On the way back from the airport, our Thai taxi driver was visibly annoyed by the traffic. There were a few suppressed soft grunts as we came off the freeway into a street where traffic halted at a standstill.

Jeff, Anne and I were sharing the cab as the group had split into cabs with 3 people each. That morning, nearly all of us had waken up at 4:30 am to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Then we spent some more time exploring the temple grounds. Despite relaxing at the hotel pool until the flight, in the taxi, we were exhausted and were nearly silent on the way back to our hotel in Bangkok.

I peered outside, watching the scenery outside. We were at a standstill in traffic for nearly 30 minutes. I asked Shipra, our native host, about the timeliness in Bangkok—do people emphasize punctuality in a city where bad traffic is predominant? Surprisingly, she said yes—people are polite and considerate of people’s time. But the word “traffic” is a common reason for tardiness—everyone understands. A few days ago, I watched America’s Top Model and was surprised to see the girls scolded for tardiness which was a result of traffic. Thais would never openly be critical; only obviously steam internally until it was gone.

As the taxi finally inched forward to the main road of Sukhumvit, I was surprised to see our taxi driver trying to weave through traffic. He was trying to turn onto Sukhumvit 20 where our hotel was located. In Bangkok, there’s no such thing as keeping the intersection clear. But as we turned, the traffic shifted almost as if the seas part. Cars were letting him through. I saw him bob his head; people don’t put their hand up as a sign of thank you. He started bobbing his head furiously which couldn’t help but remind me of a bobblehead.

With no honking and no outward display of anger (a cool heart indeed), we arrived at our hotel nearly taking more than 2 hours from the airport in Friday afternoon traffic.