2/17 -- Tit-For-TAT

Two things are sure to happen to you if you dare to amble down the streets of Bangkok saddled with baggage of any sort, no matter your outward confidence or air of purpose: you will get 1) an offer for a tuk-tuk/taxi, and 2) an emphatic recommendation that you secure transit for the next leg of your trip through the TAT.

The illustrious Tourism Authority of Thailand is at once a mysterious and an omnipresent institution. On our first visit to Bangkok (this is our third of the trip), the advice of three separate onlookers and our own reluctance to schlep ourselves 10 km roundtrip to the train station for tickets combined to justify our visit to “the” TAT office. In the air-conditioned foyer, a set of six cubicles awaited us, each bedecked with its own share of tropical-scene calendars and large travel posters advertising lush islands and elephant treks. In the end, we were convinced that 100 baht per ticket was a reasonable surcharge to pay to have the tickets brought to us, even though we did not believe the agent’s claims that same-day purchases are impossible and that, with his help and deft cell-phone jockeying, we’d secured the last two tickets on the train we wanted.

So here we find ourselves again: in Bangkok, up early to find transport to another region of the country to meet another host and continue our journey. We braced ourselves for the onslaught and stepped down the stairs of our guest house and onto the street. Khao San Road is ground-zero for Bangkok tourism, and as we walked toward a larger avenue the vendors were in the early-morning limbo of assembling their stalls for today and cleaning up after the chaos of the day (and night…) before. We’d gotten maybe 10 m before a man asked if we’d gotten our tickets yet—we walked away when he whipped out a map and began pointing excitedly to “the” TAT office.

(I say, “the” office because whatever strange governmental status the TAT actually does rightfully have is endlessly parroted by every sort of travel agency. EVERYone has a TAT license, which makes each travel agent’s flimsy laminated badge seem all the less compelling. At right, see (if you can) this snapshot of the upper gallery of the Bangkok train station, where three “Tourism Information” stalls sand side-by-side, each ostensibly “licensed.”)

Another man offered Audrey a taxi ride to the train station for only 10 baht, but we instantly recognized that as a scam. 10 baht is enough for a ride to one of two places: a) a ride around the block, or b) a trip to a TAT office. Another offer of 50B was a little more credible, but it soon became clear that they were more interested in helping us get our train tickets than taking us to the train station itself (note the disconnect there…)

We finally found a metered taxi and got to the train station for 70B including a tip. Our tickets: same-day, no problem. We win…for today.