Motorbikes and scooters, like muscito's

The main form of transport for the average Thai is a scooter or motorbike.
Every one sems to drive one of these two wheel muscito's as I like to call them.
They are needed but are also a pest.

Now everyone can easily attain a scooter/motorbike....I went out looking for one because we live in the hills and living their requires simply a car or a scooter (=ergo motorbike) simply because of the heights one has to cover before one gets to our home, hehe

So, I discovered that I could without a blink of an eye purchase a bike of more then 200CC, 250 even. A big honda motorbike for one, allmost looking like a Harly!! It gives a kick I have to assure you when driving one...and I must say I have here!
I allways refused to get myself on a deathmachine like that, but here one has no real choice. BUT I prefer the automatic, which we call scooters...they go up till 160/180CC !!

When driving trough Patongs traffic one gets overhauled by others left and right, they are like a group of muscito's around you!
Flies is maybe a better word, haha
One need eyes left and right, front and back...because next to al these bikes one also has the tuctucs here, who allmost drive as crazy as the bikers...only in a car you seem to be relativly safe...and you go way les fast because it seems you are easily in trafficjams here...even on a bike!!
Now do not confuse my use of 'bike' with our bike, the manpowered one, I still talk about the motorised bikes here!

And do you know they have a full taxi service of scooters/bikes here...a driver can take up to 3 pasengers, depending on their size and weight ofcourse and they wisk you trough the traffic to your destination. You find them everywhere, and they are avordable at that, also for the common Thai. An ordinary taxi simply takes too long, and if you own a car, you better have a driver because it is rarely that you will be able to find a parkingspot near your destination...often one has to park the car allmost at the other side of the city, ergo, you could just as well have left it home. Sometimes I hear people came by car, and from the place they parked it they needed a motorbiketaxi or a tuctuc to get them to their actual destination.

Sounds familiar?

Hence if you own a car better have a driver in your service as well..they are not too expensive, roughly 10 til 12000 bath I heard last, which is200-250 euro's per month for allmost non stop working...though one has to negotiate carefuly workinghours and such..but for that money one has almost a ful time driver for 6/7 days a week!

Back to the bike story.
I now have to think about buying a scooter of sorts, and Honda is the best buy here at that. Because living on a hill I prefer a sturdy and strong one ofcourse who can easily carry two people, hehe, one of which me ofcourse.
Now I went to a showroom to see what choices one has.
Wel, if one is Thai or one buys for a Thai, one not tonly gets the bike but they trow in 3 years insurrance, free helmet and some other goodies.
When you buy as foreigner you get nothing of the sorts and will have to pay exra for the necessary insurrance, helmet etc AND one gets only one year guarantee instead of 3 years for Thai on the purchsed bike.
O, and didn't I tell you, contrary to our system, all bikes are sold against fixed prices...you can negotiate about allmost everything in this country, except about new motorbikes or cars...so different from Holland/Europe!

Well, the prices differ and in general run between 42 and 55.000 bath, and some big ones, from other brands, and more heavy run up to 70.000 bath, all automatics!
Now the bath is roughly, or was roughly 49 for one euro (but sadly for me the euro seems to weaken against the bath) so I calculate for ease of use 1 euro = 50 bath and then I give a small correction.
so prices differ from 850 up to 1150 euro and for that last one, one can buy the strongest and newest scooter from Honda of around 150/160CC. As far as I know one sure does need a special driverslicense for that in Holland. But not here, haha

Well, Xmas is coming and most likely I buy a new scooter for Kik.....I prefer to know he will drive as safe as one can up and down the mountain when to his work or mother in kamala..rain or sunshine. Because rain is tricky here because when it rains it poors!! And we know ice and snow, they know sand, and sand with water makes a slippery road!
Ergo, I look for a scooter, bike (I seem unable to make up my mind for what name I'll use for these machines, hehe) with as broad tires as possble, enough storage space under the seath so one can bring the most necessary things dry from A to B, etc.
At same time I hate these things as I love them because they are so handy.

When I was with Anad in the Emergencyroom of Patong Hospital (see story below) I saw several scooter accident victims being brought in, brrrrrr
So when I drive I drive safely, quietly and not like crazy flies !!

Well, guess thats it for now folks, till next time, won't be too long I hope ;-)

PS I hope no one minds all the typing errors due to fast typing and being to lazy to re read it all before publishing it on the net ;-)
bye bye