After an overnight train to northern Thailand Ive arrived in Chiang Mai. It’s early in the morning but a train arriving is a good opportunity for Tuktuk and taxi drivers to make a good fare from the tourists who are tired and just want to get to their destinations.

I agree to take a taxi but then confusingly it seems that my custom is now open to be traded between drivers. In the end I was traded down to a tuk tuk, which was fine by me, I like tuk tuks, but it made me wonder why I wasn’t good enough for the taxi?

I agree a price with the driver, it’s too much of course, but I don’t mind. It’s still cheap and I have this policy when travelling, I will allow myself to be taken advantage of only on that first day in a new location, and really only for that first taxi ride to my destination. Once I am where I want to be, then I can relax and get back into the habit of bargaining for a better deal.

I like tuk tuks. As city roads in the developed world become more congested I wonder if we’ll see some kind of eco tuk tuk take to the streets? Someone has probably already invented that, but when tuk tuks in places like Thailand can be repaired and maintained so cheaply, I doubt they’ll be much of a market for them here.

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