Adventure getting to the park & home again

My day at the park - 7 March 2010

I got inspired the other day because I figured out that the bus that passes our apartment is the very same bus that goes to the IDC (Immigration Detention Center) AND it's only 14THB. Before I had to walk 10 minutes to the BTS (sky train), go one station & then switch to the MRT (underground), to 5 stops to Lumpini & then either walk 20 minutes or take a taxi or motor bike. So this would take about 45 minutes & cost about 70 or 80THB. WOW! Not sure why it took me more than 4 months to figure this out, but I think it's just transformed my life. I was so excited about the bus that I decided to get a bus map & try some other routes. I've found a new adventure in Bangkok!!

I thought I'd found a new freedom & independence with my trusty bus map. It's written in English & Thai, so how could I go wrong................easy...........seems most Thais don't have a clue how to read a map & seems the ones i encountered went one better & couldn't read Thai either - though my adventurous spirit has not been dashed, just dialed down a notch or 2.

In Hong Kong the bus system was wonderful & as long as you had a map, you could get most anywhere. If you got lost, you just showed your English/Chinese map & they would steer you in the right direction, no problem! But this isn't Hong Kong!!

Today I decided to test out my bus map skills & after much studying it looked like I could get to this park that a friend had taken Jesse to when he was here. He'd told me it was really nice & I was wanting to see some green. I walked the 1/2 block to the main road above our street & found the bus stop. In a few minutes bus 11 came by & I jumped on.It wasn't air conditioned, but I had a window seat, so the breeze was good. Realize that it rarely gets below 90F here & today was no exception & the humidity is always up there.

Of course the challenge is to know where to get off the first time around, since there are no signs at the stops (like in Hong Kong). I tried to follow along on my map, but once we started making turns & there were no road signs I was lost. BUT a group of Africans got on & wouldn't you know it, I knew them from the Refugee Center. We had a good chat & then they asked where I was going. They looked at my map & decided that this bus was not going where I thought it should. In the general direction, but not to the route I was counting on. They told me to get off at the end of the line & walk to the main street & get another bus from there. I thanked them & the kids gave me big smiles & lots of waves! I think they thought it was pretty funny to see me on their bus.

I took their advise, but couldn't really locate where I was by now. Too many twists & turns. So I walked about 15 minutes & then went to a 7 Eleven to get a cold drink, cool off & ask directions. The guy seemed to know where I wanted to go & pointed in the direction I was walking, but he spoke no English. The only Thai I could understand him saying was "go straight & turn right". Couldn't figure out if it was close or far. I walked another 10 minutes along a built up city street. Hadn't succeeded in getting out of the city at all. Lots of car dealerships & used industrial machinery shops. Finally I was just too hot & sweaty & broke down & hailed a taxi.

I showed the taxi driver the map & said where I wanted to go. Of course he said he knew & once he started driving I could only tell that he was asking me which street he should turn down, so he really had no clue where I wanted to go. Apparently couldn't read a map or Thai!! So I broke down again & called my personal 911 rescue worker, Lisa. She's the Thai friend who took Jesse to this park in the first place. She had a very long conversation with the driver & then told me he was initially very confused, but she straightened him out. Indeed after about 15 minutes of driving (SO glad I didn't keep walking) we were at the park!

It was a lovely park, lots of water & trees & flowers. I took along the good camera & had a really good time snapping nature photos. This park seems to be an escape from the city for many people. There were families & friends everywhere, enjoying the shade & greenery. There are several gardens in the park, including a formal English Garden, a rainforest type enclosed area & a US Geodesic dome filled with cacti. There were even swan boats to rent, so I'll have to bring John back so we take a ride together (although in this heat, it might not be that much fun).

I walked around for about 2 hours, then decided I'd better work on getting home, since getting there had not worked so well. I went out the other entrance since it looked like there were more buses that way. As I exited the park, the driver of a Songtawang (not sure of the spelling, but it's a large pickup truck with two long seats in the back running along the side of the truck bed - the name literally means 2 seats) waved to me to get into his truck. They take multiple passengers & act as a small local bus. He indicated the fare would be 6THB & I asked some other people where it was going & pointed up the road to the main street. From my trusty map that at least I could read - the main road with the buses was a good ways down the street. So I hoped aboard. I've wanted to try one of these little buses, but have never known what the fare was or how to tell where the heck they are going. Now I had my chance. I'm really glad I didn't walk as it was a good distance. Paid my 6 THB upon exiting like the rest of the group & chalked this up to another new transportation experience!

Now for the bus back to the city challenge! I crossed the road fairly sure that was the direction I wanted to be going. At the bus stop a woman saw me looking at my map & she spoke to me in English. It wasn't good English, but bless her heart to take pity on me!!! She confirmed that I was indeed headed in the right direction & that bus 206 would pass by here. I figured that would get me closest to home. I would need to get off before it made a turn & then take the klong (canal) taxi the rest of the way (only 2 stops). There were several of these Songtawangs stopping & she began reading where they were going. One of them she read & said, "You should get onto this instead of the big bus, it will take you to the sky train & that will get you home." I really wanted to take the big bus in hopes that it would be air conditioned, but decided to trust her. So I hopped aboard. I figured I'd recognize the sky train better than the klong taxi stop anyway. The ride took about 40 minutes & I wondered if I'd made the right decision. I asked a teenager sitting next to me how my the fare was & he said 6THB. I guess that is the standard fare for these trucks.

Turns out I did indeed recognize where to get off, but it didn't matter, because that was the end of the line anyway. It was in front of a big department store & there was a KFC right there in front of me. KFC has a good reputation for ice cream & I've not tried it, so I decided that I'd earned myself a good soft serve ice cream cone in an air conditioned building! It was YUMMY!! I got to the sky train & found my way home quite nicely.

So I can now add another mode of transportation to my list & did manage to get to the park. I've studied the map again & after seeing the buses that were out there, I think I can make it without the taxi next time. John comes home on Wednesday, so we'll see if he's game to give it a try next weekend!!