Riding a Motorbike in SE Asia
Well, I told myself I would not do this, but what the hell. Hey, you see whole families riding along on the same motorbike. People even carry little babies in their arms while driving, while talking on cell phones, and negotiating the worst traffic you can imagine. I've seem 5 people on one bike, with the kids squished between the adults. Not a problem.
Anyways, Tamar and I took a short 15-minute lesson and off we went. We started in a small town, so the traffic really was not bad compared with Bangkok or Chiang Mai. I had studied the traffic-patterns while sitting in a cafe, and although it looks frightening at first, it's really more like "controlled chaos". Apparently the way to negotiate Thai traffic is a combination of Rules and Courtesy. Courtesy overrides rules. Rules are really only suggestions. At intersections, the traffic flows pretty much constantly from all 4 directions at once. They drive slow and steady, with no sudden starts, stops, or sudden turns. When turning, you gradually just move over into the next lane. Signaling, of course, is not something anyone does, so is useless.
Tamar and I rode up into the mountains on little automatic motorbikes. It was actually pretty easy, if you really stay alert. We climbed 3000' up twisting, steep roads up into the mountains on the Thai-Burmese border. The scenery was stunning...with waterfalls, huge jungle trees, and hill-tribe villages.
I wore a helmet, but few Thais bother with this. Of course, as Buddhists, they believe in re-incarnation. Hmmm.... maybe I should take a course on Buddhism just in case.
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