This actually happened back in January 2012;.
Decided to head back to my hotel in Wongwian Yai from Nana Entertainment Plaza. This was after midnight, and I had consumed some vodka and Red Bull. Wongwian Yai is located in the western part of BKK and has got a BTS station. No service after midnight I presume? It was late and I grabbed a pink taxi. The cab driver was a lad in his mid-twenties. Quiet, which suits me well since I'm not a small talker. My overview of Bangkok was mediocre, but I had a feeling that we were heading in a wrong direction, which happened after approximately 5-10 minutes. I made a remark which he didn't answer. Couple of minutes later he told me that this wasn't his cab, and he needed money for his sick infant who was staying at the hospital, and he added: I have a gun!
To describe my mental ambience; Vodka gives the pleasure, but thai Red Bull is so fucking strong that 4 bottles keep my awake until lunchtime the day after. I'm quite sensitive to coffein, so the drinks made me partially drunk / boosted my concentration.
He wanted 5000 baht, and I replied "no way"! He was searching for something in right hand side all the time (the drivers door) which I wasn't able to see. He started yelling and threatening me while he was driving towards the outskirts of BKK. He stopped the car outside a residential area, God knows where, and explained to that he wasn't alone, and we could expect some of his friends to show up. He drove to several places, and all the time he made me insecure by screaming and reminding me of the gun he had, though I never saw one. My problem at this moment was my internally escalating rage. I was considering my options at this moment: Should I surprise him by quickly punching him and then gaining control over the vehicle? There would be a fight afterwards and we would probably crash. Several scenarios in my head, though all of them would result in a disaster. Bkk cabs have a number on the windshield, which I tried to memorize. Unfortunately du to alcohol and severe stress I wasn't able to store it for later.
The guy was slim and probably 170 cm tall. He wore a Manchester United football suit, with AIG printed on its front. Continued to threaten me, and I was fortunately at a stage where I could control my rage and think beyond the present moment. We could both be seriously hurt in a car accident, he and his friends (whom I never saw) could molest me, or I could end up in a thai prison for a certain period.
My vodka-exposed brain concluded that survival is the only option, so I started negotiating with him; actually I just had 2000 baht in my pocket. (No pussy for me from a gogo bar, since from my point of view all behave and move like robots with no signs of happiness in their eyes. I really missed the German FKKs while exploring NEP. Sorry lads.).
Told him I've only got 2000 baht, and I needed 500 in change, and he should transport me to a BTS station where I hopefully could find a another cab. One part of my brain still wanted to use violence, and he was furious after listening to my proposal, though I prefer wounded ego rather than a death sentence in the kingdom of king Rama. Finally he stopped in the proximity of a BTS station (do not remember the name), I handed over 2000 baht, and reluctantly he gave me 400 back. The motherfucker replied Kap khun krap and made these typical thai / buddhist hand and head gestures. I was close to smash his passenger door, but thank God I didn't. I followed the direction of the BTS by foot for an hour due to extreme rage / negative energy to cool down from this experience.
Anyone here with unpleasant rides with regular taxis in BKK?
