[QUOTE=Ale]
You are more prone to run into that kind of situation while taking a Tuk Tuk in central and/or tourist areas; in a case like that was the only time I had to refuse to go with a driver, the guy insisted on taking me to a tailor.
In any case I don´t recommend taking Tuk Tuks altogether, it´s usually more expensive than a taxi, you end up in the heat choking on the exhaust of the cars around you and if you are more than 1.75 in height your head will be stuck up the roof so you´ll only see the ground on the sides. Just do it once for the experience and in case you can´t find a taxi at all.
[/QUOTE]
Yes, tuk-tuks are to be avoided. Even for short hops, always always take a metered taxi. I used to love tuk-tuk rides, though, but then I was young, and it was all part of the Bangkok experience when I came into town (I was living in the North at the time.) Also, Ale, metered taxis date only from the early 1990s. Before that, no taxis were metered, and you actually had to bargain with the taxi the same as you did with a tuk-tuk! Back then, tuk-tuks really were much cheaper than taxis, every time. Nowadays, though, metered taxis are always without exception cheaper. I mean, you just TRY getting a tuk-tuk to take you even 100 yards for anything less than 50 or 100 baht, while the meter on the taxi is 35 baht for the first kilometer.
In many tourist areas, the taxis that are parked waiting for a ride will often refuse to use the meter. They’re looking for tourists who will pay them an inflated flat fee. The bar areas, too. I am often in the bars until closing time (or later), and there’s always a mass of taxis parked outside “helpfully” waiting to whisk me away. NEVER EVER even talk to a parked taxi. Simply walk a block away and hail one from the street. Even then, if it’s near a bar or tourist area, they may simply be returning there to park. Recently at 1am or 2am, I was leaving Patpong, hailed a taxi on Suriwong Road, told him where I was going, and he said: “400 baht”. !!! I simply closed the door without a word and hailed the taxi behind him, who was happy to use the meter, which came to about 60 baht as usual.
Oh, and to explain: A tuk-tuk is a motorized three-wheeled taxi. They can be a lot of fun to zip around in, but tuk-tuk drivers are notoriously dishonest. They’re name comes from the sound their little motors make: “tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk.” See here.
Indeed. 
And I can vouch for everything else that Ale has said in this thread, too.
