il Giardino Romantico

去國外旅遊，抵達一個新的國度，自己選擇首次辦訪的城市實在是太重要了。泰國很多人去過。人家國家領土比我們大那麼多，可想而知，光是首都曼谷跟泰北清邁就差很多了，更別說東北或是其他海邊或島嶼例如普吉或蘇美島了。選擇拜訪城市之前是否要先考慮你想要透過這次旅程得到的是什麼？雖然事隔了這麼久才又回去，但相較之下，清邁還是跟曼谷差了很多。人比較親切不用說，天氣、交通也都比曼谷好。物價當然也比曼谷來的要好許多。在泰北你可以體驗曼谷真的怎麼找都無法體驗的事物。沒來過的一定要來一趟，別說你去過曼谷清邁就一定也差不多了。沒來過清邁，你的泰國行根本就不完整。

It is an important decision to choose which city to visit when you travel to a country for the first time. Many have been to Thailand, I'm sure. Their total land mass is so much bigger than Taiwan, it's not hard to imagine that things would be very different from, say, Bankok to Chiang Mai. Not to mention the Northeast or the beaches and the islands that all have their distinctive features. It's important to think about what you want to get from the trip. Although it's been a very long time since I was last here, Chiang Mai is still a very different place than Bangkok! The people are much nicer, so is the weather! Prices are lower, and the traffic is so much better also! In the north, you get to experience things that you can't find in Bangkok. So don't tell me you've been to Bangkok... You haven't seen the whole of Thailand if you haven't been to Chiang Mai.

當然，曼谷因為是首都，人口多觀光客也多，交通自然也比較便利（所有首都的共通點啊）。而且，雖然我可以聽說讀寫都還算可以溝通所以難度不高，但就漣一般觀光客而言我一直認為曼谷是個不用做太多功課就可以直接衝去的城市。清邁就不一樣了。你功課沒做好，花了冤枉錢，可能還得不到自己所預期的經驗呢。因為像這種小城市，若不跟團，最傷腦筋的當然就是交通囉。不過其實不用太緊張。天仙可以提供一些建議，讓你至少不會被坑太多錢，留著預算可以花在其他更有意義的事物上面！

Of course, Bangkok, being the capital city, has a higher population and more tourists as well. Naturally, public transportation would be a lot more convenient, as of all capital cities around the world... I've always thought that Bangkok was a city you could just visit. Chiang Mai's different. Without a bit of research, you wouldn't get anywhere (even for someone who knows the language...) But don't worry, I'm here to give you a few tips, so at least you could save some money on transportation and spend that money on something more worthwhile!


雙條車（Song thaew) 發音

基本上，清邁是沒有計程車的，反倒是這種雙條車是滿街跑的。這就是清邁的「計程車」。可別小看他的便利性。每天早上可以看到載滿學生的雙條車，這些有的是專門月包的（天仙小時候也有這樣包車過）。對於忙碌的家長，或是學校比較遠的家庭來說，是很方便的交通工具。因為清邁市區的公車並不發達，基本上很少人會去坐公車。因此幾乎都是靠這個在跑來跑去比較多。另外要注意的一點就是，紅色的雙條才是跑市區的。可別因為新鮮想說看到別的顏色的就去攔人家，因為他們可是跑郊區的。

There is no taxi meter on the streets of Chiang Mai. However, the streets are crowded with these song thaews. These are the 'taxis' of Chiang Mai. Students can pay the driver monthly to drop them to school and back every day. It's the most convenient way of sending your kids to school (and affordable, too). The buses here are horrendous, so no body really takes the bus. That's why this has become the most important public transport. But do be careful! Don't get to excited and hop on a song thaew just because it has a colour other than red. The colours distinguish the districts in which they are suppose to operate. The red ones run in the city centre, and the other colours run in the suburbs.

那麼這種車要怎麼坐？原則上跟計程車一樣。有沒有人都可以攔。（基本上司機會希望全部爆滿這樣賺得比較多）有人的話司機會先想路線，順路就載，不順路就麻煩下一台。原則上人一多，你的荷包就比較保險，就算遠了些司機也不會亂喊價。若是車上沒其他人，就得小心些。不過若你本來就是要從東邊到西邊，這麼遠的路程如果司機收你個40銖，還算情有可原啦。但如果看你一個外國人，明明只有五到十分鐘路程也給你收40銖，那就真的有點超過了。不用怕！就讓他走吧。反正這種車子滿街跑。但缺點就是這些雙條司機主要的客群都還是當地人，因此會基本英文的不多，會的也真的只會基本的數字而已。

How do you ride on these? Just like how you'd hail a cab, only you can also hail these when there're people already on it. Here's how it works. You tell the driver your destination, he'll decide whether he wants to take you (if it's on the way). If so, then hop on and join the rest of the passengers. If not, then try the next one. It's safer for your purse to hail one with people on it already, as you know that you are not the only one providing income for this trip. If you are the only one, do be careful of getting ripped off. If you need to go all the way from east to west, then I think it's reasonable to ask for a little more (like 30 or 40 baht per person). But if it's only a 10-15 minute ride, that same price would be a bit too steep! If you think you're being ripped off, don't worry. Just try your luck with the next one! The down side to the song thaew is that the drivers mainly serve the locals. Those who can speak a little English can go only so far as the numbers. 

遇到好心一點的司機會直接告訴你該下車了（畢竟你是觀光客不熟路）。但人一多難免人家腦筋轉不過來，若你知道該下車了但司機卻沒有要停車的意思，可以按一下車上的下車鈴提醒司機。要注意的是上車前一定要先問好價錢才上車！然後下了車才給錢。人家都是辛苦賺錢的，請不要下車後就跑掉，丟了台灣人的臉喔！

Sometimes when the driver realises that you are a traveller, he'd let you know when to get off. But if you happen to be on a crowded song thaew, and the driver forgot about you, just ring the bell, to tell him you'd like to get off. But please do remember to agree on a price before hopping on, and don't forget to pay after you get off! 


嘟嘟車 (Tuk tuk) 發音

另外一種就是曼谷也有的嘟嘟車。不過常去曼谷的人是否發現這裡的嘟嘟車跟曼谷的有何不同呢？

The tuk tuk can also be found on the streets of Bangkok. If you've been to Bangkok before, you might notice the difference, though. See the difference?

你發現了嗎？曼谷的只有一邊可以上下車。清邁的嘟嘟是兩邊都可以上下車（沒有欄杆）。因此搭乘嘟嘟時期時要非常的小心。尤其清邁入夜後車並不多，許多司機常常飆很快。好處就是不用等司機繞路接送其他的乘客。壞處就是因為是專車，因此會比較貴。不過原則上規則跟雙條一樣：先講目的地，談好價錢看要不要接受，接受就上車，不接受可以殺價。殺價不成可以換別台試試看。如果兩三台都是同樣價格表示真的不能殺，你就認命吧。

The difference is that you can get on and get off the tuk tuks in Chiang Mai from both sides. The ones in Bangkok allow passengers to get on and off on one side only. Therefore, it's even more risky to ride one of these (without the traffic, sometimes they can go very fast). The good thing is that you are the only passenger, so it's an exclusive ride! But because of that, the price is a little higher. The rule is basically the same: ask for the price before hopping on. Try and bargain if you're not happy with the price. If bargaining doesn't work, then try it with the next tuk tuk. After three attempts, if bargaining still doesn't work, then the price is probably non-negotiable! 

兩價錢上的差異，我比方說好了，從旅館到夜市，雙條車一人20銖。從夜市回旅館做嘟嘟，一次60銖。（不過語言不通的觀光客可能會被要求100銖）由此可見，若為單人旅遊，雙條當然是比較划算。我們兩人去做雙條跟嘟嘟的價錢就沒差那麼多了。

Take, for instance, my experience this time - the ride from our hotel to the night market on the song thaew cost 20 baht per person (there were two of us) and the ride back to the hotel on the tuk tuk was 60 baht (they might charge 100 if you didn't speak Thai). If you're on your own, the song thaew would be a more economic choice. 

有孩童同行的我會建議這個體驗一次就好（而且請選一個路程比較短的去體驗）。因為他真的比較危險。

If a child is travelling with you, I'd suggest that you only try this once (and choose a shorter route). Because it can be dangerous! 

 

此時去已經入秋。涼爽的秋風吹在臉上，少了大都市的滿城汙染，清晰的空氣，其實挺舒服的。

It was autumn when we were there. The cool autumn breeze and the not-so-polluted air of Chiang Mai made the tuk tuk rides quite enjoyable!

天仙念：想要省錢，就學一點基本泰文。這個要講的標準，人家對你刮目相看，殺價也會比較容易唷！泰文基本數字發音