Songtheaws are often rod-daeng, as the majority are red in color.
Songtheaws parked at a Chiang Mai temple.
Songthaew are converted pick-up trucks used to transport people. They are often called rod daeng, meaning "red color" because most of the songthaews on the road are painted red. In Chiang Mai, the red songthaew ply the main streets of the city. Then there are songthaews painted in other colors. The white songthaews travel the eastern route to Sankampaeng, the yellow songthaews go north, to Mae Rim; the blue ones go to Sarapee and Lamphun to the south; while the green songthaews travel northeast to Mae Jo. There's a flat charge of 15 baht, and unlike the tuk tuk / samlor, you don't usually hire songthaew to be your own private transport. You can, and it will be more costly than tuk tuk.
To board a songthaew, first ask the driver if he can take you to a specific place. His level of English will probably allow him to nod for yes and shake his head for no. If the answer is in the negative, no worries, there are plenty more songthaews on the road, so try the next one. Inside the songthaew are two rows of benches, one on each side. Some times, there's an additional row in the middle. Sit down and wait. The songtheaw usually wait to collect more customers and will go only once it is full.
To get down from the songthaew, press the buzzer located at the roof - pay attention to how the locals do it.
Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.
Disclaimer
Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.
About this website
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.