Morning Commutes Around The World

NAME: Saengyok Dechaprakrom

AGE: 29

PROFESSION: Procurement supervisor

LOCATION: Bangkok, Thailand

"My job is in the middle of some of the worst traffic in Bangkok. If I drove to work, it would take me an hour-and-a-half, but the boat only takes 20 minutes. The only delay I've ever experienced was once when the ticket taker slipped and fell in and we had to wait while they collected all the floating banknotes."

NAME: Mika Kondo Kunieda

AGE: 34

PROFESSION: Consultant at The World Bank

LOCATION: Tokyo, Japan

"I ride in a special women-only metro car that runs between 7:20 and 9:20 a.m. The cars were created in 2005 due to frequent complaints that women were being groped and sexually harassed. I was a victim a few times when I was younger, and it was-and still is-a humiliating experience. I had to learn how to position myself against unwanted moves in even the most overcrowded train. Now, I've seen a few men get visibly anxious when they realize they've accidentally boarded a car during women-only time!"

NAME: Yvette Teofan

AGE: 43

PROFESSION: Attorney

LOCATION: New York City

"My commute takes 45 minutes to an hour. I blade four to five miles if I start from home, six to seven if I drop my kids off at school. I used to take the subway, but this doesn't take much longer. Plus, I like to work out every day, and there's no comparison between being stuck underground and soaking up sun along the Hudson River. I see everything: tourists waiting to take Circle Line cruises, muckety-mucks catching helicopters to the airport, people flying through the air at a trapeze school. What's slightly embarrassing is the number of people I see who know me. I almost ran over a client once!"

NAME: Lori Michels

AGE: 47

PROFESSION: Commercial pilot/guide

LOCATION: Wasilla/King Salmon, AK

"My commute is down to the dock and into the plane. I run a company called Sky Trekking Alaska. We fly every day at 8 a.m. and operate out of the Crystal Creek Lodge, taking guests on expeditions all over the state to go bear-watching or fishing, or to the Iditarod dogsled races. I've known I wanted to be a pilot ever since high school. It's a feeling like no other, like you can do whatever you want-even land on an ocean!"