Dear Colleagues,
I suppose these are the things that one should expect to encounter when traveling, but I just encountered some bad behavior from a taxi driver that I have never encountered before in Bangkok. Until tonight, everyone that I have ever met in Thailand has been wonderfully kind, honest, and generous. However, moments ago, a taxi driver demanded much more for a fare than the amount on the taxi meter.
On Friday--just two days ago--my family and I took two separate taxis to the Don Mueang Airport to catch a flight to Chaing Mai. In each case, the taxi rides from the September Salaya cost slightly more than 400 baht. When I returned to the Don Mueang Airport tonight, I took the precaution of going to the official taxi station in order to hire a reputable taxi driver. No sooner had I been assigned a taxi driver than things started to get strange.
1. The taxi driver told me that I should hand over the stamped receipt from the taxi stand. Not knowing any better, I did so. I realize now, that was foolish.
2. The taxi driver followed a very strange route from Don Mueang Airport to the September Salaya. As one might expect, this elevated the metered cost of the taxi ride substantially (I managed to take a photo of the meter when the taxi stopped: 573 baht).
3. In addition to the elevated meter cost, the driver informed me that I was required to pay additional "surcharges" for the ride. I did not understand what the taxi driver was talking about, but when I handed him a 1,000 baht bill to cover the inflated metered cost of the ride, the driver was reluctant to give me change.
When I pointed to the discrepancy between the fare on the meter and the 1,000 baht note that I had handed him, the driver reluctantly handed me two 100 baht notes. When I was still unsatisfied with the gap between the meter and the amount that I had paid, the driver grumbled unpleasantly and handed me three 20 baht notes.
At that point, I gave up in frustration. I paid 740 baht for a taxi ride that only two days earlier had cost 400 baht.
It's not the money that bothers me so much as the principle of the matter. I do not like when unscrupulous people take advantage of others.
In addition to taking a photo of the meter, I also managed to get a fairly clear shot of the taxi driver's license (his license number appears to be 14694). If there are authorities to whom it is possible to report unscrupulous taxi drivers, I would like to do so.
Thanks,