Recently, one of my weekends became a
long weekend because of a national holiday here in Thailand. I decided to take advantage of the extra time and rent a car to get out of Bangkok. Since the city of Rayong is always
on the way to the coastal island resorts I've vacationed at in the past and only a couple hours south of Bangkok, I thought I would stay in Rayong for a change and see what it is all about.
Renting a car ended up being a huge part of my weekend because this was my first time driving in Thailand and driving on the other side of the car/road! It kind of felt like I was driving while looking at a big mirror because everything was on the opposite side to what I am used to -- in and out of the car -- from driving in the left lane, passing on the right, turning left at a red light to remembering the blinkers are on the right of the steering column... Needless to say, it was a bit of an adjustment for me.
It didn't take long, however, for me to get used to the new driving norm and joining in the flow of traffic once I got out of the airport and onto the motorway. But it did take a little time to remember to use my left hand for the gear shift and force myself to stay in the left lane as I drove on two-lane curved and hilly roads in the country. Going over a hill and around a curve in the left lane (not being able to see what's coming) seemed like I was playing
Chicken with whoever may be approaching =) But I trusted the other drivers knew the rules of the road as I did.
The good news is that I survived to now share my experience. I only turned on the windshield wipers 14 times over 3 days, thinking I was turning on the blinkers, and I got used to passing trucks on the right because they have lower speed limits than cars in Thailand. Other lessons learned included the need to always be on guard for motorbikes driving against traffic and the expectation that the driver in the left lane beside you can move halfway into your lane
at any time to avoid something in his lane, thus expecting you will make allowance for him to do so and move into the right lane beside you as you expect the driver beside you to make allowances for you, and so on. Back home, moving halfway into the next lane would be considered a
lane change but in Thailand, where dotted lines on the road are 'suggestions', it is called
common courtesy.
So for those of you who live in northern climates, do you notice anything unique about the dashboard of the car I rented in Bangkok? I did a double take when realizing there is no setting for heat on the thermostat, just a choice of cold to coldest! Makes sense when living in a climate that seldom goes below 30C (86F) all year.
And I would be remiss if I didn't share my experience of going to the gas station for the first time in Thailand. After pulling into the nearest station off the highway, I found gas stations here are
full service with attendants directing you to the next pump, filling your tank for you and looking after other vehicle tending needs. I felt like this was my first trip to the gas station ever, not knowing what the attendants were asking due to the language barrier, not knowing what side of the car the gas tank was located, not knowing what type of gas to put into the car and generally not knowing gas station etiquette!
You would think adding gas to a car would be a simple task (and I'm sure it is once you know the options) but I found there is a difference between Benzine and Gasohol options offered here and I better know the difference! Here is a blurb and pictures off the Internet to give you an idea of the gas station experience.
"Benzine has no ethanol, whereas gasohol is a mixture of gasoline and ethanol. Here in Thailand gasohol refers not only to low-ethanol blends (E10, E20), but also to higher percentage (like E85, a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline)."
Needless to say, I was glad the gas attendants knew what they were doing and what mixture to put in my rental car =)
