You have probably seen a number of news reports by now of the Thailand floods. Maybe you read my recent post about some of our flood relief work. It is pretty unusual, especially the flooding of much of Bangkok, with maybe more yet to follow. A city of 10 million or more covers quite a lot of ground. Many parts of Bangkok have up to 6 feet of water now. All over the country about 500 people have died (most from electrocution, not drowning), which is not so many when you consider how many millions are affected. It is good that the water has come on slowly with some warning rather than all at once as it did a few years ago next door when cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar.

This number may go way up. Many people in Bangkok will not leave their homes. They may end up stranded on an upper floor, however. It may be hard for it to sink in that areas could remain flooded for a MONTH or more. This is not just a few people. There is no reliable estimate, but I believe it is in the ten or even hundred thousands. What will they do for food and clean water? There will be none to be had in many areas even if they can get out of their house. There have been many floods in many places in the world, but the scale of this one is really unusual.

An awful lot of Thailand, especially the central area around and north of Bangkok, is pretty flat and very close to sea level. Water can drain from it to the ocean, but it can take a long time to do it. They day may not be too far off when Bangkok, which is slowly sinking, will build dikes to keep the sea back like in the Netherlands.

Forests in SE Asia. Central Thailand does not have much forest to soak up the rain.

I think that, at least theoretically, much of the flooding could have been prevented. While I have not researched this much, this is what I have heard. The flooding appears to be caused by:

1. Much of the old forests, which could have soaked up some of the water, have been cut over the years so there is more runoff now, especially from the central low lying area, Bangkok and north of Bangkok, that is more built up. That’s where a lot of the flooding is now.

2. There are a number of dams in Thailand. I can find data seven years ago that 11.5% of the country’s power was hydroelectric. I think it’s just a bit more now. For best power generation, you want full reservoirs to take you through the dry season which starts mid October. On the other hand, you should keep the reservoir level down during the rainy season to have room for excess runoff.

3. The rain this year was pretty normal until September and some of October, when it was much higher than normal.

Put all that together and you can guess what happened. Many places were flooding, things were getting bad, and that’s exactly when they had to open up all the dam spillways to relieve stress on the over flooded reservoirs.

2553 is Thai for 2010 and 2554 is 2011. The two bars are September. It rained a lot in October too. Graph is from a subtitled series of videos worth watching even for foreigners.

Now it seems some Bangkok areas have just enough large pumps to transfer water to some major canals that can still take it. If one of these breaks down, as it did yesterday in the Mo Chit area of northern Bangkok, the area quickly floods. I know this because my son Nathan who is visiting here, went to Bangkok yesterday morning to handle some business thinking he would come back today.

Nathan arrived in Bangkok yesterday afternoon at the main bus terminal in the northern Mo Chit area and everything was perfectly normal. This morning when he arrived in the Mo Chit area on the skytrain he looked down from the elevated station to see knee deep water everywhere and no taxis or anything else to get to the bus station. He went back one station which was dry and found a taxi (despite what I said in my last blog entry, the rules are different now in much of Bangkok, if the taxis are running at all) that would charge extra to attempt to get to the bus station. The taxi quit halfway there due to deep water.

So Nathan is stuck in Bangkok until he figures out another way to get here. This country has about 65 million people, with 11 or 12 million of them in Bangkok. When things break down in Bangkok, the entire rest of the country feels it big time. The shelves are often bare here in our local markets and Seven Elevens because goods did not get delivered from Bangkok. Now bottled water water is getting in short supply because the main factory that makes the plastic water bottles is in Bangkok and was recently flooded.

There is still some bottled water. It an other supplies have been building up in our foundation office for the last few days. This Friday we are taking them, via boat I think, into some flooded areas north of Bangkok which are due west from us here. This appears to be relief project of our local area teachers working with the military this time. I’ll bring back a few pictures if I can.

Taxis are cheap here, and they are versatile. The other transportation forms I listed are limited in where they can practically go. The Taxi can go anywhere – at least once the flood waters recede.

Everyone wants to ride the tuk tuks in Bangkok. By all means do so, once. They charge as much as an air conditioned taxi and may be hard to dissuade from stopping by their friend’s jewelry shop on your way. Once there you can participate in a scam so famous it has its own Wikipedia article.

A standard taxi tuk tuk has a yellow license plate, like a normal car taxi. The privately owned tuk tuks have a white plate. I’ve heard the greater portion of the scamming is done by those with the privately owned ones.

A Bangkok Taxi. They’re not all blue, but all should say “Taxi-Meter” on top. The lit up sign in the windshield on its left means he is looking for a fare.

The best way to get somewhere in Bangkok is with a standard air conditioned taxi. They’re usually cheaper than a tuk tuk for any trip and can take you much farther if you need that. They should say “Taxi Meter” on the top. They should use the meter. I ask them to use it before or as I enter. If they won’t I just get another cab. Otherwise negotiate the price before you get in. Also tell them your destination, or show them a card (in Thai) that your hotel desk clerk made up of your destination. A particular driver may not go to some areas.

At a bus station or the airport, don’t go with anyone who approaches you regardless of their uniform. Their price will be more than double and your ride less secure. Always ask for the “taxi line”. These lines have never taken more than about a minute for me, and the taxies will use the meter. If you don’t see the red lit up meter numbers, point to the dash area and say “meter! meter!”.

Be aware that there is an additional charge, about 50 baht, if you get a taxi in the meter line at the airport. This is what the airport charges the driver. There is no charge like this if you are going to the airport. Also, the driver often asks “highway?”, to which you can answer “highway OK” or just “no”. I normally use the highway when it is an option. Bangkok is famous for traffic jams and you may avoid some. The toll booths can charge from 25 to 65 baht, and you may go through one or two on a typical trip. The normal custom is for you to hand the toll money to the driver. If there is change he will normally give it right back.

Have small bills! You get to your destination and are in a hurry to catch a bus or plane and hand the driver a large bill. Guess what! No change! If I’m going to my hotel I don’t worry. I just tell him to wait and get change from the desk clerk. Another thing you can do is ask to stop at a 7-11 for water or something and break your big bill there.

If you need a station wagon or small van taxi for extra luggage, they won’t use the meter. Then you just have to negotiate the price up front. Beware, all taxis in Bangkok use propane. The vans have a big tank in the back taking up a lot of luggage room. You may not get as much in there as you think.

Some drivers speak English. Never ask a cab driver about a good restaurant. They will take you to their friend’s place. This may be situated where it is very difficult to walk away, and hard to catch another cab. Of course, after you eat their bad food at inflated prices, they will be glad to call you another cab. Better to find great places, and there are a lot of them, on your own. If you must ask, ask at your hotel concierge or desk clerk, not their limousine/shuttle driver, and you will normally get an honest, if not informed, answer.

If you tell the taxi driver you want to go to some shopping center and he says it is closed, either just tell him to take you there anyway or get out and get another cab. If the driver stops or wants to stop at a place other than your destination, tell him no, you will only go to your destination.

Check your wallet as you get out and as you move away from the taxi. Amazing how many people leave their wallet in a taxi. Especially during the confusing time of getting out, paying, getting your luggage, etc.

Tip: At the left above the dash is the driver’s name and taxi number. If you record that and discover a problem later it is really great to know. For some hotels (Holiday Inn did this) the bellboy getting your taxi will record this number automatically before your taxi leaves.

Tip 2: if you are leaving the airport and don’t have much luggage, go up to departures, go out and catch a taxi just as they drop someone off. I’m not sure they’re supposed to do this, but I have never been refused and save the airport fee. The driver is pleased with his quick turnaround, and is not unhappy when I say “meter!”.

Tip 3: It is usually easier to get a taxi you flag down (their front window red light must be on) to use the meter than one waiting in front of a hotel or some other place.

Tip 4: The propane tank in the trunk limits the cab to one large piece and one or two carryons there. Even then the trunk lid must be tied. Two of you can still get your maximum four large bags into a normal cab. I prefer two balanced on end in the front passenger seat using the seat belt to steady them, one in the back seat on end with us and one in the trunk. Some drivers will insist on only one in the front and two in the back seat with us. A bit tight but it still works. BTW I keep a small bungee in my carryon. Amazing how many drivers have nothing to tie the trunk lid down.

I suppose there must be some danger here, but it may be less than in the past because ATM machines allow the average tourist to travel around with just a bit of cash rather than the amount for his entire trip. It is extremely unlikely that any of the situations described below will become physically dangerous unless you let them evolve past your first encounter. Overall I am much more concerned in a US or European city than I would be here.

While you are not in danger, you will certainly feel bad if someone wastes your time and gets a bit of your money. Other than the jewelry, jet ski and airport duty free situations described below, whatever money you lose won’t be much, but it still ruins the good feeling of the day to get taken.

If someone who speaks pretty good English approaches you on the street or in a public place watch out! They may be a Thai, an American or a European. For example, they ask you where you are going, then tell you that place is closed today due to a special holiday, the king visiting, or whatever. Then they offer to take you somewhere else. Chances are 99% that the place you are going to is open.

If you are standing around looking perplexed, or looking at your map for a long time, a Thai who speaks good English may come over and be genuinely helpful. Do they let you ask a question and then try to answer it, or do they suggest you go somewhere you’ve never heard about? So evaluate before you act. There are good people here.

Wall and gateway to the Grand Palace, Bangkok. Want to meet a scammer? Just stay outside this wall. Stand around looking perplexed. Maybe look at a map. Should only take a few minutes. Or, get along the wall out of sight of the gate and someone can come and tell you the palace is closed…

You just left the Holiday Inn and someone comes up behind you in a Holiday In uniform says he saw you in the hotel and suggests something, don’t believe them. They try all kinds of things to earn your trust.

If you are approached by a security guard or police officer who speaks good English you should be wary. Few police speak English, and those that do not very well. If you haven ‘t done anything, a normal police officer will not approach you. Rare indeed is it that a low paid security guard will speak English. Even though they may hang around and be friends with the regular security guards someplace, they are probably working a scam of some sort. If they say you can’t go into an area, OK, go somewhere else. If they want you to go with them, don’t.

Some of the “red light” areas of Thailand, such as Patpong near the Silom tourist area, are becoming popular street shopping areas. They are perfectly safe if you do not go anywhere with anyone who approaches you. Don’t go into a bar with them. Especially don’t go into an upstairs restaurant or lounge where you get away from the crowds. If you want to get into a dangerous situation in Bangkok, this is a great way.

Don’t ever rent a jet ski anywhere in Thailand! When you get back they will find damage that was already there and charge you for it. They’ve been known to use water soluble paint to cover defects, so if the machine is out of the water before you take it, you may still miss the “damage”. The amounts they charge can be in the thousands of dollars and you may find it very hard to refuse twenty or more Thais on the beach as they get very agitated by your arguments. It is common for them to actually restrain tourists from calling the police. If you do get to the police they may not help you at all. This scam is so widespread that you should never, never rent a jet ski anywhere in Thailand.

Never, never hand over your passport to rent a motorbike. It is common for them to ask for it, but your passport is really not your property, it is your government’s. If some guy on the street has your passport he has total control over you. When you return the motorbike and he wants 10,000 baht ($300) for a few scratches you may or may not have put there you may be stuck. Better to leave a cash deposit you can afford to lose. Unfortunately again, the police will usually side with such people.

Best to rent a motorbike from your hotel or guest house. The price should be the same, at least if it is a less expensive guest house. I have never had them ask for even a deposit.

You may need to give the hotel desk clerk your passport when you check in. They make a copy of a few pages in it and give it right back. Otherwise, except for some government agencies and embassies here, I have never given my passport to anyone.

If you rent a car, use a known brand company. No telling what kind of “pay for damage” or other problems you could have otherwise.

If an old lady or other non threatening person puts something in your hand or on your bag, such food for pigeons, give it back immediately. If they won’t take it put it on a bench or the ground and walk away. She will often have a partner who may be less “non threatening”. If worst comes to worst start raising your voice, make a scene. This is the height of bad manners and impoliteness in Thailand, but they should not arrest you for it. Attracting attention is a good way to rid yourself of scammers.

If you smoke, don’t throw your cigarette butt on the ground. The police watch for that and can ask for a 2000 baht (about $65) fine. Often it is a scammer and not a police officer, but it can be hard for you to tell. This applies to other litter as well. If they really are police (wearing a real gun) you can often talk them down by a factor of five or more. This can be a tough one, since in Bangkok and major cities there are no trash receptacles. The only ones I have seen are sometimes at the top or bottom of an escalator and in restrooms in the shopping centers.

A number of people have reported being charged thousands of dollars in fines for shoplifting they did not commit in the upscale duty free shops in the Bangkok airport. The police come and search them and no goods are found, still they are charged and cannot leave the country until they pay, often in the $10,000 range. I think any of the other areas in the airport are quite safe, but I stay out of the duty free shops or any airport shops with high priced goods.

I want to talk about taxis in Thailand (mainly Bangkok) and related issues and scams. That is for another post.

I just successfully purchased four round trip tickets on Air Asia from Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar. Sue and I are going there with two Australian friends to do teacher training under Nargis Library Recovery. You may have been hearing lately how Myanmar is opening up at least a little, no thanks to continued US and EU sanctions. We are taking advantage of that and will be among the first foreigners to work with school teachers there. I’ll say more about that when we return to Thailand mid-January.

After purchasing those tickets I feel like I really accomplished something. The process turned out to be as breathtaking in scope as it was extreme in complexity. First of all, I got everyone’s names, birthdays, passport numbers &expiration dates as well as other personal information – Air Asia wants it all. They also default to charging for extra legroom seats. Uncheck that and you get the normal seats, which they still charge extra for! I finally found a button to uncheck all seat selection, which is no extra charge, but warns you that your party will not sit together. To get even for that I suppose they will put each of us in a center seat between to big guys that smell bad. They charged for each of us taking a checked bag. I unchecked two of those but found out 3 screens later that I had to uncheck it separately for the return trip.

Anyway, it went on like that until time to pay. They declined my normal credit card, so I called the card company. Fortunately calling 800 numbers from foreign countries via Skype is free. They said everything was fine, so I called Air Asia to find out that they simply do not accept credit or debit cards from the US due to their higher fees. I have seen that on a few other websites in Europe, where the drop down list of the card issuer’s country has everyone (even Afghanistan and Iraq) except the US, Myanmar and North Korea.

Hector Rivas of Thrift books and Thant show a monk teacher new curriculum Nargis Library Recover can supply.

Do people in the US think that the card companies supply them with kickbacks from their rewards cards for free? Either the card holder or the merchant has to pay for that. In this case the merchant, Air Asia, decided it won’t.

As much as I admire their stand, the only alternative I had to using a card was getting to their office Suvarnabhumi airport which means going an hour outside of Bangkok. So I tried my Bangkok Bank card.

This was the first time I tried using my Thai card on the internet. I use it here because it has none of the rather stiff fees (some originating from the US) that the foreign debit and credit cards now have in Thailand. What an experience! It included phone calls to automated systems where I entered account, code, pin and other numbers, entering codes returned via SMS, other codes returned via my email account, thinking up my own 8 digit codes and writing them down and entering them twice, etc. I got timed out of the system several times, but of course each time I was that much faster when I came back. I learned a lot that was not worth learning.

It finally worked, but the codes produced by all this are good only for eight days, so next time I’ll have to do it all again! I’ll forget everything I learned in this process by then.

I wish I could use my US card. Of course there are some US credit cards that are not rewards cards, but the merchant can’t tell which those are. I know, because we process credit card donations on our foundation website, and cannot tell what the charge for an individual card will be until after the transaction is done.

Maybe the card companies will have to change. The world economy is changing. Airlines especially are looking to charge an extra fee or save a buck wherever they can. Those where US business is a small minority may just choose to get rid of it altogether, like Air Asia did.

The CNN article surprised me. Only 30% of Americans have a passport. These days that means that the others cannot even go to Canada or Mexico, let alone a more “foreign” place. I thought these days more people traveled internationally, or at least had a passport so if the opportunity came up they could go.

There is a lot to see in the U.S. I still have to get to the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, the Biltmore mansion… Still, what about the Taj Mahal, St Peter’s basilica, Angkor Wat, the trees at Ta Prohm, Bagan, Notre Dame, Sagrada Familia, the Louvre and the Hermitage? You won’t find those, or anything much like them in the U.S.

Our Thai friend Joy went with us to Angkor Wat. This place is seriously big, and only one of several other temples here. About $150 apiece, including two hotel nights, out of Nang Rong.

Then there are the other things. The slums in India, the villagers in Thailand and the school children in Myanmar. You won’t find those or much like them in the U.S. either. We have poverty in the U.S., but it can be very different other places. Some parts of it are pretty bad, but don’t think it’s depressing. Some of the happiest people I have seen have been in these places.

The article says many worry about safety issues, as the author states “What if I’m mugged in Thailand or kidnapped in a hostel?” The reality is, as I have already too often said, that your biggest fear by far is a vehicle accident, just as it is in the U.S. This is somewhat counteracted in that when travelling overseas you will more often be in buses rather than cars. In all our travels, Sue and I have gotten a scare only two times. The first was in Oakland, CA and the second in Washington DC.

If we are talking outside of Asia I suppose you should add to that pickpockets. In Europe I always carry most of my cards and cash in a pouch around my waist under my pants. I just have a bit of local cash and maybe one debit card for the local ATM’s in my wallet. I don’t bother with all that most other places.

Jordan and Sue deciding what to see next in the Louvre. It took days… This week in Paris was inexpensive through go-today.com.

Calculate out the full true cost (mileage on the car, all the meals, etc.) of a week or two week U.S. vacation. You may find the overseas alternative very little more, or in some cases cheaper. Our method for European cities is go-today.com. They do the flights, hotels and transfers really cheap. And the hotels are usually right in the center of everything, not out at the edge of the city like the big Hiltons and such. After that you catch meals (except breakfast, which is often included), admissions and incidentals. Most travel in these cities is via subway, which is cheap and easy. We’ve been to traveling with go-today.com since 1996 and it has always been great. All it takes is a bit of money and a spare week.

In much of the rest of the world you pay the flight, but once you get here the rest of the trip is often much less than it would be in the U.S.

Think about it. At least get a passport if you don’t have one.

The Thailand situation continues to surprise me as well as many others. The state department warnings are getting more firm. Non essential embassy personnel have been sent off. But they are all in Bangkok. As a CNN article shows, things remain peaceful in most (not all, read the State Department warning) areas outside of Bangkok. Buriram province, where we are, has had no unusual activity. One problem with the CNN article is that if you come to Thailand, you will come through the international airport just east of Bangkok. Will protesters close it down again? I don’t think so, but I’m not sure of anything there anymore.

The best thing now is to wait and see awhile. If I already had my non refundable tickets, I’d go ahead and go, otherwise I’d wait. 36 people have been killed in demonstrations so far in Bangkok. Whether that seems a lot to you or not, you should still remember that loss of life in Bangkok alone from car and other such accidents has been much more than that. As I have said before in Thailand II, if you are ever to get hurt in foreign travel, it is most likely to be in a car accident. Even now in Thailand.

I do wonder about that airport. Trouble still seems unlikely there, but…

They are certainly not everywhere in Bangkok, the city is just too big for that, but they have hit a lot of the tourist areas where Farangs will at least be passing through, if not staying. If we were going to Bangkok now, the only thing we would do different is not stay in the Silom area. We’d probably stay out by the airport or just catch a bus immediately to Nang Rong.

Now along with that we have the airline disruption in Europe which stuck a lot of long distance fliers wherever they happened to be. Some of these were in Thailand. They could not get out of the airport, but did not want to go back downtown where they had been staying either.

As far as loss of life and limb, I am still of the opinion that there is little to fear. I suppose you could get blown up by one of those bombs that were planted, but the likelihood of that is still very slim. Now, as well as any other time, the most likely cause of you getting hurt is a car/vehicle accident. The chance of you catching a bomb or a terrorist bullet is vanishingly small compared to that, provided you stay away from trouble wherever you see it.

Being severely inconvenienced by this current air travel mess appears more likely, however.

Opportunity Foundation does not involve itself in politics and does not take sides in issues like the current one, so I will not comment on my feelings about the political issues. I will say that if I needed to get back to Thailand in the next few days for some reason the current political unrest would not have the least influence on my travel plans. The only thing that might bother me is if they shut down the airport there again, but I really think that is not going to happen a second time.

I would avoid the areas of demonstrator activity, however. Unfortunately, one of these near the Chidlom BTS (sky train) station is in a tourist area with some major hotels. The Holiday Inn, Intercontinental and Hyatt Erawan are among them. Other than that there should be no problems for a foreigner in Thailand.

There is no anti American or anti European sentiment that I am aware of. The problem is entirely domestic. I have never heard anyone say they thought foreigners have anything to do with it. Thais are still friendly to foreigners. That has not changed. If you need help out on the street, ask a Thai.

The basic rule in Thailand, Myanmar or any other country is, if you see a political demonstration or some other form of unrest, go the other way. The Japanese news photographer killed recently in Bangkok as well as the one killed a few years ago on the streets of Yangon, Myanmar two weeks before Sue and I arrived in that city were obviously not following this rule.

I was there seven years ago and think temple area is one of the three most impressive sights in the world, the other two being St Peters Basilica in Rome and the Taj Mahal in India. I place the pyramids, the Louvre, Chartres, etc. in the second tier.

There are plenty of places on the internet to learn more about these places, so I will just give you a summary of how we got there from Nang Rong and how much it cost us. We left Tuesday morning and were back by 3 PM Thursday. The full day of Wednesday was enough to see all the major sights in the Archeological park. A second day would allow for more things to be seen, but we covered the highlights and well known areas.

P. California arranged for their van to take eight of us to the border at Poi Pet and later to pick us up at the border and take us back to Nang Rong. They also arranged for a second van to take us from the border into Siem Reap and back. This van was also at our disposal while we stayed there. All this transportation came to $394, or about $50 per person. We could have easily fit nine people, maybe ten, for this same total price.

We did not reserve hotels. There are a number of very nice new and no doubt expensive hotels in Siem Reap if you want that sort of thing. We just had our van drive into the “Old Town” area of Siem Reap and stopped at a likely looking small hotel, the Mandalay. Air conditioned rooms were about $14, but they had only one. We walked across the street and that hotel had three rooms with air but they were up a few flights of stairs. So we went next door to the Millennium and found three rooms on the ground floor. At all three hotels these rooms had air, small TV, their own bathroom and were judged clean and usable by those more particular in our party. They were all about $14 per night.

– Click here to view Siem Reap – Angkor Temple Site –

Here is the cost breakdown we paid per person. We had one full day to see the site, and two evenings to shop and enjoy the Old Town area. We had use of the van and could have seen anything else on those evenings had we chose to do so.

All transportation: $50
Hotels: $14 (per person, two nights, two per room)
Visa: $38 (a visa service speeded things)
Admission to site: $20 (for one day)
Meals: $3 per meal, some at hotel, some in Old Town or site
TOTAL: $140 per person (figure 6 meals)

With what we learned, here is a less expensive way that may be a little more inconvenient:

Transportation: $6.70 bus Nang Rong-Poi Pet, both ways
Cambodia Van: $25. ($200 total for 8 people)
Visa: $25 (get it yourself at the border)
Admission to site, meals, hotels are the same as above

TOTAL: $108 per person

Next time we will spend a few more days. Siem Reap as at the north end of Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Southeast Asia. We want to catch the boat through the lake and down the river to Phnom Pen. We’ll spend a day or so there, and then on down the river, through Viet Nam and to the coastal area.