Thailand : in a glimpse

Highways

Highways in Thailand ( Krabi & Songkhla Province , to be exact )are not as grande as highways in Malaysia. Yet the highways still function as they were designed for ! .

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There are no fancy road kerbs, which make the road shoulders higher than the road levels. Well, what’s the purpose of road kerbs anyway ? Of cause they are to keep the soil from spilling over to the road surface. But then, why are the shoulders designed to be higher than the road surface in the first place ? To incur more cost to maintenance and upkeep them ? . .
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There is no need for kerbs. Without kerbs, no scupper drains are required. No clogging of scupper drains. Rain water can flow faster and freely off road surface. bla bla bla …… .

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There are no fancy median too. The medians are made into ravine, another practical thing to do in non-stop-rain-pouring country ! .
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Trees are planted along shoulders and medians. No much flowering shrubs. More functional than mere good looks ! .

By the way, does anyone notice any toll booth ? I think i didn't see one !

Long live Thai King

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Transportation

Safety helmet for motorcyclist is optional ! Cool, yet somehow dangerous.

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Pick-ups are abundant ! To transport farm produces, perhaps ?

Tut-tuts are everywhere….. 20baht for a trip to any location within the town. The service are better than Malaysian taxis ! and 200% cheaper too.

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Communication

Well, Thais speaks Thai, of course.

Road signs, business signboards, are mostly in Thai. Occasionally little bit of English and Mandarin., but not much help especially when we want to walk-about a little bit, or do our own driving. Maps are in readable Roman character, but road signs are mostly in Thais.

Yet, Thais speak some English. Aided with some sign language, it’s not impossible to seal the deal. . .

There are some local Thai of Chinese descendants, who speak Teochews ( a dialect similar to Hokkien ) and some Mandarin.