Heart of Gold

It's common to hear complaints about Thai cabbies, so today it was refreshing to read a story about one taxi driver in Bangkok who did a good deed by returning $410,000 US dollars worth of gold jewelry to a passenger who left it behind in his cab. The owner of the jewelry is a gold seller who bought 289 ounces of the precious metal earlier in the day and forgot it in the cab when he was helping his wife out of the car. Oops. Upon return of the jewelry, the owner rewarded the taxi driver by giving him two gold necklaces worth $10,000 US dollars. If you come across a Bangkok cabby wearing a lot of bling, it might just be our hero in the story.

Holy Taxi

Less than one percent of Thais are Christian, so it's uncommon to see images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and other idols like these in Bangkok taxis. On the left is a representation of St. Christopher on an enameled medal, who, similar to certain venerated Thai monks, is believed to offer safety to travelers on their journeys. And hopefully, St. Mary will also pray for us that we won't encounter any bad traffic jams ever again.

Cabby Credos

While most Bangkok cabbies follow the teachings of the Buddha, the driver of this taxi abides by the slogan of WWE wrestler, John Cena, "Hustle Loyalty Respect". There are obviously some major differences between the philosophies of the Buddha and those of a pro wrestler. One of the main objectives of the Buddha was to find an end to suffering, but the goal of wrestlers is to create the illusion that they are inflicting pain on their opponents.

Home Away

As a majority of taxi drivers in Bangkok come to work here from other parts of Thailand, there are many cabbies in this city who are kittung bahn, or literally in English, missing home. A lot of these drivers only have the chance to travel back to their province a couple of times per year to visit their family. As a result, it's common to see pictures of mom and pop in Bangkok cabs. And every once in a while, you'll even find photos in taxis of drivers' pet buffalos back home.

Dealer on Wheels

Need to sell your house in Bangkok? Want to buy some property in Thailand? How about snapping up a hotel in Pattaya? "No problem," according to my taxi driver today. As an unlicensed broker, he claims that he can find buyers and sellers for any type of real estate or property. And if you need a huge loan to buy a resort, "no problem". This cabby can hook you up with a loan shark. Never mind that they will hunt you down and break your kneecaps if you don't repay them on time.

Fear No Taxi

One way to differentiate the various types of Buddha images is by their hand gestures, or mudras. This particular statuette hanging from a rearview mirror in a Bangkok cab depicts the Buddha standing with his right hand raised. Known as the abhaya mudra, this gesticulation represents fearlessness. As the driver of this taxi recklessly swerved in and out of traffic lanes, I could see why this cabby handpicked this image to worship in his taxi.

Drowsy Cabby

Today was the first time I had to wake my taxi driver. He dozed off at a red light and didn't notice that the light had changed green. This is unusual as Bangkok cabbies are normally wired on energy drinks and/or caffeine. On the other hand, considering that most taxi drivers here work 12 hour shifts with few days off, it's amazing that it doesn't happen more often.

Cabby Collection

A single pine-scented air-freshener dangling from the rearview mirror? Not in this taxi. The driver has been collecting and filling up his cab with coins, tasseled golden charms, votive statuettes, amulets, stickers, and plastic baubles for fifteen years. If he did have an air-freshener (which, I might add, he sorely needs), he would have already stockpiled forty of them in a variety of scents.

Thai Tartan

If you head upcountry in Thailand, you'll see plaid cloths like this one all over the place, but it's not something you see in Bangkok very often these days. These colorful textiles known as pha khao ma are traditionally worn by men around their waists and have a multitude of other uses including as a head-wrap for farmers, as a cloth for swaddling babies, as a type of sarong to wear around the house, as a pillow when bundled together, and as a pack when gathering certain items such as herbs, rice, salt, and chilies. In the case of taxi drivers, it can be employed as a striking seat cover with a homespun feel.

Thai Marlboro Man

It's not everyday that you see an ashtray and a pack of cigarettes on display in a Bangkok taxi. So, I asked the driver about his Marlboros and it turns out that he doesn't even smoke. An American passenger gave him this pack a few years ago and he thought that it looked cool and decided to show it off. I'll have to admit that it does suit his style. He was wearing Levi's and Ran-Bans, and lying in the backseat was his leather jacket and cowboy hat. But at least this Thai Marlboro man has less of a chance of developing emphysema.

Karaoke Taxi

Karaoke is big in Thailand, so it should come as no surprise that some Bangkok taxis offer this form of entertainment. On a long ride home the other evening, I was in the perfect mood to belt out a tune. Never mind that the driver was playing a Thai pop song that I had never heard before. Fortunately for the sake of others, I was the only one in the cab besides the driver. But when I turned and looked out the window, there was another car next to the cab full of passengers staring at me and my microphone in amazement.

Bangkok Reads

In an effort to promote more reading among Thais, last year the government launched a campaign called "Bangkok Read for Life". As part of the scheme, book holders like this one were distributed to taxi drivers to strap to the back of their car seats. The goal is to increase the average number of books read per person per year from five to twenty. If everyone in Thailand would read my book, Thai Taxi Talismans, the average would go up just a bit.

Angry Cabby

Today in the taxi, one of the first things that I noticed was the Angry Birds sticker on the taxi meter. I assumed that the taxi driver is addicted to this video game just like millions of others around the globe. So, I turned and asked him how often he plays the game, but to my surprise, he scowled at me and didn't utter a word. Maybe he, himself, is an angry bird.

Happy Lotuses

Thais, in general, can be quite resourceful. I love how the cabby created a lotus pond out of ribbons around the image of the Buddha. Either that or the driver just opened his birthday gifts.

Enter the Dragon

Dragons can be spotted on the side of some Bangkok taxis as a company logo and inside the cabs as symbolic decorative elements. Considering that this is the Chinese year of the dragon, you'll most likely be seeing more of this fire-breathing creature around. Happy Dragon Year!

Changeless Cabbies

I'll never understand why a majority of Bangkok cabbies don't carry change with them. It seems like having petty cash on hand would be a requirement of the job. Normally, I don't think much about it, but today in the taxi I didn't have any smaller bills with me. Fortunately, the driver had a few extra twenty baht bills on the dashboard that he could use as change. Or so I thought. It turns out that the money was reserved as an offering to the gods. So, I ended up paying an additional forty baht for the ride. Apparently, this is how the driver collects his "offerings".

Too Bad for Brad

If Brad Pitt were Asian with a dark complexion, had jet black hair, looked about fifty-five years old, and drove a taxi in Bangkok, the cabby with this sticker in the rear passenger window would look exactly like him.

Taxi Beats

With a sizable jury-rigged sound system in the back of the taxi, I was anticipating cruising around the streets of Bangkok with the windows rolled down and the speakers thumping. But rather than putting on some rap with heavy bass, the cabby popped in the Carpenters Greatest Hits CD.

Number One

There are some English words and phrases that everyone in Thailand knows regardless of their level of English-speaking ability. One of those phrases is "number one". Today, when I noticed that the identification plate on the taxi's rear door included a one, I asked the cabby how he received such an auspicious number. He replied, "I am number one taxi driver in Thailand".

Happy Holidays

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky" - The Buddha

Miracle Buddha

Perhaps the most common Buddha image in Bangkok taxis is this one: Luang Phor Sothorn. This is obviously a reproduction, but the original one is believed to hold miraculous powers. In 1767 AD, the Buddha sculpture escaped the burning capital city of Ayutthaya and was swept downstream to Chachoengsao Province southeast of Bangkok where it was rescued by locals who tied a string around it and reeled it in. Today, many Bangkok taxi drivers make regular pilgrimages to the temple where this image is housed. And oftentimes, the cabbies pick up a souvenir in the form of a statuette, like this one on the dashboard.

Father of Thailand

Today is HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 84th birthday. As he is considered to be the father of the country, today also marks the celebration of Father's Day in Thailand. Happy Birthday to His Majesty the King and Happy Father's Day!

See No Evil

Among the lucky charms glued to this taximeter is a dark grey amulet depicting the seated Phra Pidta, or monk with closed eyes. Just like one of the monkeys from the famous trio, he sees no evil. And in the context of the Bangkok cab, he sees no ugly passengers.

Insert Face Here

Looking like one of those things that you stick your head in at carnivals for a laugh and a photo op is this picture of a smiling Buddhist monk combined with an illustration of the fat Chinese folkloric deity, Budai, in a Bangkok taxi. I guess that this is more appropriate than surrounding the monk's face with the image of a lion tamer, a muscleman, or a cartoon character.

Made in China

Mountainous landscapes have been one of the main subjects in Chinese art since the Song Dynasty in the 11th Century. It's hard not to appreciate the dreamlike quality of painted rocky cliffs fading into misty skies and elegantly drawn branches of bamboo. As my eyes wandered through the mystical landscape in the back of this taxi, I felt transported to another world. But then I suddenly realized that I was stuck in a traffic jam in the concrete jungle with my dirty feet plunked on a cheap floor mat made in China.

Let There Be Light

If achieving enlightenment involves sitting under a tree on a lotus for days on end, it's going to be a very long time before I reach this level of awareness. It's too bad that attaining this form of illumination is not as easy as turning on an interior car light.

Bangkok Porsche Taxi

In a city where advertising bombards you everyplace you go, introducing new products in Bangkok sometimes necessitates unconventional publicity stunts to get people's attention. Earlier this year, Samsung pimped out a Porsche Boxster as a Bangkok taxi and rode around the city picking up fares to promote their new Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone. I don't quite get the connection. And I'm not sure why a Lady Gaga song was chosen to accompany the video. But anyway, the marketing scheme seems to have worked. Never mind that they forgot to include any talismans on the dashboard.

Monk Fish

One of my favorite types of talismans in taxis here is in the form of fish made from accordion-pleated banknotes. Normally, these lucky charms are created with out-of-circulation Thai baht, but this one incorporates fake money with pictures of venerated Thai monks on it. I've heard of monkfish before, but this is getting a little too literal.

Thai Origami

Thailand's answer to origami, the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, doesn't involve delicate paper with kimono designs folded into elegant forms of graceful animals, such as cranes. On the contrary, as illustrated by this cat-like figure in the back of a Bangkok taxi, it entails cheap shiny plastic in garish colors stitched together to form ill-proportioned creatures embellished with plastic beads and bells.

Pepsi Taxi vs. Coke Cab

When it comes to the battle between Coke vs. Pepsi in Thailand, Pepsi appears to be winning. Certainly you can find both brands in supermarkets and convenience stores here, but an overwhelming majority of local restaurants, mom-and-pop noodle shops, and street-side stalls serve Pepsi. In a country where drinks and desserts tend to be on the sweet side, it makes sense that this slightly more sugary cola wins the Thai taste test. When I noticed the Pepsi clock on the dashboard in this cab, I assumed that the cabbie was yet another Thai fan of this carbonated beverage. But when I asked him about his timekeeper, he told me that it was free and that he actually prefers to drink Coke.

Be Strong

Since July of this year, over three million people in Thailand have been seriously affected by the floods. Many people have lost their homes and jobs. Others have been trapped inside their house for weeks and some are going without basic necessities. The driver of this taxi told me that he has been living in evacuee shelters for the past three weeks and his only personal belongings that he has left are in the trunk. For him and for many others, getting through this crisis will take a lot of courage. My hopes are that those directly hit by the floods can be as strong as the tiger whose image is stuck to the back window of this Bangkok taxi.

Let's Swim!

According to some reports in the local media, fifty percent of taxis have recently disappeared from the streets of Bangkok due to flooding in and around the city. A fair amount of cabbies have returned to their home province to avoid the floods, some taxi cooperatives located in areas with high water are closed, and many cabs are parked in high places for safekeeping. As a result, it is becoming more difficult to find taxis to hail in this city. And some drivers are refusing fares because they don't want to venture into flood-prone areas. If you have difficulty finding a cab at this time, don't worry. In some areas it's now possible to swim to your destination.