How to ask drivers not to take me to the bus station when hitchhiking in Thailand?
I'm hitchhiking around the world again and have hit a snag in Thailand.
In Malaysia people generally understand a bit of English and generally "get" the idea of hitchhiking. A bit further north over the border in Thailand neither is true anymore.
Disclaimer: Please do not submit an answer telling me to choose some other mode of transportation or choose some more hitchhike-friendly country. I only want to travel via hitching, in Thailand. I know the risks, I've hitchhiked in much more dangerous countries. So please just answer on how to hitchhike in Thailand and not what to do instead.
OK so I can deal with the language barrier, I can make hitchhiking signs in Thai with my modicum of arty farty skills. All I need is a phrase or two in Thai that I can tell drivers so they won't keep taking me to bus stations. It doesn't even matter if it's "pidgin Thai". "No want bus" should work.
Answer either in Thai script of some kind of transcription or transliteration should be enough for starters (-: Or a link to hitchhiking phrases in Thai. Surprisingly hitchwiki, which has phrases in many languages doesn't have any for Thai.
Best Answer
I had this problem constantly while I was hitchhiking in Thailand. What I did was save several phrases in Google Translate for offline use.
First, I would approach someone (or someone would pull over) and show them the "I am trying to travel {north|south|east|west}. Can you help me?" message.
If they agreed, I'd show them the "I don't want to go to the bus station. I want to travel with local people."
Usually that would work, but if that would spark a lot of conversation in the car or they looked confused or whatever, I'd have a third message about my philosophy of travel and why I enjoy to hitchhike.
I also saved the Thai keyboard on my phone and if someone wanted to say something back to me, I'd switch Google translate from Thai -> English and converse that way.
Don't forget to smile!
Pictures about "How to ask drivers not to take me to the bus station when hitchhiking in Thailand?"
Is hitchhiking safe in Thailand?
Hitchhiking in Thailand is relatively simple and safe, contrary to what some people might tell you. Using the usual protocol of standing with your thumb out, where traffic is slow and leaving enough room for drivers to pull over is all you need to do. Prepare to spend a lot of time in the back of pick up trucks.Is hitchhiking a fun way to travel around?
You can meet a lot of people and make lots of friends. You can also become very frustrated, or encounter danger on the way; today's drivers are more fearful of picking up hitchhikers than in the past. But it's also a great feeling to get a ride after you've been waiting for a long time.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Agostino Toselli, Will Mu, David Dibert, sergio souza