Lightning raid on Bangkok minivans - drivers look like they are going to war

[slippery snake]

How do they know that a baseball bat is a weapon?

I carry a knife everywhere, very handy, but I don't consider it a weapon, it is a very handy tool.

Surely these guys must have shown some aggression with these so called weapons to actually call them weapons. Otherwise kids going to baseball should also be arrested for carrying their Louisville slugger.

LMAO. Yeah, I'm sure he was on his way to baseball practice.

It's pretty obvious when a mini bus driver has a baseball bat, when he's taking a group of tourists to airport or somewhere,

as opposed to a guy taking his kid to a play a game of baseball. If you can't tell the difference, don't try to become a detective,, you won't make it !!!

[MaxLee]

Another 500 Baht and slap on the wrist campaign in disguise.....

[Psimbo]

Police do nothing- baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

Police do something- baaaaaaaaaaaad.

Just no pleasing some people.

[meltingpot2015]

hats off to the boys in brown. while you are at it, how about having route numbers on the mini-vans, not the number written in Thai.

Farang need to visit Chang Wattana Immigration. Farang no read thai. Can read number.

I suggest you learn the Thai numbers. After all, there are only ten of them.

Suggestion not accepted.

1) not in thailand now.

2) not enough just to learn the thai numbers (BTW, I could understand spoken thai numbers), have to be able to decypher handwriting also. With numbers (Hindu-arabic) there is less confusion.

After all, there are only ten of them.

You don't say!, you mean like the numbers anywhere in the world?. How original.

Edited July 10, 2016 by meltingpot2015

[hawker9000]

hats off to the boys in brown. while you are at it, how about having route numbers on the mini-vans, not the number written in Thai.

Farang need to visit Chang Wattana Immigration. Farang no read thai. Can read number.

I suggest you learn the Thai numbers. After all, there are only ten of them.

Not unreasnable for a resident expat to learn them, but just plain absurd to expect tourists to. Route numbers in arabic numerals makes FAR more sense unless your clientele consists purely of locals (or you want it to...).

[meltingpot2015]

We (those not able to read thai) can always ask the people inside the minivan.

I once asked the driver "Chaeng Wattana", he nodded, I got in, ended up in a Bangkok suburb miles from Chaeng Wattana immigration. think there may be a "Chaeng Wattana" area which is different to immigration, which is on Chaeng Wattana rd.

Best to ask two or three passengers, and ask for "immigration", most passengers on that route, usually office workers, understand. They have uniforms on. Bank clerk uniform, naval/army uniform...

it always amazes me, in LOS sunbathing with little cloths on is frowned upon, yet ping-pong shows are perfectly OK.

[hawker9000]

We (those not able to read thai) can always ask the people inside the minivan.

I once asked the driver "Chaeng Wattana", he nodded, I got in, ended up in a Bangkok suburb miles from Chaeng Wattana immigration. think there may be a "Chaeng Wattana" area which is different to immigration, which is on Chaeng Wattana rd.

Best to ask two or three passengers, and ask for "immigration", most passengers on that route, usually office workers, understand. They have uniforms on. Bank clerk uniform, naval/army uniform...

it always amazes me, in LOS sunbathing with little cloths on is frowned upon, yet ping-pong shows are perfectly OK.

I don't know this for a fact, but I'm supposing Chaeng Wattana is a district or area (or ofher type of metropolitan subdivision) and not just the name of the immigration office located therein. If all you say to the driver, of a minivan plying a regular local route, is "Chaeng Wattana", without adding "Immigration", I'm not sure he's necessarily on the same page. I don't think I've ever noticed regular-route minivans stopping near the CW Govt Bldg anywhere, and thought you pretty much needed to take a taxi. But there must at least be a local bus stop there somewhere...

[meltingpot2015]

We (those not able to read thai) can always ask the people inside the minivan.

I once asked the driver "Chaeng Wattana", he nodded, I got in, ended up in a Bangkok suburb miles from Chaeng Wattana immigration. think there may be a "Chaeng Wattana" area which is different to immigration, which is on Chaeng Wattana rd.

Best to ask two or three passengers, and ask for "immigration", most passengers on that route, usually office workers, understand. They have uniforms on. Bank clerk uniform, naval/army uniform...

it always amazes me, in LOS sunbathing with little cloths on is frowned upon, yet ping-pong shows are perfectly OK.

I don't know this for a fact, but I'm supposing Chaeng Wattana is a district or area (or ofher type of metropolitan subdivision) and not just the name of the immigration office located therein. If all you say to the driver, of a minivan plying a regular local route, is "Chaeng Wattana", without adding "Immigration", I'm not sure he's necessarily on the same page. I don't think I've ever noticed regular-route minivans stopping near the CW Govt Bldg anywhere, and thought you pretty much needed to take a taxi. But there must at least be a local bus stop there somewhere...

I'm pretty sure there is a minivan going from Mo Chit to a "Chaeng Wattana" area which is nowhere near immigration. Actually, this "Chaeng Wattana" district/area/met. sub-division was closer to the smaller immigration office in Bangkok. While in the minivan I remember seeing an overhead rail line (it looked like it was still being built). and thought, that was never there on my previous trips. So asked the passengers, not before getting in to van, but after about 30 minutes in to the journey. The passengers said it was the wrong minibus. I couldn't tell you if mini-van drivers would understand "immigration" or "Chaeng Wattana immigration", because I've never asked this from a minivan driver. But I have managed to take minivan from Mo-chit to the immigration Bus/Van stop on Chaeng Wattana road (http://bangkok.immigration.go.th/en/location1.html) by asking passengers "Immigration" before getting on the minivan. Sometimes there will be Foreign passengers in the minivan holding a file/folder (immigration documents?). Like I said, more often than not if you ask a thai passenger (on the correct route) "immigration?" they will know. I even managed to cobble together enough THai language to ask passengers "please tell me when we are near immigration". Once you get off at the van/bus stop, You have to take a Motorcycle taxi (or walk in the scorching heat - if you are brave). I've only managed to get the so called "regular shuttle" Once (out of maybe 4-5 visits) coming back from Immigration to the Bus/Van stop. However, I can confirm from the 4-5 times going to immigration, the mini-van always stopped at the Bus/van stop on Chaeng Wattana road, if you request the stop in good time.

Back to this other "Chaeng Wattana" minivan, after getting off (in the middle of nowhere), but luckily near a m/c taxi rank, I took m/c taxi and was at the smaller immigration office in about 10-15minutes.(I've reported on this in a previous thread). I think the smaller immigration only do specific tasks, and they seem to direct people to the bigger immigration on Chaeng Wattana Road. However, they were able to advise me, and their advise was correct.

There is a local bus from Mo Chit, think it's bus route 52 (https://www.travelfish.org/orientation_detail/thailand/bangkok_and_surrounds/bangkok/bangkok/117) to Chaeng Wattana immigration. Having taken this bus coming back to Mo Chit, must say, it's not the most frequent bus service, bus can become overcrowded (its not an A/c bus, so you can imagine), and can be stuck in traffic for hours (if you travel just before/after holidays, or simply travel during rush hour). However, an authentic experience is guaranteed. Actually come to think of it I must have travelled every possible combination getting to/from immigration, except by car taxi. Hell, I've even taken an m/c taxi from immigration to Mo Chit once, and another time the mainline train from Laksi train station back to Hua Lamphong, then MRT.

This post will probably not get any 'likes', but I thought i'd share anyway.

[AlQaholic]

What about the vans? They are weapons too. Such weapons in the hands of those <deleted> should be prevented.

[hawker9000]

We (those not able to read thai) can always ask the people inside the minivan.

I once asked the driver "Chaeng Wattana", he nodded, I got in, ended up in a Bangkok suburb miles from Chaeng Wattana immigration. think there may be a "Chaeng Wattana" area which is different to immigration, which is on Chaeng Wattana rd.

Best to ask two or three passengers, and ask for "immigration", most passengers on that route, usually office workers, understand. They have uniforms on. Bank clerk uniform, naval/army uniform...

it always amazes me, in LOS sunbathing with little cloths on is frowned upon, yet ping-pong shows are perfectly OK.

I don't know this for a fact, but I'm supposing Chaeng Wattana is a district or area (or ofher type of metropolitan subdivision) and not just the name of the immigration office located therein. If all you say to the driver, of a minivan plying a regular local route, is "Chaeng Wattana", without adding "Immigration", I'm not sure he's necessarily on the same page. I don't think I've ever noticed regular-route minivans stopping near the CW Govt Bldg anywhere, and thought you pretty much needed to take a taxi. But there must at least be a local bus stop there somewhere...

I'm pretty sure there is a minivan going from Mo Chit to a "Chaeng Wattana" area which is nowhere near immigration. Actually, this "Chaeng Wattana" district/area/met. sub-division was closer to the smaller immigration office in Bangkok. While in the minivan I remember seeing an overhead rail line (it looked like it was still being built). and thought, that was never there on my previous trips. So asked the passengers, not before getting in to van, but after about 30 minutes in to the journey. The passengers said it was the wrong minibus. I couldn't tell you if mini-van drivers would understand "immigration" or "Chaeng Wattana immigration", because I've never asked this from a minivan driver. But I have managed to take minivan from Mo-chit to the immigration Bus/Van stop on Chaeng Wattana road (http://bangkok.immigration.go.th/en/location1.html) by asking passengers "Immigration" before getting on the minivan. Sometimes there will be Foreign passengers in the minivan holding a file/folder (immigration documents?). Like I said, more often than not if you ask a thai passenger (on the correct route) "immigration?" they will know. I even managed to cobble together enough THai language to ask passengers "please tell me when we are near immigration". Once you get off at the van/bus stop, You have to take a Motorcycle taxi (or walk in the scorching heat - if you are brave). I've only managed to get the so called "regular shuttle" Once (out of maybe 4-5 visits) coming back from Immigration to the Bus/Van stop. However, I can confirm from the 4-5 times going to immigration, the mini-van always stopped at the Bus/van stop on Chaeng Wattana road, if you request the stop in good time.

Back to this other "Chaeng Wattana" minivan, after getting off (in the middle of nowhere), but luckily near a m/c taxi rank, I took m/c taxi and was at the smaller immigration office in about 10-15minutes.(I've reported on this in a previous thread). I think the smaller immigration only do specific tasks, and they seem to direct people to the bigger immigration on Chaeng Wattana Road. However, they were able to advise me, and their advise was correct.

There is a local bus from Mo Chit, think it's bus route 52 (https://www.travelfish.org/orientation_detail/thailand/bangkok_and_surrounds/bangkok/bangkok/117) to Chaeng Wattana immigration. Having taken this bus coming back to Mo Chit, must say, it's not the most frequent bus service, bus can become overcrowded (its not an A/c bus, so you can imagine), and can be stuck in traffic for hours (if you travel just before/after holidays, or simply travel during rush hour). However, an authentic experience is guaranteed. Actually come to think of it I must have travelled every possible combination getting to/from immigration, except by car taxi. Hell, I've even taken an m/c taxi from immigration to Mo Chit once, and another time the mainline train from Laksi train station back to Hua Lamphong, then MRT.

This post will probably not get any 'likes', but I thought i'd share anyway.

I've used mototaxis fm Mo Chit on my trips, and they do pass along a stretch with uncompleted construction that looks like a future BTS route (an extension of that existing line from Mo Chit I'm guessing). That bus route no. rings a bell, but I've never used it. I recommend just bite the bullet and use a taxi or mototaxi. I'm guessing the regular taxis will kind o' gouge you.