Thai Cultural Differences - Transportation

Back again~ This time I'll be talking about different ways Thais get around. This one will probably be quite short, but I think it's quite interesting. It was also one of the first things I noticed when I came here.

Public Transportation

• Buses go just about everywhere
• A 30 minute bus ride is about 10-30 baht, or 1 U.S. dollar
• The train is the fastest way to get around, but there aren't many times it runs
• If you're wearing a student uniform, you get a cheaper fair
• There is no school bus system in Thailand
• There are many kinds of buses:
• Public buses - are very slow and have no AC, but I personally like this the best
• Vans - have AC and are the fastest kind of bus here, but they're often crowded
• Travel buses - made for going to certain tourist attractions
• Tour buses - groups rent these out for trips and they are really fancy-looking

Personal Transportation

• Most Thai families use motorcycles to get around
• They only use the car for longer distances
• Pick up trucks can be used to transport many people as you can seat people in the truck bed
• Almost all Thais use manual transmission (I have yet to see automatic)
• The driver sits on the right

Traffic and Road Control

• Generally there is always a bit of traffic
• Keep a look out because people will do just about anything to avoid traffic
• I have never seen a speed limit sign here
• Rarely do the police pull drivers over for violations, unless an accident was caused
• All road signs are written in Thai with English right below
• People drive on the right side of the road

December Update

It's December everyone! Which means a lot of holidays that I will probably not have here in Thailand. Yay...

Actually, I'm not too disappointed about it. I'm so used to being here I think if I did have Christmas and New Years American style, it'd be a tad weird. But when I go back to these times next year, you can bet I'll go all out!

This month, there aren't too many updates. I am quite relaxed here and enjoy the company of my family and friends I made here during the past nine or so months. One of the things I do have to announce is that I've decided to continue this blog past the time I come back from Thailand. In other words, I'll be blogging a bit about my American life when I return. I've decided to do this because not too many exchange students really talk about what it is like to come back home. And also since I decided to start this blog a little bit before I left for Thailand, I feel the end should rather compliment that as well. So look forward to my normal life!

Another thing I wanted to mention was that this semester at school, I've decided to take up a traditional Thai music class. Currently I can't play any songs, but I must say the atmosphere in itself is amazing. It sort of feels like you go back in time just walking the room. And on top of this, the teacher is really nice. I'm certainly looking forward to maybe posting something about this in more detail.

Finally, my host father has recently announced our family's New Year trip will be to Chiang Mai, a popular city that is full of attractions! Normally I avoid such locations as they make me feel like a tourist instead of an exchange student, but Chiang Mai is my only exception. I am really excited!

That's all for this month. I will be continuing the series of cultural posts when I have time here and there, but it might not be too often. I still won't forget about this blog though, so no need to worry! I will update eventually~