Renting and Riding Scooters

One of the most common activities for many visitors to Thailand has to be riding scooters. Look at any you tube video or travel video and you are bound to see people riding scooters along the beach or through the cities and along tree lined roads.

It is also safe to say that this is also one of the most dangerous activities for any tourist in Thailand. I am always amazed whenever I am there how many people i see or talk to who take risks they would never do at home while riding, just because they are on holiday. Riding without helmets or a license or even simply people riding around in what can be absolutely crazy traffic conditions, who have never ridden before!

Below are my suggestions to assist in keeping safe, when renting and riding scooters or motorbikes in Thailand.

Insurance - If you intend to ride a scooter on Thailand make sure your travel insurance covers this. While we never expect to have an accident you certainly do not want to foot the bill if you do.

License - Make sure you are licensed for the type of vehicle you are going to ride. As a general rule if you are not licensed to ride a motorcycle in your home country, then you are not licensed in Thailand either. This means that you will not be covered by any insurance policy you have. Obtaining an international license or International Driving Permit is also advisable. These are generally easily available and inexpensive to obtain.

Helmets - WEAR THEM!. You may want to look cool riding around with the breeze in your hair, but helmets are mandatory in Thailand. Your travel insurance will also not cover you if you have an accident while not wearing a helmet. In the last several months Police in holiday hot spots like Bangkok and Phuket have been enforcing the no helmet rules more stringently than in previous years so not wearing a helmet is likely at the very least to cost you a few hundred Baht and a trip to the local police station to pay your fine.

Drink Driving - DON'T DO IT. Simple really. It is dangerous and comes with some very hefty fines in Thailand. As at the time of writing fines of up to 20,000 Baht and or 1 year in prison can be applied if you are caught over the legal limit of 0.05

Renting Scooters - In most tourist hot spots in Thailand you will readily find an enormous amount of places who advertise Scooter for rent. 1 day, multiple day and even multiple week or months rental are common. Prices will vary by location, type of scooter, and length of hire. When looking to hire any vehicle in Thailand i always follow the below -

• Never give your passport for the vendor to keep during your rental period. Always only rent from a vendor who takes a copy of your passport.
• Always take a good look at the vehicle first to check everything is in operational order. Good tyres, lights work, brakes work etc.
• Always take photos and or video of the vehicle prior to leaving the shop, especially of any prior damage that may be visible. Also try to include at least one photo or a few seconds of video with the renter in the shot as well. This is extremely useful if the renter tried to charge you for damage that was done prior to you renting the vehicle ( not as common as i originally thought it was but it does happen )
• Ask to see the vehicle papers ( registration, rental licensing etc etc ) so you know where they are located if asked by police.
• Check that the fuel tank is full and if it not ensure this is marked on your rental agreement so you are not expected to pay to fill up the tank if you return it at the same level.
• Check everything on your rental agreement is as expected. Agreed return date and time, rental cost, deposit conditions etc.

Riding Scooters in Thailand is a great way to get around, it really opens up the ability to see a lot more of the beautiful country Thailand is. Be aware of the conditions around you. Traffic conditions, road rules and driving or riding in general in Thailand are VERY different to what most tourists are used too.

Most of all, just use common sense and enjoy your ride.

Thailand, My first trip ( Part 3 )

I spent the next several days of my trip following a similar pattern.

I would wake late morning, do the usuals and then head out for the day. Most mornings i would start with a walk to find a decent coffee ( something which is not easy in Thailand ) and some breakfast.

My first morning I discovered Khao Tom, a very easy to eat rice soup with a mild flavoured broth. Add in some of the thai condiments and the flavours come alive in Khao tom and it quickly became my staple start to the day.

After breakfast i would jump on the scooter i had hired the first morning and head of to a different destination. Being based in Patong it was easy to get to just about anywhere and with google maps and a set of headphones, navigating on the scooter was simple.

Karon and Kata beaches, Nai Harn beach, Phuket town and the Big Buddha were just a few of the places i visited.

Each day i would travel to a destination and then spend the afternoon relaxing on the beach, maybe enjoying a nice cold beer and some great local food. It was easy to while away an hour or so later in the day exploring the surrounding areas on foot. Shops filled with souvenirs, restaurants and bars lined up along many roads and the massage shops galore were everywhere i went.

The result each day was the same. By the time i was heading back to Patong in the late afternoon i was feeling more relaxed than the day before, with a head full of new memories and a phone full of photos.

Evening were usually spent with either a relaxing swim or resting up in the room for an hour or two, followed by a good strong Thai massage. I had found a shop among the many not far from the hotel that didn't offer “extras” and that for around $10 Australian offered an incredible 1 hr massage. These massages were so good that they were a daily requirement.

I would eat dinner each night in a different location. Trying different local restaurants or street offerings. A big part of travelling for me is trying new things and places. Part of this means not always eating in the same places and especially eating the local food as much as possible. I see still many tourists in Thailand who eat every meal in a western style restaurant or McDonalds, maybe even a themed bar or pub that offers a Sunday Roast like they get back home. I just don't understand it. I can understand some people don't like certain foods or cant / don't eat certain things, but i will never understand going to another country and only eating the same food you can get back home.

I tried local versions of dishes i could get at Thai restaurants back home and dishes that i could not pronounce but that looked amazing on the menu’s. I ate meats from food carts thats to this day im still not 100% sure what it was and meats from carts that would never be offered back home but as they were on offer here, i had to try.

I was offered and tried Som Tum, the local Papaya Salad and wow it was good. But spicy, very spicy. Good thing i like hot food.

After dinner i would spend the rest of the night enjoy the nightlife. Again each night i tried to go in a different direction, or at least try different streets and bars. It normally wouldn't take me more than a couple of hours and bars before i found a place that felt really comfortable at. These nights i would end up staying at the one bar for several hours. Talking to the locals, playing one or more of the many bar games like Jenga or connect four and meeting many other travellers or expats as well.

This pattern continued for my week in Patong before i sadly had to return home.

This trip had opened up my eyes to a new world i was hungry to see again. I had met some fabulous people and made some valuable friends and seen some beautiful places.

I knew i would be back to Thailand as quick as i could, but even i didn't know how quickly that would be.

Thailand, My first time ( Part 2 )

The nightlife and bar scene in Thailand is a topic well covered in many a forum and blog.
It was a topic i had read a lot about while researching for my trip ( it's hard to avoid when researching ) so i had a small understanding of what the idea was in the many bars and clubs that abound in Phuket and Patong in particular. I do have to admit the whole idea was intriguing and I was more than a little curious about it all , but at the same time it was not th prime motivation for the trip.
All the YouTube videos, reading, forums and opinions just can't prepare you for this part of Thailand night life though.

So it was that after wolfing down my noodle soup i ordered another drink and offered one to Oi as well. Up until this point i hadn't bought any of the staff a drink. It hadn't really crossed my mind. The bar wasn't busy when i arrived and it wasn't until Oi sat down to eat with me that a conversation had been more than a few sentences.
Over the course of the next two hours or so Oi and i talked a lot of Phuket and Thailand, places she recommended to go and see. She was also very curious about me, where i was from, why i had come. How long i was staying and much more. Of course i had read about the questions a bar lady will ask customers but at the time i didn't really think about that.
I was noticing though that Oi was getting very touchy with me, flirting for lack of a better term. For the most part i thought it was my imagination, or maybe the alcohol.

So by this time it was getting starting to get busy, both in the bar and on the street. I figured it was time to move on and have a look around. I told Oi i wanted to pay the bill.
"Where you go?" Was her immediate response.
I had no idea where i was headed and so that's what i told her.
Oi had made no move to grab my bill,. instead she stood there looking at me with a look i couldn't understand.
I guess I was staring back, or maybe I looked nervous, probably just confused.
Whatever it was suddenly Oi was sliding herself across me, squeezing herself between the table and my stool so she ended up sitting on my lap. Before i could say anything she leant her head back so her mouth was next to my ear and in a very mischievous tone said " im coming with you. I take care you tonight........if you like?"

Now i have to say that Oi was an attractive lady. In her late 20's she had what i can only call a really cute face and a gorgeous smile. She was actually tall compared to most of the other ladies i had seen in my several hours of inexperience in Thailand, but still quite short compared to the woman back in Australia.
Anyway i was speechless. I had no idea what to do. Why did this attractive lady want to come with me? A guy she barely knew?
Of course somewhere inside i knew the answer but up to this point i hadn't consciously considered it.
The look on my face must have been hilarious as i struggled to comprehend exactly what was going on. Oi just lent her head against mine and said please.
What the hell I decided. She was good company and it would be nice to have someone i already had a rapport with to talk too while taking in the nightlife of Patong.

So bill paid, as well as the fee ( barfine ) required to take Oi away from the bar, of we headed into the night.
What followed was several hours of a night i will never forget.
Oi took me too several bars, each one different than the ones before. Rock bars where we danced and sang our hearts out. A sports bar where we played pool and chatted with a group of guys who came together every year. Gogo bars, a lounge bar and lastly a little bar on the street near hotel where it was quiet ( for patong ) and there were dozens of food carts for us to eat from.
It was an amazing night.

I was blown away by the relaxed atmosphere compared to Australian nightlife. The hundreds of ladies who worked the bars and the streets, calling out to passers by, running out to the street to try and playfully drag customers into the bar and having a good laugh. The lady boys who paraded around the street, tall and dressed like showgirls, the assaulting level and mix of music that came.out of the dozens and dozens of bars crowded together.
It was the wee hours of the morning when i finally succumbed to the need for sleep and the effects of alcohol.
I went to sleep feeling exhilaration and happiness for so many reasons. I knew already I would be back to Thailand and i hadn't even been here 24 hrs.
I had not even seen any of the country itself, away from the tourist centres like Patong.

I had not discovered the real Thailand yet but in the trips to come these areas would become the parts i came to love most.

More to follow soon....

Thailand, My first time ( Part 1 )

My first trip to Thailand came in my mid 30's after several years of turmoil in my life.
The breakdown of a decade long relationship and then a short failed marriage had left me feeling lonely, broke and lacking any of my usual level of confidence and general passion for life.
This is not exactly a unique story i know."
Thailand, in fact alot of Asia had always been on my list of places to visit and while i had made a few trips overseas previously i had never quite made it to South east asia.
I had some money put aside that was originally intended to go and visit my now estranged wife's family and enough annual leave available, as well as the need to get away from my world for awhile. So armed with this i found a great deal on the internet for flights from Sydney and booked a ticket to Phuket.
The plan was to go and spend a week laying on a beach, drinking beers and just forget the world. I had done a lot of research on the internet by the time i left.
I had beaches and a few attractions i wanted to visit. Id covered the basics on getting around, riding scooters, prices, accommodation, scams, nightlife, wildlife, locals, food and everything i could think of.
In my research i had often come across the phrase never make plans in Thailand.
Little did i know how true that would turn out to be and little did i know how unprepared i was for the impact Thailand would have on me.

Landing in Phuket when the day finally arrived, i was certainly unprepared for how relaxed i would instantly feel.
Before i had even left the airport i was feeling more relaxed than i had in several months. At the time i put this down to having arrived at my destination and being away from the everyday life.
My first experiences of Thailand were an assault on the senses. The heat and humidity hit me harder than expected as i first walked out of the airport to my pre booked hotel transport. The noise, a chaotic mix of cars and languages, of police whistles and phones ringing, laughter and the airport PA system. The familiar smells of exhaust fumes, planes and hot asphalt mixed with unfamiliar food smells, people that smelt different, incense and everything else.
It was overwhelming and exhilarating and little did i know it would come to be the smell of the place i most wanted to be.

By the time i had arrived at my hotel it was early evening. After around 12 hours of travel all i wanted was a quick shower and to head out for some local food and several drinks.
I had booked a hotel in central Patong so everything was within walking distance.
It didn't take long before i was sitting at a bar trying to decide what to eat, while enjoying.an ice cold beer ( or maybe several )
It must have been obvious to everyone in the place it was my first time in Thailand, im pretty sure i was the butt of several jokes between the staff but they were friendly when serving and generally were happy to chat away. Eventually i asked one of the ladies named Oi what she recommended to eat.
Oi่ asked if i eat pig ( I would find out this is a common question ) and after i answered i did she walked outside to a street vendor and order for me. Several minutes later she came inside with a bowl of rice noodles in a brownish soup and filled with pieces of pork and meatballs as well as bean sprouts and thai basil. Oi told me it was 100 baht, around $3.50 Australian at the time and i handed the money to her so she could pay the old lady cooking at the cart on the side of the rd. Two minutes later Oi returns with another bowl, sits beside me and digs in to eat.
I was stunned.
Not stunned she had ordered for herself too, but stunned that the 100 baht had been for both meals.
The bowl of noodles was amazingly delicious, much better than any Thai food i ever had at home and two bowls had cost around a quarter of what i would pay for a single bowl of similar size.


More To follow soon…..