Te, The Taxi Driver

It was dangerously close to commute time and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy getting a taxi back to my room near the Chao Phraya river. I’d already walked a half-dozen blocks trying to catch one who was willing to make the trip but not many were available. The first one that stopped for me wasn’t interested and waved me off, leaving me at curbside.

The second one said “400 baht!” - which was outrageous. I’d said “OK, chock dee,” (good luck) as I’d closed the door and watched him wedge his way back into the stream of traffic, but in my mind I was thinking “kiss my ass, buddy,” – out of character for me so I knew I was worn thin.

Barely back onto the sidewalk I noticed a taxi with the red “available” light on pulling to the curb close to me, evidently seeing the previous one as he crawled along. I opened the passenger door and told him where I was going, and when he said “100 Baht” I agreed and more or less dropped into the front seat beside him, relieved. I knew it was a little higher than I’d have paid had he used the meter, but maybe not a lot because of the distance, location and the hour of the day.

After re-adjusting the aircon he’d set to “FARANG” when I got in I settled in for what was probably going to be a long ride. We moved along in stops and starts but being the passenger I was able to look around, people watch and rest my eyes a little now that I was out of the direct sun and heat. As I often do I asked his name, and he introduced himself as Te. Glancing at the license on display in every taxi there I looked over at him, and noticed that the two faces didn’t match. That’s not all that uncommon, I’ve learned, but there was a resemblance so I asked him about it.

“My father,” he said. His dad drives the taxi at night and many days Te drives it while his father sleeps. If he gets caught it’s a 100 baht fine, but that rarely happens, he said. He spoke some English, thank goodness, and that made the trip more pleasant as we could visit a little bit. He was 28 at the time and lived at home with his parents and two younger sisters a ways out of central Bangkok. He laughed easily and often, and enjoyed seeing some of the photos I’d taken that afternoon on the camera screen while we sat at intersections, waiting for the red lights to count down.

I mentioned that he reminded me a little bit of Sek Loso, a Thai singer I’ve enjoyed and he laughed heartily, partly from surprise “You know Loso??” and partly at my comparison. He said he would tell his girlfriend that when he saw her in a few hours. I don’t recall her name, but they’d been together for two years and he was thinking she was “the one” and that they’d probably marry soon. Actually, he hadn’t really wanted to drive the cab today but was doing so because she’d been away for a couple of weeks and he wanted to take her to dinner someplace and needed the money, so he was skipping his regular afternoon of football with the guys he played with.

Te had enough experience driving to know the back streets and got me home in a little more than 30 minutes. Normally when the fare’s been set off meter I figure they’ve already gotten a tip built into it, so I don’t tip on top of that, but I’d enjoyed visiting with him so decided to go it one better: instead of a single 100 baht bill, I handed him four. “Take your girlfriend to dinner,” I said “I’m paying.”

His eyes widened with surprise and he broke into a grin, giving me a wai and thanking me. Since I already had the camera out and on I took his picture and asked “Where do you go now?” He smiled again and replied “Home, shower.” I closed the door and watched him pull away.