The World’s Worst Traffic Jams Are in Bangkok
曼谷──全世界塞車最嚴重的地方


Thailand is famous around the world for many things: old temples, delicious food, exotic dances and very friendly people. It’s also famous for the world’s worst traffic jams! The distance from the centre of Bangkok to the airport is only around 30 kilometers. Yet during rush hour at the weekend, the journey has been known to take up to five hours! Some Japanese businessmen say they won’t do business in that city unless they can travel from the airport by helicopter. Yes, I understand why this is. It’s terrible when you’ve got a plane to catch and after a considerable time, your taxi has hardly moved.

泰國有許多東西馳名全球：古剎、美食、艷舞，以及友善非常的人民。泰國的塞車嚴重程度，也是出了名的世間第一等！從曼谷市中心到機場這段距離，只有30公里。但是若碰上週末尖峰時刻，大夥兒都知道這段路程得花上五個小時！有些日本人說，如果要他們在曼谷做生意，除非他們能夠搭直昇機前往機場，否則免談。是啊，我很能理解這種想法。當你得趕著搭飛機，在計程車裡塞了好一段時間，卻幾乎沒啥進展，這可糟透了。



However, one lady who owns several boutiques seems to have found the answer to the problem. It’s important for her to travel to her various boutiques spread around Bangkok as quickly as possible. Formerly, she used to travel around in style in her chauffeur-driven Mercedes-Benz. But this isn’t always possible nowadays. So, when her limousine gets stalled in a traffic jam, she is quite prepared for it. A motorbike is transported on the roof of her car. So, when she is stuck in a traffic jam, she has the driver take the motorbike down from the roof. Then, leaving her car behind, she squeezes through the traffic ahead on her motorbike and is able to arrive on time for any appointment. Why don’t Japanese business executives try out this idea? It’s certainly a lot cheaper than hiring a helicopter.

不過，有位坐擁多間精品店的女士似乎已經找到了解決問題之道。由於她的精品店廣佈曼谷各處，她必須能夠在最短時間內迅速往來不同分店。以往，她都是好整以暇地坐在賓士車內，由司機接送。但現在，這可不見得行的通。所以，當她所乘坐的禮車又卡在車陣當中時，她早已做好萬全準備──在車頂上放一輛摩托車。這麼一來，一旦遇到塞車，就叫司機把摩托車從車頂卸下，把禮車拋在後頭，騎著摩托車鑽出車陣。不管什麼約會，她都能準時赴約。日本的商界主管怎麼不試試這招？絕對比租一架直昇機要便宜得多。

Mothers also have problems with traffic jams. If they live in the rich suburbs and their children’s school happens to be situated on the other side of the city, life can be very difficult. How can they make it to the first class on time? They just make a very early start. I’ve heard that at four or five o’clock in the morning, while it’s still dark, a sleeping child may be carried to the back seat of the family car. If possible, this is often done without waking up the sleeping child. There’s no problem because all of the child’s needs have been prepared in the back seat: materials for washing, food for breakfast, a change of clothes and school textbooks.

塞車問題也讓當媽媽的人很頭痛。如果住在高價的郊區，偏偏孩子們上的學校卻在城市的另一端，日子可就難過了。該如何準時趕上第一節課呢？他們只得早早起床。我聽說早上四、五點，天還沒亮，還在睡夢中的孩子就被塞進車子後座。如果可以，通常會儘量不把小孩吵醒。這也沒問題，因為所有他需要的東西──
盥洗用品、早餐、該換的衣服、學校的教科書──都已經放在後座了。