Week in Chiang Mai: Part 2-G Tuesday

August 11, 2009

Another beautiful, sunny day in Chiang Mai, yet my last. I had breakfast, checked out of my guesthouse, and hired a tuk-tuk to the consulate. The driver waited for me while I went in. I had to wait a while, and then I had to pay more than I was expecting. The 1400 baht I had previously paid was for consular services, then today I had to pay 1700 baht for the visa itself. I had enough, but then was slightly concerned about having enough to get to the airport. So when my driver took me to the bus station, I looked around to try and find a place to change money. Although I asked at the information booth, there was no place to change money. I found another place and asked about a ticket, and it was 518 baht, much cheaper that the 1000 baht or so that I was expecting to pay. It's a double-decker bus with air conditioning and a toilet, scheduled to arrive in Bangkok at 7:30pm.

We left Chiang Mai at 10:30. Besides the driver, there was a stewardess who served everyone snacks and drinks, just like on an airplane. At 11:27, we were stopped by a police roadblock. They boarded the bus and said something in Thai. Luckily I noticed the person next to me take out her ID card, so I knew to take out my passport.
We stopped at a large roadside cafeteria for lunch. I watched to see what everyone else did. Part of their ticket paid for a certain amount of food of your choice. So I picked something that looked good and found a place to sit. There wasn't anyone to talk to, because all the people on the bus were Thai and no one seemed interested in speaking with me, but I didn't mind. At 1:30pm I got back on the bus, my mouth on fire!
At 5:17pm I spotted a thermometer clock that said the current temperature was 34*C! I'm really glad I got an air conditioned bus! If it's that hot at 5pm, what was it around noon?!

The bus arrived in Bangkok about an hour late. As soon as we got off, there were all kinds of people trying to get us to take their taxis or whatever. I didn't trust them, and felt uncomfortable with some of the things they were saying to me. It's perhaps a good thing that I was low on Thai cash, because they were asking way too much for giving a ride to the airport. Honestly, why would I pay 600 baht to go from Bangkok bus terminal to Bangkok airport, when it cost less than that to take a bus all the way down from Chiang Mai? I had only 263 baht in my pockets, plus Japanese yen. I was looking for a bus I could take, not a taxi. I was also looking for a place to change money. I finally found a proper information booth, but there learned that there is no bus to the airport, and the banks were already closed. Taking a taxi was my only option.

At that moment, I learned yet another important lesson in walking by faith. I walked outside, now in a totally different area from where I had gotten off my bus, and made eye contact with a taxi driver. I tried to ask him how much it would cost, but he just said he would run the meter. He was using gestures mainly, to communicate. So, he took me to the airport. As is usual, I gave him money for the tolls, but I was short 5 baht in change on the second one, and then I had 200 baht left. When we finally arrived at the airport, the meter had gone to 230. I gave him the 200 baht I had left and showed him my Japanese yen, trying to explain that I could go into the airport to change it to baht, and then come back and pay him the rest. He said not to worry about it (with gestures, again) and drove off.

I still had plenty of time to change money, pay my airport tax, check in, and get some dinner. God is so good to me!