Farang Farang

Racing tuk-tuks is a really bad idea, but I have to admit – it looks like a lot of fun. Note that at about 1:57 the tuk-tuk does a wheelie. That’s completely badass but also dangerous as hell. Tuk-tuk drivers are not known for their safety. If you ever ride in a tuk-tuk, I recommend not egging the driver on for a race. Mooning your friends in the vehicle behind you may also not be a good idea, but I have to admit it was funny.

As I mentioned before, a tuk-tuk is 100% crumple zone, passenger seating included. It gives you all the excitement and danger of being on a motorcycle but has seating for two in the back, or possibly three if you are daring or crazy.

What I like about this video is that you get a good view of Chiang Mai’s road system and moat. The moat goes around the old part of the city and was constructed around 1400, when moats were still viable defense mechanisms. The traffic outside the moat goes clockwise and inside the moat goes anticlockwise. It’s like a square boulevard, really, and can be quite disconcerting if you are on the wrong side of the moat and see your destination fly by on the other side as the driver looks for a spot to cross the moat and reverse course.

This market near Bangkok has a train running through it. The merchants simply pull their awnings back and the train goes through. They don’t even have to move the food they have spread out on tarps on the ground, as the train is high enough to go over it. Pretty cool!

This shows a bit of the river taxi culture in Thailand. The medium-sized boats rush up and down the river, carrying passengers from one port to the next. Notice the guy who jumps off at his stop. It’s not a huge jump but it’s rare that the boats come completely to a halt and right up to the dock. Often they slow to a crawl and passengers jump on and off with ease.

This may not seem like much of a problem and usually it isn’t but imagine falling between the boat and the dock. That’s a whole lot of weight that could easily crush a person, so i guess it is a good thing the boats rarely actually dock. Also, the river is quite murky. As I mentioned before, the river is an all-purpose water resource, used for both supply and discharge, so to speak, and is full of yucky nutrient content. You don’t want to fall in there!

I have no idea what this is, exactly. It’s obviously a television show about… well, about something. What I love is that foreign TV shows can be very entertaining and often you can follow along, even with minimal or no exposure to the language. Now and then, though, you get something like this, which is fun because you have no clue what’s going on. However, it does have great music.

Do you know what this is? Enlighten us!

Klong is the Thai word for canal. All over central Thailand, including in Bangkok proper, you can find a good number of river- and canal-based communities. As I said before, the water has a number of different uses, some you can see and others you can only smell. Passing through such a place on my first visit to the country, I was very grateful for the immunizations my doctor had encouraged me to get before traveling.

The reason the boatman honks is because there is no obvious traffic control. General maritime law says that if two vessels come toward each other, the one on the starboard side has dominance. This rule, sometimes seen more as a best practice than an actual law, goes away when you get on the klong. The horn is more a way of alerting other boaters that you are coming. The fellow piloting the boat in the video is very docile in comparison to one I had, who seemed to think he was the Thai Steve McQueen.

Another video from the fine folks at Uncornered Market. This one shows some interesting views of river life in Thailand, including a floating market and riverside houses. This is not a tourist area or a place created for show. This is real-life stuff – a view into everyday life on the river. The water is dirty and the people are often poor.

My own time in klongs and on rivers in Thailand showed me that the same source is used for numerous purposes – cleaning, laundry, toilet and bathing. It made me appreciate my own water supply and the fact that it is separate from the sewer and septic systems. Take a look:

If you have not seen or used Qik, it’s definitely a great thing to experience. It’s a service that allows users to stream video in real time from their cell phones and receive comments and questions in real time. This makes it an ideal tool for mobile webcast interviews.

A fellow in Bangkok named Moui is using Qik to capture the world around him. His video, below, while not particularly stunning, gives a good sense of Bangkok’s personal transportation methods. The vehicles you see are mainly motorbikes, small pickup trucks and tuk-tuks.

These are all economic choices. motorbikes are rather affordable, compared to other choices and are more efficient than other vehicles. Pickup trucks, while using more gas, can be used as utility vehicles and can even be hired out to make extra money. Tuk-tuks are slightly more expensive than motorbikes, are light and thus use little gas and are often used as taxis or else very light-duty trucks.

Check out the video and let me know your thoughts and what you notice.

This video really does give you the feeling of being in a tuk-tuk. Well, aside from the exhaust, heat of the day, smog and the feeling you are about to be crushed by a much larger vehicle. Some people will caution you to avoid tuk-tuks at all cost, but I had no problem with them. They are little deathtrap vehicles, and made of 100% crumple zone, but they are great for getting around.

From Frankie Bishop of Chiang Rai. See more of Frankie’s videos here and check out his blog here.