as bad as LOS for super highways and such bad signs.

I can now read Thai and these signs are just as bad.

Is it really better to have a sign advertising LG and Sony fridges the size of half a football pitch than to give accurate directions about where people might want to actually go.

Another annoyance is you get a constant countdown to some town along the road then about 8 Km from where you might want to turn off and get theree all signs vapourise and you are left to guess.

And as for GPS my GF went to BKK with a local driver from Pattaya with a brand new GPS fitted and 5 hours later he was still looking for Samut Prakan...!!!!!!!!!!!

It is all actually a Military plot. Just in case the country is invaded the enemy will not know the way around and there are no decent maps to buy in a 7/11.

The post suggesting following a taxi is a good one....until you end up following the wrong pink / green / yellow taxi......ooooops

[britmaveric]

Worst traffic in the world... I hear Saigon is worse yet. I'll let you know if my opinion changes.

[PatLogan]

Worst traffic in the world... I hear Saigon is worse yet. I'll let you know if my opinion changes.

I'd say Jakarta is way worse. And I refused to even try to drive in Beijing. Bangkok is bad because of traffic jams, but I still reckon Thai drivers are better behaved than Chinese ones (or even Malaysians)

[richard_smith237]

Signs are terrible... The only real way to get around Bangkok is to know exactly where you are going in detail....

Until that point is so easy to miss turnoff's... For the uninitiated hours can be lost just trying to get back on track.

I used to get lost frequently and just kept driving until I recognised the sign of a Major road, it's a steep learning curve.

And going to Golf courses... We'd be about 2 hrs late for T-off sometimes. I remember trying to U Turn on the Bangna-Trat rd... There was one on the frontage Rd, then one on the central reservation, every time we tried to anticipate where the U turn was we'd get it wrong, I think at one time we drove about 20 kms before we finally hit a U-turn on the part of the rd we were on. Luckily most roads have a little more continuity now but I still find it difficult to find any method to the madness.

[dmax]

i just try to navigate by landmarks in bkk, like pratunam tower, bayoke tower, lumini tower etc, easy around town centre but when you get a little further out its a dam_n headache, yea i did get a taxi to show me the way in a few weeks ago, didnt cost much either.

would you believe this , a few weeks ago heading from pattaya to khon kaen via cabin buri, well outside cabin buri about 10 k on the main road going into cabin ( not away from ) is a massive green sign saying only the words ( sattahip ) not u-turn sattahip 230kilometres or anything like that just sattahip

the money the government spends on roads and highways , could they not get the signs right at least never mind the rough roads they cannot even make them level , anyone been up the new number 2 highway from khon kaen to udon thani , they just resurfaced it and its like being on a fairground ride, up -down-up - down ....crazy:rolleyes:

[FritsSikkink]

If the quality of the OP's navigation skill is the same as his spelling i am wondering how he found his way in eurpoe

[LaoPo]

If the quality of the OP's navigation skill is the same as his spelling i am wondering how he found his way in eurpoe

..talking about the OP's spelling......where's eurpoe ?

LaoPo

[DP25]

i just try to navigate by landmarks in bkk, like pratunam tower, bayoke tower, lumini tower etc, easy around town centre but when you get a little further out its a dam_n headache

Never would have expected that. Thought you could drive all the way to Hua Hin with just a quick glance now and then at Bayoke II

[Thunder26]

Driving in Bangkok and outside needs preparation in advance. A good tool, is searching for the google maps in order to find the directions. I have never been lost even if I don't have GPS, preparation in advance helps a lot.

[RedNIvar]

GPS can't help when traffic is crawling (unless your GPS software is very detailed with sub-Soi information). That is when sub-Soi knowledge comes in handy. A tip I got from my Bangkok living Thai buddy was always follow the yellow arrows. Yellow arrows mean that the little Soi will open up to the next big Soi. A white arrow means the little Soi will end up at a dead end. This has helped me save a bunch of time when traffic is bad.

[FritsSikkink]

If the quality of the OP's navigation skill is the same as his spelling i am wondering how he found his way in eurpoe

..talking about the OP's spelling......where's eurpoe ?

LaoPo

I don't know the OP was traveling there a lot

[JohnnyFeelIt]

GPS can't help when traffic is crawling (unless your GPS software is very detailed with sub-Soi information). That is when sub-Soi knowledge comes in handy. A tip I got from my Bangkok living Thai buddy was always follow the yellow arrows. Yellow arrows mean that the little Soi will open up to the next big Soi. A white arrow means the little Soi will end up at a dead end. This has helped me save a bunch of time when traffic is bad.

The trick is to put the GPS on the 2D view rather than 3D, then shortcuts are easy to spot

[onnut]

If the quality of the OP's navigation skill is the same as his spelling i am wondering how he found his way in eurpoe

eh!

[onnut]

I have been driving around Bangkok for about 5 years and the first 3 years was a nightmare, once I got lost down near the river and thought if I do a uturn just around this block and come back on myself I will find the bridge I just crossed! after 3 hours of just driving in circles and getting stuck in rush hour traffic I started freaking out a little! got there in the end.

even now if I have to go somewhere I do not know I will park the car on my normal route in and take a taxi.

[trogers]

Just take the highway to Dao Kanong and keep going straight. Its a no brainer.

Careful. There are 2 turnoffs on the Espessway that lead you elsewhere - one towards Chan road/Sathorn, a branch off towards the left before the Suspension bridge and the other is the fork ending after the bridge, left to Dao Khanong, and right to Samut Sakorn.

[thrilled]

when in bkk I just take the skytrain.I enjoy visiting bangkok,but the traffic jams,you can have them.

[LaoPo]

If the quality of the OP's navigation skill is the same as his spelling i am wondering how he found his way in eurpoe

..talking about the OP's spelling......where's eurpoe ?

LaoPo

I don't know the OP was traveling there a lot

..... but you missed my point....

"3. If possible please proofread your post first, poor grammar and spelling can make the post difficult to understand. However be aware that not every member is a native english speaker and excessive posts regarding others spelling and grammar not only hijacks the topic but is poor netiquette."

From:

LaoPo

[richard_smith237]

LaoPo - Not only did you continue the 'off-topic' part of the thread but you failed to recognise that in your haste to shoot down FritsSikkink's criticism of the Op that you yourself got caught out....

Better to offer a 'you got me' than to back-peddle and quote forum rules don't you think ?

I for one thought it was somewhat of an amusing backfire....

Back to Driving in Bangkok.

If I'm not 100% sure of where I am heading I rely on my Sat Nav. That said, I never rely on it 100% otherwise it would have me traveling on some of the most obscure routes across or out of town which would defy the belief of even any newbe driver in Bangkok.

[LaoPo]

LaoPo - Not only did you continue the 'off-topic' part of the thread but you failed to recognise that in your haste to shoot down FritsSikkink's criticism of the Op that you yourself got caught out....

FritsSikking was questioning the spelling abilities of the OP with his sentence:

"If the quality of the OP's navigation skill is the same as his spelling i am wondering how he found his way in eurpoe"

I pointed him to the forum Netiquette as he probably didn't know about it.

I certainly didn't shoot FS as you say.

Case closed.

LaoPo

[craigt3365]

Worst traffic in the world... I hear Saigon is worse yet. I'll let you know if my opinion changes.

Isn't it fun trying to cross a street there as a pedestrian? I wait for an old lady and just shadow her...hoping the locals respect their elders!

The problem for me in BKK are the signs. Even with wifey onboard, the signs are hard to see and are poorly placed. Once you are on the freeway, it's not too bad...but getting to one is tough!

I use to drive in New York City. What I would do is get up early Sunday AM and go for "orientation" drives. Getting my bearings straight so I knew what to do....

My friend, who lives here in Pattaya, just drives to On Nut and leaves her car there when she visits friends in BKK. Not a bad idea....

[singa-traz]

Worst traffic in the world... I hear Saigon is worse yet. I'll let you know if my opinion changes.

I'd say Jakarta is way worse. And I refused to even try to drive in Beijing. Bangkok is bad because of traffic jams, but I still reckon Thai drivers are better behaved than Chinese ones (or even Malaysians)

Go to Mumbai, and you will suddenly find driving in Bangkok is fairly easy.

[spud1]

Unless you only drive between the hours of 2am to 5am owning a car in Bangers is has much use has a chocolate fireguard.The stress of it can only accumulate to an early death.

[robblok]

LaoPo - Not only did you continue the 'off-topic' part of the thread but you failed to recognise that in your haste to shoot down FritsSikkink's criticism of the Op that you yourself got caught out....

FritsSikking was questioning the spelling abilities of the OP with his sentence:

"If the quality of the OP's navigation skill is the same as his spelling i am wondering how he found his way in eurpoe"

I pointed him to the forum Netiquette as he probably didn't know about it.

I certainly didn't shoot FS as you say.

Case closed.

LaoPo

LaoPo

The whole point was that eurpoe was first used by the OP not by FritsSikkink.

[random]

After 5 years driving here (not continuous, the traffic is not that bad ) I know my way round quite well, I also have gps in my car if I am a little unsure, the one problem with gps though, especially in Bangkok is that some roads suddenly become one way at different times of the day, your gps is telling you to turn left however that road is full off traffic coming the other direction.