Not In A Rush? Take A Samlor

I'm feeling guilty. For an age now, I've been wanting to try out the samlor experience. These ecologically sound alternative means of transport to the blue smoke-belching tuk-tuk three-wheeler taxis, or the red song taew 'buses' that ply their 20 baht per person trade within the Chiang Mai city limits, seem to be parked on every corner.

But my courage always runs out at the last moment. My thai is pretty poor, that's one excuse. A quick look at the driver, and it's pretty clear that his bilingual skills won't be up to much. But the real reason, you see, is that the average age of the samlor driver seems to be about 80. Wizened, burnt by their many hours under the tropical sun, they are all, without exception, ancient, small, and incredibly frail-looking. When I do spot one with a passenger, it's usually a tiny Thai person. And even then, they make incredibly slow progress through the streets (most able-bodied people would have little trouble overtaking them on foot). I don't think I've ever seen a farang on board. Perhaps that's because the average American, Australian or European citizen carries a few too many extra pounds, and the samlor driver simply can't get his vehicle under way ...

100 yards down the road, and I would be feeling so sorry for him that I would be tempted to ask if I could take over the pedalling for a while.

Left: Samlor overtakes song taew buses near the Warorot Market (they were, however, stationary...)

Even if there is a rare, sprightly 60 year old driver to be found, I would be feeling guilty of age discrimination as soon as I climbed on board.

There has to be a solution. After all, if no one ever uses them, how do they make enough money to survive? Admittedly their running costs aren't high (especially as they are rarely in motion). And some do earn a couple of baht a month from good old Charlie of Charlie's Fish 'n Chips - who has his ads on the back of a fair number, acting as a kind of extra sun shade for the sweltering passengers. Maybe that's my answer - I should consult Charlie 'No Bones', the oracle. He'll know what I should do to assuage my guilt ....

In the meantime, it's back to the tuk-tuk and my regular driver Mr Happy. He'll be relieved to know that I'm not deserting him just yet ...