Yesterday, I took a tuk tuk taxi. In case you haven't been to this part of the planet, tuk tuks are three-wheeled auto rickshaws named after the loud sound that comes from their two-stroke engines when they're idling. Taking a tuk tuk taxi involves haggling a price before you hop in, and if you're a foreigner and don't mind paying more than the locals, then a tuk tuk can be a good option for getting around short distances. If you're visiting the city for the first time, or if you're new to Thailand, taking a tuk tuk is a blast. But, after you've been here a while, like myself, the novelty wears off, and an enclosed car where you can hear yourself think often seems like a better choice. I'm not quite sure what prompted me to take a tuk tuk yesterday. Perhaps, it was the fancy fringe or the stickers inside the tuk tuk, or maybe it was the huge grin on the driver's face. In any case, it was fun riding around Bangkok in a tuk tuk for a change of pace. And, it was especially exciting since we didn't get stuck in one of Bangkok's famous traffic jams.
