“Pantip Plaza,” I told the taxi driver.
“100 baht. Fixed price. It’s cheaper with fixed price now because of traffic,” he said. It was about 4pm.
I ignored him and looked for another taxi. I asked another taxi driver, “meter?” He said, no–only fixed price.
Come on guys! I know better. Fixed price is never better for the customer. Even with traffic, I estimate it would be around 70 baht ($2.00). Maybe 80 if it’s real slow.
I found one five minutes later who was desperate for a customer. He charged me by the meter. I was a little nervous during the ride, doubting myself. Was it really going to be cheaper than 100 baht? I was pretty sure, but not 100%.
The metered taxi fare to Pantip Plaza was: 73 baht. Boo-ya.
My objective was to buy a replacement camera. I browsed around several stores for about 3 hours. I compared prices of several makes and models. I ended up getting the same camera that I had before. The only difference was that it had an Asian model name (the Canon IXUS). And the price was about 30% higher than it was on Amazon.com.
I love my Canon point-and-shoot camera. The LCD screen displays bright, sharp images. The user interface is friendly. The zoom control is intuitive and convenient. And the image quality is amazing for what you pay. I recommend it for your travels.
And if you want to sell your travel photos, I recommend the Canon Rebel SLR and environmental zoom L-series lens. With that combo, you’ll get amazing, sharp and vivid photos. It’s worth every penny. Trust me.
It was even more difficult getting a metered taxi home. I had to turn down ten taxis in a row. They all wanted a fixed rate of 200 baht ($5.70)–about 3 times as much as the meter.
I started walking away from Pantip Plaza. Maybe that’s why they jacked the price. I got one to give me the metered rate. But he was kicking himself for it. He only gave in because he was desparate. He told me that no one gives meter rate at Pantip Plaza (well, except him, heh). The fare ended up being 67 baht ($1.91).
I wasn’t a Bangkok noob anymore.