We met at True Coffee at Chamchuri Square. It’s a little confusing to get to, because most people get there by the MRT, and you have to go up two and a half levels to get to it. From the road, if you’re coming from the west, it’s easy, but most people get there from inside of Chamchuri Square. But, eventually we all found it, and started a few minutes after 1.
Pok introduced himself, and told about how he has been in a wheelchair since he was 6 years old. When he was 6, he was hospitalized with a spinal infection and spent 1.5 years in the hospital, and has been in a wheelchair since. He talked about how when he was in the hospital, they taught him a lot about navigating in a wheelchair, for example, how to get in and out of a car, even if the car isn’t specially equipped.
Pok talked about getting from his house to work. He uses three different methods of public transportation to get to work every day. The first is a shuttle bus. The shuttle bus has some hydraulics, where it can get to ground level, and pick up people in wheelchairs. I had actually thought that Pok told me that he took a 15-passenger van as his first step to work, and I had always been wondering about that, since in Thailand they’re very cramped. I think that the shuttle goes to his former university, Mahidol University. Pok has talked before about how that university is extremely accessibility friendly.
The next stop in Pok’s morning commute is the BTS, which is the sky train in Bangkok. He talked about which stations have elevators, and he talked about with the ones that don’t have elevators, then a security guard will help him up the escalator.
The final part is the MRT, the Bangkok subway. Pok talked about how the security with the MRT is very friendly and always helps him. I think they must be doing an awesome job. He gave a lot of details about both MRT and BTS, and which doors he needs to go through and which elevators that he needs to take. He mentioned that both MRT and BTS let passengers in wheelchairs ride for free. Someone asked if when Pok gets into the subway if he holds onto the pole, and he said yes. There are actually a bunch of poles in the subway for people to hold onto, and Thai people tend to use these a lot more than the hand grips that are hanging from the ceiling. I asked if Pok ever used the straps on the side of the MRT trains for wheelchairs. Nobody had ever noticed them before, and I mentioned that probably the only reason I know about them is that I spend a lot of time on the MRT, and I try to read everything in Thai on the MRT. Pok said that he tried it once, but it was kind of like a bungee cord and he kept drifting all over the bus. So now he just puts on the brake on his wheelchair and holds the handrail.
There was a question about if Pok wanted to drive a modified car. Pok said that he has tried it before, but he really likes being a passenger more than driving, because it’s more relaxing. He also said that because most public transportation is free for him, that he’d rather save money.
Something I love about Bangkok is that there are a ton of different kinds of public transportation, but there are some that just aren’t accessible to everyone. We went over all the kids and if he had used them before:
- City bus (rot-may in Thai): Never, because they don’t lower to ground level
- Shuttle bus: Every day
- Boat taxi: Never
- 15-passenger van (rot-du in Thai): one time
- Inner-city bus (rot-bat in Thai): Yes
- Tuk-tuk: never
- BTS (skytrain): every day
- Airport rail link (skytrain): one time
- MRT (subway): every day
- Motorcycle taxi (win moto-sai): never
- Taxi: often
- Pickup taxi (Song taeu in Thai): never
- Regular train: I forgot to ask
I then talked about how if you go outside of Bangkok just a couple hours, you’ll find some really interesting additional forms of public transportation, one that looks like a vendor hot dog cart, but it sits two or three passengers. Pok hadn’t tried any of those ones.
I brought up a bunch of newspaper articles about the BTS from a couple years ago about how some people in wheelchairs were trying to sue the BTS because they had promised to put elevators in all of the stations, but they still only have elevators in just a few of their stations. I asked if he was part of that and what he thought. Pok said that he was aware of it, but he didn’t want to cause any trouble, and he was just happy whenever they added an elevator.
Someone asked about if Pok gets mad when people aren’t respectful about helping him. He said that it’s really rare because almost everyone will help him or move out of the way for him. But he said that in the rare times that people aren’t respectful then he doesn’t worry. He just waits. He said that the most that he’s ever had to wait for a train is 3 times.
Pok has a method that he calls “Plan B.” Before he goes anywhere, he’ll research every step of how he can get there. Then he’ll come up with a Plan B for every one of the steps, just in case there’s a problem or he can’t use his original plan. He talked about how he spends a lot of time researching online, and so any information available online about businesses is really helpful for him. Since he always has a Plan B, then he doesn’t get frustrated if he can’t go somewhere.
I asked him which Maps software he uses the most, and he said, “Of course, Google Maps.” I said, “Are you sure you’re not just saying that because you’re talking to a bunch of people who are really passionate about Google Maps.” And he said, “Yes, Google Maps has really helped me for years.” He also mentions how he uses StreetView a lot to figure out where he can go.
We talked about which pictures are the most helpful for businesses, and he said that the absolutely most important picture is of the storefront. He really wants to know if he can get into the business by himself. Pok said that it’s especially important for him to be able to tell if a business has stairs to the entrance, or if it has a ramp or is at ground level.
I asked about “wheelchair accessible tables,” since that’s a popular question on Google Maps. He said, “Actually, it’s much more important for me to know about the entrance, or the path leading up to the business. I really just want to know if I can get inside the business without help.”
Pok talked about how he wanted people to just treat him normally, and he’s not looking for special treatment. Also, he said he’s very independent, and he really wants to do everything himself, if he can. So, he’d much rather figure out a way that he can do something, instead of asking people for help. So, that’s why it’s really important for him that there are a lot of resources online.
I asked, “How can I offer help to someone in a wheelchair in Thailand. I know how to in the US, I just say, ‘Let me know if you want any help.’ But in Thailand, I don’t think that works, because Thai people have too much greng jai. So, I don’t know how in a way that would work with Thai culture.” He said making a sign about lifting a wheelchair with a smile on your face, means that you’re willing to help if needed. I thought that was a really cool way of offering to help that is very in line with Thai culture.
Pok also talked about people helping him up a lot of stairs or escalators.
We had a few other ideas about Google Maps from the group, which were:
- It would be nice if Google Maps worked better with levels. Like with True Coffee, there are two levels below it and a few levels above it, and there’s really no way to tell from Google Maps that it is actually on ground level.
- It would also be nice if Google Maps allowed users to edit the outlines of buildings. One participant said that she thought that some building outlines were copyrighted, and so Google couldn’t show the building outline.
Thanks very much for Pok for sharing all of this valuable information and for making a very fun meetup! And thanks everyone for the great questions and great contributions!
