[Above: My new motorbike helmet.]
Entry #22: July 12, 2011
I apologize for not posting yesterday in case anyone noticed. I spent most of yesterday just traveling to the bus station, then taking the bus from Sukhothai to Chiang Mai. By the time I got to my new temporary home I was really tired and just wanted to grab something to eat and rest. What wore me out on my journey was that the bus I took was significantly older and smaller then the one I had taken to Sukhothai. When I asked where I ought to sit I was directed to a seat that was really too small for my long legs and I ended up sitting for 4 and a half hours sideways because I really could not comfortably sit facing forward. For another hour in my trip the bus completely filled up and I had to sit with my knees pinned at really awkward angles in front of me jamming both into the seat in front of me as well as the metal latch for the seat. The whole trip was very uncomfortable and I did not get to sleep or even really enjoy the scenery at all which is very unfortunate. I really ought to have moved to another seat, as I had seen some other people do but I had chosen to reside in my own discomfort which made the trip worse for me. A small note to anyone who is planning on traveling in SE Asia, if you are tall be aware you will have mandatory moments of discomfort, most things just aren't built for your size! After this however I was fortunate to meet my new friend whom I will be watching her house and taking care of her dogs for her for several weeks while she goes on vacation. It works out really well for me as I get to stay rent free in Chiang Mai for 2+ weeks, and great for her as well as she can be sure her dogs will be well looked after. I spent the rest of the evening after the long trek conversing with her about life and various topics over a pizza from a local farang (foreigner) hang out called Duke's. The place makes a pretty decent pizza but has a little different spiciness to it which is apparent but the quantity was huge and really a decent place overall.
Today I was very lazy and pretty much slept in and rested throughout the day. The only thing I managed to do was wash some clothes and order some delivery. There is a service in Chiang Mai (www.mealsonwheels4u.com) that for a sur-charge delivers most all restaurants in the area right to your door step. As I woke up late I wanted to just take it easy, and ordered some Mexican food which was very American Mexican styled. A bit pricey, but I think it's mostly catering to the farang (foreigner) sensibilities. My real adventure thus far was a bit later in the day: I learned today how to ride a motorbike! Now to be clear to those back home and aren't sure what these are, they are somewhat similar to a vespa in that you steer with handlebars but also lean a little bit like a motorcycle. True blue motorcycles are actually very uncommon and kinda stand out in a crowd, but motorbikes are super common. My friend let me borrow hers and take it for some laps around the neighborhood to get comfortable. I felt like I managed to pick up the controls pretty quick. It is surprisingly easy and fast, but my main concern is about the other drivers on the road. There seems to be very little licensing or enforcement for driving rules/regulations in Thailand so people all kinda drive crazy. Being in a car, your rather protected from any mishaps but on a motorbike you are "Very low on the food chain". But the exhilaration and freedom you feel not having to flag down a taxi and barter about prices and directions and all that is incredibly comforting. After taking it for a spin I said I wanted to get my own helmet and we went off to get one. 470 baht = $17 dollars later and I had a new helmet (shown above). Which is very comfortable and I think is just a safe measure in case anything were to happen. After this we conferred that it would be reasonable for me to rent a second motorbike for the next couple days to get some practice and thus we rented a replica of her bike for 150 baht = $5 a day! We rented from a place right in the middle of Chiang Mai and it was right around rush hour so we opted to grab a quick drink at a local Irish Pub (I believe it was called the U.N. Irish pub?). The food was well portioned, and we chatted with the manager on and off for several hours. Originally we stopped in just to get a soda or something quick to drink and wait out the traffic, but a fairly heavy rain storm pushed through which extended our stay for a couple hours. Once we got a break in the rain we set off for home and the drive was excellent. Traffic was rather light and I felt like I was getting accustomed to the bike already. I have to say, if you are willing to take the risk and try to learn, its a very cool experience driving the motorbikes around and cheap too. Just be safe, I am going to be practicing over the next couple days just to really get comfortable with driving myself around. I truly hope that I will be safe, back home I never drove any motorcycles or anything of the nature so the experience is totally new and invigorating! Originally when I came to Thailand I was a bit hesitant about even jumping on the back of one of these motorbikes, now I have fully embraced that and moved onto the next step of driving one myself. It really is funny how quickly your mind can change about something like this and I think this in no small part due to the overwhelming frequency of these things. It seems there are just as many motorbikes as there are cars, and of course they are super cost effective and reasonable to drive because the weather is always fairly warm here.
No comments:
Post a Comment