Bangkok is a city of two, three, and four-wheeled maniacal missiles; driven by the most surgically agile drivers known to man. The city’s streets are sometimes one-lane, sometimes ten-lane race tracks that would make Charlotte and Indianapolis seem like school zones.

Stationed in Thailand with the US Army Special Forces, it was my good fortune to travel on foot, by taxi, bus, automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedicab as both driver and passenger. To say that the streets are crowded is, to put it mildly, an understatement. One of the most hilarious incidents (albeit not so funny to the victim) occurred in the tiny town of Lop Buri; where our headquarters was located.

A chopper pilot and new owner of a Kawasaki motorcycle had taken his new bike out for a spin, and had come to a stop light. To steady the bike while he was stopped, he put both feet on the ground. Cars and cabs, motor scooters and motorcycles, busses and beer wagons were all jockeying for a position that would enable them to be off and running the instant the light changed. During this melee, a cab driver came a bit too close to the unfortunate chopper pilot and ran over his left foot. His reflexes caused him to shift his weight quickly to the right, where another obliging cabby took care of the other foot.

Needless to say his pain and discomfort over the next several days gave rise to a neatly printed “For Sale” sign that hung rather dejectedly from the handle bars of his new Kawasaki.

One must be nimble of both mind and body to ride public transportation in this beautiful city. There are very few “Bus Stops;” most busses don’t really stop; they simply pause at or near the place where would-be passengers await their turn to run alongside, grasp the step rail, and swing aboard for a wild ride. Exiting is fairly the reverse of boarding; the traveler must not only pay attention to identify his destination, but also must gauge the speed of the bus and hop off at just the right speed; not too fast that he goes headlong into the dust and cinders.

Transportation in Bangkok is an adventure in itself, and adds hours to the recounting of one’s experiences in this quaint city.

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