Bangkok's great in that there are a ton of ways to get around: taxi, tuk-tuk, motorcycle, river ferry, khlong ferry, bus, skytrain, subway... if you can combine methods of transport (train + bike + boat, for instance) you can often leapfrog your way across town surprisingly quickly. But nothing is more ubiquitous than the taxi. There are approximately nine kabazillion of the colorful chariots in Bangkok - some old, some new; some that smell nice, some that reek like death; some willing to help if you're lost, others willing only to drive you around in circles until you realize something's up. Lots of good stuff has been written about Bangkok taxis. I remember loving taxi rides in Japan, where all of them are impeccably clean, while the drivers wear a suit, a hat and gloves and are all exceedingly polite. I knew I was back in Thailand when my taxi at the airport was driven by a guy with no shoes, wearing ratty jeans and a wifebeater and munching on a huge bag of grasshoppers.