Speed-gondola-taxis

-by Micah-

One singular event that we must not fail to mention, in regards to our time in Bangkok: the locals' speed-gondola-taxis. Now, anyone who has a somewhat substantial knowledge of Thailand will know about Tuk-Tuks; you can't miss the hundreds of them as their three, little wheels zip in and out of the congested Bangkok traffic. "Tuk-Tuk?" "Tuk-Tuk?" I can still hear the little drivers, insisting you climb aboard and pay their fee. (One side note to note: many Tuk-Tuk drivers are in league with organized scams where they will take you, not to your requested destination, but to jewelry stores, where they will literally lock you inside until you buy something. Yikes. I will humbly admit this is the sole reason we never ventured in taking those little men up on their insistent offers...well that reason and the fact you could just as easily jump in an enclosed, air-conditioned cab and get an honest metered rate. You do the math.)

The locals' speed-gondola-taxis! That's what I was getting at! No, don't picture a hairy man in a black and white striped shirt, singing Italian opera, while he swiftly plunges an oar in and out of the water with a cadence reminiscent of Lance Armstrong. They have upgraded to diesel engines, but the craft's body is still very much that of the traditional gondola. Now just imagine a 20 seater version, careening up and down the local canals, with blue tarps rigged along the vessel's perimeter in such a way as to lower, to allow passengers onboard, and rise, to shield the same passengers from the torrents of water resulting from the tidal-wave-like wakes crashing off the narrow, concrete walls of the canal.

You just don't see these kinds of things in the States...