5 insider tips on how to navigate Bangkok traffic

Bangkok is notorious for its traffic jams. Traffic jams are never on nobody's must-do list for a holiday. Especially when just having had surgery it is wise to avoid being stuck for hours in traffic. After surgery you'll likely feel sore, weak, drowsy and there is the risk of bleeding. Not the best time to tackle traffic jams and a taxi driver with dollar signs in his eyes.

I have been living in this city for almost 10 years, and I have some experience with the traffic here. I thought to give some insider tips on how to minimize your travel time.

1. Avoid rush hours!

Well duh! This is not different from anywhere else in the world, but still very true. When on a holiday it's easy to forget the day of the week and that other people have to work. But really, try not to schedule an appointment anytime before 10.30 AM, especially if you have to go into the city. And if your treatment is finished after 4.30 PM, just relax in the hospital lounge until 7.30 PM or so. The lounges are generally very comfortable. There are food courts with good food and often a few televsions. You can ask the help desk for a room for yourself, you might get lucky. Nevertheless bring a book or a magazine, unless you particularly enjoy watching Thai soap operas.

2. Weekends are best

Weekends mean that the hospitals are busier than usual, but as long as you have an appointment you should be fine. The good thing is that a lot less Thais have to work on Saturday and on Sunday most enjoy a day off. As a result there's a lot less traffic and you can occasionally ignore the tip above. Keep in mind that's Sunday and to a lesser extend Saturday, Friday evening is the worst time for travel.

3. Rain = Traffic jams, avoid traveling in the rain

From around mid June to the beginning of November it's rainy season in Thailand. It's actually not a bad time to visit: there are not that many tourists, flights are often a bit cheaper and many hotels offer a discount. And it doesn't rain the whole day anyway. Usually it rains perhaps once or twice a day for an hour. And then it rains hard! Really hard! And Bangkok's poor drains often can't handle the rainfall, leading to some roads being flooded. That'll usually slow things down a bit. It's a bit hard to plan around the rain, but after treatment of post-operation check you can stay in the hospital until the rain stops.

4. Get the hotel or hospital to get a taxi for you

More so that you don't get cheated. Bangkok taxi drivers like to think that foreigners are all very rich and don't mind taking a detour to pad the bill. Some refuse to turn on the meter and want to set a fixed price. This is illegal, but still happens a lot.
To minimize the risk for these tricks ask the doorman from the hotel or hospital to get a taxi for you. They usually know the taxi drivers in front of their building personally, and often get a little kickback from the taxi drivers. But this also means that the doorman's job and the taxi driver's spot is at stake if you complain to the management. Nu guarantees here, but it often helps.

5. Express ways are the way to go

There are a few express ways going above the city, ugly things from below, pure bliss when you cruise over the city looking down at the traffic jams. Rush hour or no rush hour; you should take them if your time is valuable to you. They only cost 45 to 70 THB per go and really speed things up. However during rush hour, they still get traffic jams.

Alternative means of transportation

I admit, I usually stick with taxis, especially if I'm not traveling alone. And if you just have had your treatment, they are probably the way to go. However make sure they turn their meter on. If they refuse, flag another one down that's driving by.

Saying that, the boats on the river and some canals are a fun thing to do and can actually be a quite fast way to navigating those parts of the city. The sky train and subway cover a very a limited area, but are really great outside rush hour. Tuk-tuks are fun, but pretty useless unless you are carrying a basket of fish to the market. Try them once for the experience and stick with taxis after. Taxis are almost always cheaper anyway for tourists.

If you have been to this incredible here before, I'm sure you have your own Bangkok traffic experiences. We'd love to read them in comment section.

Image credit: Keng Susumpow