Motorbikes

The mode of transport most families use here are motorbikes. As many as 5 family members fit on, perhaps 2 adults, 2 children and a baby. Most things can be transported by motorbike. Pigs, chickens, household equipment, bedding, guitars, computers, tools for anything, long tail boat engines and it's tail.

Riders are as young as 9 or 10 some times, even though the legal riding age is 16. Drivers can often be drunk, as there doesn't appear to be too much worry about drinking and driving here.

Motorbikes weave in and out of the traffic like buzzing bees. The most scary to me are the Farang tourist motorbike riders. Sitting atop the tiny little machines, they look oversized and ungainly on them, with the little baseball bat-like helmets sitting atop their big heads. Large, fat, gross long-term stay Farans with tiny little Thai 'girlfriends' can often be seen driving around Patong.

People get injured and killed easily in these circumstances. In class one day the news spread one of the girls had had a motorbike accident the previous day, had been taken to the hospital, but the injuries to her head were too serious and she died. Later another girl at class showed me the healing scars she still had as a result of a very bad motorbike accident. So bad it had put her out of work for at least 2 weeks. She'll always have significant scars as a result too. In fact most people have motorbike enduced scars here. Even if it's as small as the burn one gets from repeatetdly getting off on the wrong side. The side where the exhaust is, and which is extremely hot. Touching it immediately sears the flesh about half way down the calf. I know, I've done it twice already.

There's an entire category of dogs on motorbikes. One day, two dogs, big dogs, little dogs. Riding in the front basket, riding in the side basket, riding standing between their owners legs and paws on the handlebars... yes really.

My latest surprise pillion passenger was a monkey. Riding behind his owner with the breeze ruffling his fur, he looked perfectly content to be out on the open road.