Gathering the Flock: TBM - Bangkok Banter

I decided to send out a fun update instead of being so serious all the time. After all, missions are fun!

Last Saturday night we got to attend the symphony at the Cultural Center in Bangkok. The conductor, a native Thai, happens to be LDS which is why we were invited. He was truly amazing to watch. The Princess also attended so we had our first real exposure to royalty. They literally 'rolled the red carpet out' for her. This was a first class affair and good PR for the church. The Thais really like this LDS conductor. He's famous in several countries besides Thailand.

I mentioned last week that I would tell you more about Thai traffic and then I have a few pictures to share with you from the Ancient City.

Driving here, or even just riding in a car, is always a thrill! They don't really have many traffic rules - just whatever works is OK. They drive on the left side of the road for starters, and that one they're pretty consistent about. The right of way is the most interesting part. Here's how it works - whoever is in front gets to go. So if your bumper is slightly ahead of the guy next to you, you can cut him off - you get to go. In the US, that type of driving will likely get you shot, but here it's just a way of life. They don't get mad at all if someone cuts them off because they just cut someone else off to get where they are. It actually works pretty well! It's sort of like skiing. Priority to the downhill skier, only here everything is flat.

They don't have stop signs, just speed bumps in the road periodically so that traffic has to slow down. That gives drivers in the cross traffic a chance to pull out and cut off the oncoming traffic! It's really wild to watch if you're used to driving where there are actually signals, stop signs and traffic cops.

They do have stop lights, but they are only on the really busy intersections. Red lights can last up to 10 minutes, but people are surprisingly patient. While the light is red, the scooters weave through the traffic and line up in front and between all the cars. Sometimes you might have over two hundred scooters massed at the intersection on each side waiting for the green light. They line up in all the lanes, because after all, there's no one coming the other way until the light turns green. Since they are there first, they have the right of way! Watching the scooters queue up gives the cars something to do while they're waiting! They use U-turns a lot to avoid having to have signals at all on most roads.

I read a very funny article on Bangkok traffic that I would like to share a few lines from, entitled 'You don't have to be crazy to drive in Bangkok, but it definitely helps!'

"The first rule in Thailand is that the rules you think are rules are not rules here. For example, just because a lane is not marked doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Larger streets (sois) that are marked for three lanes in reality have room for six, not including motorcycles.

Very few streets in Thailand are one-way. But this does not mean that they cannot change and become one-way, usually when you least expect it.

At some point you will flee the streets and seek refuge in a parking garage. Uninformed visitors assume that the two lanes in the ramps of the parking garage are designed to let traffic proceed up or down. This is wrong. One lane is for you to go up or down, whichever direction moves you. The other lane is a passing lane."

I haven't seen that last example yet, but all the rest is true. Another interesting thing is parking. Double parking is not only the norm, they actually encourage it. As a parking space is a sought after commodity and since everything is flat in Bangkok, people routinely park behind someone else, blocking them in. They lock their car, but leave it in neutral with the brake off. That way, when the car they're blocking needs to leave, they just push it out of the way. This happens every day, in every busy parking lot. Amazing! I've even seen a parking lot where they have painted parking spaces designed to hem in whoever is brave enough to park in the 'normal' spaces.

Well, enough about traffic. Here are a few shots from the Ancient City just slightly South of town.