Thai transportation officials doubt over farang family dumped by taxi

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All you posters love jumping on the Thai taxi bashing bandwagon.

They weren't even in a taxi, they voluntarily got out of a mini van, haha now you all look like fools!!

Please, show some proof of that, just don't utter "They weren't ev.....", PROOF when giving an absolute statement.

At least Khaosod had the decency to say "Foreign Tourists Allegedly". So I wonder who looks like a fool now, give proof and I will retract my opinion about you.

Where did he get they voluntarily got out of a mini van, I missed that post somewhere, please direct me to that news

Try reading post #40

[cookee68]

The pic has been taken from passenger side window of taxi or other signed vehicle.

According to article in Khaosod, "Surachai said he received the photo from a traffic police officer who eventually hailed another cab for the family".

Why would a cop give the pic to this Surachai guy?

How come Surachai was at the scene?

Why wasn't vehicle from which pic taken used to get travellers off the Tollway?

Also the guy & young child look vaguely familiar.......wsan't guy w/ child busting in Khao San??????

More questions to article than answers!!

Lets all blame Facebook bull shitters who like to spread the shit, nothing new here same all over,

[Monkeyrobot]

All you posters love jumping on the Thai taxi bashing bandwagon.

They weren't even in a taxi, they voluntarily got out of a mini van, haha now you all look like fools!!

All?

He is trolling.

FAIL.

Taxi, Minivan still paying for a service. Both sectors equally poor in service.

They got in a mini van going from Sa Kaeo to KSR, when asked to get dropped off at Suk 71 the driver said not possible but they could get taxi from KSR. They decided to get out during a toilet stop. Where is the bad service?

Oh that doesn't fit the popular Thai bashing theme in this forum!

Nothing in the OP fits what you are saying. Where's all this from?

[bikerbri]

Has any one thought to ask the the tourist what happened?

[Johnny S]

Many other news sites have reported what really happened. It will disappoint taxi driver haters!

Can you take me to Sukh 18 in 3 days when I come to stinking BKK - I assume you are a BKK taxidriver ....

[globalspark]

The fact of the matter taxis in Bangkok do not or cannot work for those for those rates.I do not understand why during the day you can taxi from Sukhumvit Road to the airport for around the 300 baht including toll. You arrive late at night and pay the 50 baht booking fee and always seems to end up in a shit fight at the other end or along the way.

AS soon as they run the sky train 24 hours a day the better because it is a very stressful time arrives late and having to argue with taxi drivers.Maybe consider increasing the fares so every body is happy but I very much doubt you will stop rogue rivers. It happens all around the world.

[abitmiffed]

Would just be nice to hear it straight from the horses mouth and not the donkeys mouth for a change.

[peptidebomber]

Many other news sites have reported what really happened. It will disappoint taxi driver haters!

Can you take me to Sukh 18 in 3 days when I come to stinking BKK - I assume you are a BKK taxidriver ....

No worries, I presume you can't pay, as the price of a barfine has risen and no doubt you will spend all your time trying to bargain with your girl lol

[callaway]

No fit for purpose driver would allow people to get out of a vehicle on the motorway. And a toilet break on an elevated motorway?? And you believe this rubbish being sprouted?

[Fullstop]

I think you are all the victims of a troll. I'd even put money on it.

[ToddinChonburi]

All you posters love jumping on the Thai taxi bashing bandwagon.

They weren't even in a taxi, they voluntarily got out of a mini van, haha now you all look like fools!!

So you missed the first story were the police stopped to help them. look at the picture, were is the toll booth, looks like a highway worker truck parked by them to me.

[Larry001]

Land of Smiles

[ToddinChonburi]

So were is this toilet on the side of the road on the motorway. Does not look like a rest area to me.

[JOC]

Has any one thought to ask the the tourist what happened?

And spoil a good thread with something as boring as facts??

Have you completely lost it?

[Benmart]

Perhaps a visit to the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s head office on Petchburi Road in an attempt to contact the family. Very odd this entire story.

I look forward to "The rest of the story".

[tingtongfarang]

Had thais tell me incidents of being dumped on the toll way when the driver got a better paying fare called in by mobile phone.

[Andre0720]

Thai officials do not believe that story.

Well, I do not know anyone in my country who would believe a story such as this one either....

[MRDave]

"After landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the family is believed to have approached the Asoke 4 toll booths for help"

Aha...they walked there! Right!

Did the toll booths charge them for walking by?

[mango66]

I still guess they argued about the toll.

If taxidrivers could speak any english they (or the 50 baht taxi office at the airports) could inform them that the passengers have to pay for the tollway.

Tourists are so nervous about cheating taxidrivers that they might argue about it at the tollbooth. Or maybe they didn't have any thai baht yet and wanted to change money in the city where you get a much better rate.

Taxidrivers have to learn english though. They are the fist Thai that a tourists will meet.

Thian !

You might be right !

The driver asked them propably for the high way tax,

as they look more than pack packers withscary budget,

which think in Thai and low developed country all is free;

So propably the driver gave them a free ride til the tollway station,

as they didn't pay for the highway, he left them to walk " free of charge " !!

Propably they have requested , or thought, taxi will give them a ride to petchabury on local roads ?

Than they would have propably claimed the he not took the straight way !!

For tourist information - you have a 100 chances do it before on internet,

packpackers usual do this and in the pocket the lonely planet,

and you can get enough information on the airport itself;

No, they went with as someone mentioned with 30kg packbags, gitaare and baby to

central Bangkok to find out travell possabilities !

This is not at all taken care and responsability for a baby child,

what you expect more from packpackers ??

Live on your funds !!

[razer]

OMG ... that explanation is sooooooo Thai.

[smedly]

I can believe that the van driver stopped for a toilet break, for himself and for any passengers interested. There is a rare expressway-side toilet at that point.

I can also believe that these visitors opted to disembark at that point; it seemed closed to where they were heading (Soi 71 or TAT, I can't say), but the only way from that point to any exit is along the side of the expressway. Their GPS smartphone would probably have told them to head for Asoke-Dindaeng, and then turn left.

From the loo to to Asoke-Dindaeng is about 200 metres, but there's no easy way down.

Apparently help arrived.

At the end of the day, no big deal.

walking on the expressway is extremely dangerous, maybe not so much at toll gates as they widen out and generally have slow moving traffic on the approach or exit, for me it depends on how far they had to travel from the toilets to whatever exit they used and it's location - if the exit was a vehicle exit then then this would be highly dangerous and not an accepted or safe way to leave the expressway toll stop on foot - if it was some sort of pedestrian footway and stairs then although not acceptable either would not present the same level of danger.

Maybe the TAT should provide rope ladders for those wishing to disembark to lower levels from expressway bus stops lol

I think although not abandoned this family or anyone for that matter should not be allowed to exit/leave transport of any kind up there and those responsible for allowing passengers to do so should be heavily fined

[The Deerhunter]

Lord forbid you believe the words of a Farang, wife and kid on the side of a highway.

Them taxi cab drivers are honest!

And why in the world would a family be looking to goto the Transportation Dept. for travel info?

Makes no sense. Anyways.. I am sure they got rid of a bad taxi and found a good one. That's

what is important here.

they were not looking for the transport Dept. Quote.... "to ask how to reach the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s head office on Petchburi Road."

[The Deerhunter]

I still guess they argued about the toll.

If taxidrivers could speak any english they (or the 50 baht taxi office at the airports) could inform them that the passengers have to pay for the tollway.

Tourists are so nervous about cheating taxidrivers that they might argue about it at the tollbooth. Or maybe they didn't have any thai baht yet and wanted to change money in the city where you get a much better rate.

Taxidrivers have to learn english though. They are the fist Thai that a tourists will meet.

Thian !

You might be right !

The driver asked them propably for the high way tax,

as they look more than pack packers withscary budget,

which think in Thai and low developed country all is free;

So propably the driver gave them a free ride til the tollway station,

as they didn't pay for the highway, he left them to walk " free of charge " !!

Propably they have requested , or thought, taxi will give them a ride to petchabury on local roads ?

Than they would have propably claimed the he not took the straight way !!

For tourist information - you have a 100 chances do it before on internet,

packpackers usual do this and in the pocket the lonely planet,

and you can get enough information on the airport itself;

No, they went with as someone mentioned with 30kg packbags, gitaare and baby to

central Bangkok to find out travell possabilities !

This is not at all taken care and responsability for a baby child,

what you expect more from packpackers ??

Live on your funds !!

Seems logical to me. Refused to pay the tollway fees so were dumped at the toll booths.

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Classic Thai official denial... It never happened in Thailand...

[mettech]

This is what i like about Thailand they have to save face even if their is wrong doing.This is Thailand the land of smiles.

[marshall stanley]

In 2009 I got into a taxi at Swampy and the driver didn't turn on the meter. I asked him to turn on the meter, He said, 500 Baht to town, I said turn on the meter. He stopped the cab told me to get out on the expressway about 2 minutes from the airport.
Another taxi came by shortly that was empty and picked me up. I wasn't all that surprised and never bothered to report it.
Living in TH for many years now I am never surprised by behaviors that seem foreign to me. Too many other good things happen often enough.

[kkerry]

If Larry King or Jonathan Head were to interview the family in the photo live on tv, and the family said they willingly got out out of a van and not a taxi, you just know there would still be more posts from people who do not want to believe any story other than they were left on a highway by some evil Thai taxi driver...

[taony]

Why would the policemen find them a taxi without at the very least asking "what are you doing here? "

Edited March 23, 2015 by taony

[peptidebomber]

If Larry King or Jonathan Head were to interview the family in the photo live on tv, and the family said they willingly got out out of a van and not a taxi, you just know there would still be more posts from people who do not want to believe any story other than they were left on a highway by some evil Thai taxi driver...

Couldn't agree more. You can't fix stupid.

[Serendipity24]

Didn't you know it's a new tourist activity "walk along the toll way"- where you can enjoy the danger of fast moving vehicles whose drivers are wondering &lt;deleted&gt; are you doing there?!!!Join the fun...sign up now!!;p