[JayBee]

Originally Posted by patong_boy

When i went first time overseas to India i got to know what real smart touts are.

Fact in Phuket is, you can get with no problems without them to patong.

Best oppurtunity you should use is your hotel, some hotels have a free pickup service. This is free

Second oppurtunity is to walk out of the airport and take the taxi meter. I never used them but i saw them last time i took the taxi from airport.

Third opportunity is to deal with them. they once came to speak to me and ask me if i have booking. i did so and said yes as well as i did mention where i stay. They offered me a price and i said no way. then the guy asked me if i want to take minibus for about 150 baht. I agreed and just had to wait until the bus was full which was not a long time. only thing with the minibus is they will stop at the travel agency which was no hassle for me. i got out smoked a cigarette and started flirting with the girl from the travelagency. after some minutes the minbus continued its journey to patong. and they set me off in front of my hotel.

When you consider the hassle with the taxis, it seems like the minibus is not such a bad way to go. I always took the minibus until last trip when I took a taxi because I thought it would save the hassle of stopping at the travel agency. Then the guy wanted to take me to a travel agent, golf course. etc. I didn't allow him to, but it was a lot of arguing and raising my voice to him before he agreed to just drop me off on Rat-U-Thit. Good thing I didn't allow him to take me to a hotel now that I've read all this. The minibus stop at the travel place takes a few minutes, but the only time it was a hassle was the first time it happened to me and I didn't know what to tell them. That time they did rent me an overpriced room, but I only spent one or two nights there.