BootsnAll Travel Network



Modes of travel part 3 city options

Cities of any size at all have city buses which are a cheap way to get around & Google Maps has routes & schedules for a lot of city transit systems, not sure how many as only used it for Bangkok, checked a couple other random cities & routes showed up. Make sure to check with the locals as some cities also have free bus service on selected routes, Bangkok being one with their red buses, Perth is another with 4 cat routes, differentiated by color & Adelaide has one tourist loop + a section of the tram line.

Most Asian & CA countries also have the tuk-tuk, 3 wheeled motorcycle with a cab, have to watch these & negotiate the price as in Bangkok they can be more expensive than a taxi, while in Antigua they are about 1/3 the taxi cost. Then in Asia you have the motorcycle taxi, about the cheapest way to travel away from city bus routes.

Cambodia has a unique (at least never saw it elsewhere) form of motorcycle transport, they mount a fifth wheel on the bike & pull a trailer.

At the bottom of the line you have the pedal powered rickshaw, trishaw etc, even saw a couple simply pulled by a person in a touristy area somewhere in SE Asia. By far the most environmental mode as they are propelled by pedal power! Also kind of interesting in Mandalay at night as they have no lights & only the main streets are lit(when the hydro is on).

Of course every country has taxi’s & the vast majority of drivers are good & helpful, however, along with London’s pricey black cabs, Mandalay has a unique form of taxi, the “Blue Taxi” a baby Mazda pickup, blue in color, powered by a 2 cylinder diesel, holds about 4 people in the back, is cheap & super cute!!! Don’t forget that most cities on a river have water taxis & ferries to get you around.

Major cities have subway systems or in the case of Bangkok the subway (MRT) + the Sky train (BTS).

Unlike North America, in most of the world, with all these public transport options there is really no need to own a car, which makes no economic sense!

The best bang for the tourist buck in cities that have them is the Hop on Hop off bus where you get to ride all day or 2 days in some cases for one low fare. Some cities like Brisbane combine them with the river boats or in the case of Perth, for an extra small fee you get a boat trip to Freemantle + Hop on Hop off use of it’s tram line. In Kuala Lumpur your day starts with your 1st ride & goes for 24 hrs, While in Havana the 5 CUC fare (by far the cheapest anywhere) is good for all 3 routes, including one that goes to the beach. These buses are the greatest invention since sticky rice!!!IMO

Other cool transports were the Hot Air Balloon ride over the outback at Alice Springs, The 4×4 bus ride on the beach highway on Fraser Island & the small plane tour of Fraser Island that used the beach highway as a landing strip. Floating down the river, looking for crocodiles in a dugout in Chitawin National Park was pretty cool as was the elephant ride looking for rhinos. Camel ride in Mongolia was a tad different as was the 5 day crossing of Tibet in a convoy of 12 Toyota Land Cruisers.

Mustn’t forget that any self-respecting city anywhere in the world has the ubiquitous  horse drawn carriage, actually is Santa Clara Cuba they were using horse drawn wagons as city buses!



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