Bangkok City Street Survival

Thai fans, Rajamangala Stadium, July 12.

The 2007 Asian Cup took place in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. The tournament was won by Iraq who defeated Saudi Arabia in the final in Jakarta.

Three intripid Soccerphile journalists attended with John Duerden following South Korea, Mike Tuckerman in Bangkok and Malaysia and CG Williams in Hanoi. Their attention was often on events off the pitch rather than on it as they grappled with the mysteries and idiosyncracies of life in South East Asia. As for the tournament, unfortunately home fans often stayed away from matches not involving their team. However, Iraq's win united a nation, for a while at least. Read on.

I'm not entirely certain that I'm staying in one of the more reputable hotels in Bangkok. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how many hotels usher you in through a side entrance because they are building a highway out the front. I can think of at least one. Still, I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the staff when I arrived back from Thailand's recent clash with Australia.

"Sawat dii," they all said, clasping their hands in unison. "Congratulations on the victory!"

"Thank you!" I replied, smiling jovially and no doubt looking slightly demented. "Mind you, I didn't actually play myself. I just watched!"

Cue worried faces from the bemused staff.

Nevertheless their demeanour was an improvement on the behaviour of Bangkok's notorious cabbies. Taxi's in Bangkok are a bit like elections. There's always one around the corner, and you just know they are going to be useless.

Catching a taxi after Australia had thumped Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium proved a difficult proposition.

"Hello, will you take me to the Hotel de Concrete, please?" I would ask.

"Get out," the cabbie would reply, evidently hoping for a larger fare, although I'm not sure where he expected to go - the planet Mars, perhaps?

My next tactic proved equally unsuccessful. Hailing a cab on busy Ramkhamhaeng Road, I simply sat down and refused to move until the driver took me to my salubrious destination. This had the effect of further grid-locking the capital's already choked streets, as my cabbie and I locked horns in a tense stand-off for control of the meter. It took the driver behind us stepping out to retrieve what I presume was a baseball bat for me to flee the scene.

Maybe I shouldn't have been wearing my Australia jacket. Or maybe I should have offered a bribe that would have bought more than a small cheeseburger at the local food emporium. At any rate, Spot-The-Aussie was proving a popular spectator sport as hordes of Australia fans hopped frantically from one taxi to the next. Eventually, two young men wandered over.

"Where are you going?" they enquired.

I raised a quizzical eyebrow, somewhat concerned by the prospect of making an unscheduled trip to the Cambodian border. Then I handed them my crumpled directions.

"Ah, the Hotel de Concrete!" they chuckled. "No taxi driver will take you there! You need to take the bus."

I looked in my wallet. Not a single Thai coin to be found. I knew I'd live to regret buying so many spicy chicken wings from the street-side vendors before the match.

"Will they take this?" I said sheepishly, holding out a 50 Baht note like the clueless tourist that I am.

Lin and Toto - as they told me their names were, reached deep into their pockets and handed me several small coins. I was touched. I tried to give them my 50 Baht note, but they would have none of it.

Leaping onto the moving bus in a style reminiscent of Indiana Jones - at least in a scene where he doesn't trip on the stairs and nearly fly head first out the window, I began to ponder the lessons learned on my trip back to the hotel.

I learned that the majority of Thais are friendly and compassionate and willing to help – even after their national team has just lost a match that saw them knocked out of a major international tournament.

Perhaps just as importantly – at least for anyone planning on attending a match at Rajamangala Stadium in the near future, I learned another crucial lesson that I am willing to share with you, valued reader, right now…

Take the bus home.