Since my husband left his job here in Bangkok to move to Germany, we have been car-less. Which is not really an issue as Bangkok is usually an easy city to get around in (skytrain, underground and cheap-as-chips taxis abound). But it has made for an interesting school run…
As the girls are at different schools with different start times, we get up ridiculously early and the school run consists of a tuk-tuk up to the main road, a short walk over the bridge, a wait for the shuttle bus and then drop off at the eldest daughter’s school in time for her to start at 7.30am (yes, really!). Then the youngest daughter and I hang around waiting for the shuttle to take us back down to the main road where I frantically try to flag down a taxi. And here’s the thing: Bangkok taxi drivers can smell desperation. They see you, sweating, (even at 8am the humidity is cruel) anxiously checking your watch, your darling child in school uniform waiting by the side of the road…and they drive right by. Even when the roads are clear. Bangkok taxi drivers also aren’t keen on taking fares when the traffic is bad. Or when it’s raining. Go figure. So we take a taxi to her school and, after an hour and a half, the school run is done. Except on the days when we don’t get a taxi. On those days we take a long, hot and sometimes very wet walk.
There have been days when my youngest daughter has had to do the school run – or rather walk – in torrential rain. Maya Angelou once said you can tell a lot about a person by how they deal with rainy days, tangled Christmas tree lights and lost luggage. Well, on the days we have had to walk to school in the rain, my youngest has always done it with a smile on her face, despite soaked feet: ‘I love the sound of the rain, Mummy’. And holding her hand and seeing her joyfulness always made me cheer myself up too. From now on, she will be responsible for luggage collection at the airport and on Christmas tree light duty…
The school run is going to be one of the big changes for me when we move. Recently, I had to wade knee-deep in water to get to school pick up, and I admit that I fantasised about it. A ten minute drive, in my own car, to just one school. No floods, no rats, no waiting for a taxi, no humidity. That is something to look forward to. But do you know what? I think I’m also going to miss it. But something I’m not going to miss? A school start time of 7.30am…adieu to that!