getting started

Friday, April 17th 2009:
hot, hotter, Bangkok in April. Those of you who had been to Bangkok in April before know what I'm talking about: the heat and humidity is almost unbearable. Whereas in other parts of the country it's hot and humid that time too there is absolutely no way to catch a light breeze in Bangkok. The addtitional pollution and the bad air make you sweat a lot and  feel  and sticky all day long. I slept well but woke up early. Early morning is the best time of the day as it's not that hot yet. The air- conditioning had been running full speed all night long. I had a capuccino downstairs in the lobby, went online with my small 10 inch netbook, that I brought with me and announced to my online friends that I arrived already. I received a couple of "welcome to Thailand" sms and did several phone calls.  Called my girlfriend first of all. She was still visiting her friends in Chiang Mai and from there she would go to her hometown and then meet me in Bangkok on the 20th. Our plan was to travel Thailand's south together. I told my old friend Praiwan in Khao Sok that I'll be there soon. A good friend from Germany who is living with his wife in Hanoi, Vietnam wrote me an email that he's on holiday in Thailand. I made up an appointment to meet in Khao Sok. Called my Thai friend Tik, whom I had known quite a while but didn't see last year. She asked me to meet in Central, Ladprao. That's a big shopping mall.She asked me if I could come there- In 1 hour!
Ladprao is actually not too far from Banglamphu, Khao San road area. But that's not the question. The question is whether you are lucky to find a taxi or Tuk Tuk driver who doesn't rip you off. So I asked at the reception for a reasonable taxi rate to Ladprao. Knowing this I went out to try my luck. The first rule is not to take any of that taxis or Tuk Tuks in Khao San road or Soi Rambutrii. They will say "ok, let's go" but ask for astronomical prices. So my plan was to catch a taxi on one of those big streets nearby. Banglamphu is a great location for nightlife and sightseeing as many temples and the Grand Palace are nearby but it's far away from public mass transportation like the BTS( skytrain) or MRT (subwa)y. Being handicapped , buses are no option for me. They hardly stop for people getting on and off the bus...
So this leaves the Chao Praya Express, the ferry and taxis only to get way from there. I waved down a taxi and asked the driver if he could go by meter. Speaking Thai helps- sometimes. He did turn on the meter but although I had no clue at all were we were, I had the impression he was going long way round to raise the price. And I was right: I paid much more than the woman at the reception told me.
I met Tik and her boyfriend at Central Ladprao and we had lunch together. It was nice we finally made it. They were a bit in a hurry coz they were about to leave for her hometown. So I decided to take a taxi back again. After several minutes the cab driver asked me  in Thaiwhich way to go. I didn't want to show that I have no clue so I told him "rang mai paeng"- an inexpensive way please. I could not believe this worked: I ended up paying slightly less than the receptionist suggested:)