MOTORCYYYY baby! "Motorcy" means motorcycle or scooter in Thai. It's one of my favorite words. That and "Kay Ya", which means trash (sounds like a ninja chop).
I bought this guy a few weeks ago. It's a Honda Click; the newest model, fresh off the floor. Scooters are very popular here. It really is the best way to get around. It's cheap, fun, you get good gas mileage and you can weave through traffic like nobody's business. BUT... you've got to buy it "straight cash" like my boy Randy Moss:
This bike was 45,000 Baht, which is the equivalent of about $1,500 USD. I checked multiple dealerships and each charged exorbitant interest if you finance a motorcycle. Had I financed for a year, I would have paid an extra 15,000 Baht. Crazy.
Anyway, I definitely got a deal and I am very happy with it. It can hit 100 kmh, has great handling and looks pretty cool.
So your next curious question must be, "Gee Tyler, do you have a driver's license?" And quite astutely I reply, "But of course." And while you're asking, I also got my car driver's license. Here they are:
All this leads to a whole other can o' worms: getting the driver's license. Quite the experience.
There are a few steps I had to take. First, I had to get a Letter of Residency from the U.S. Embassy. That was easy. Then it was off to a clinic to get a doctor's report that I was in good health. That too was easy. Then it was off to the Department of Land Transport, as its called in Thailand.
Kayne drove me and helped me through the first steps as he is fluent in Thai. It was recommended I take both car and motorcycle tests. The car test was easy. You do three fast tests for depth perception, sight and color. Because I had an American driver's license that's all that was needed.
A motorcycle license is a little different. You need to take a written test and a road test. I studied for about 45 minutes for the written test. It's electronic and very poorly translated in English. That made things a little challenging, but I passed. I was then routed to the road test area outside where I watched a video and was told to hop on one of their scooters. You have to wind through 5 cones and then drive on a raised concrete strip for about 20 meters without falling off.
As I started weaving through the cones I heard my tires rubbing against the pavement. They were completely flat! I was having the hardest time weaving through the cones. When I approached the concrete strip I could barely get on it! I fell off almost right away.
I went to the window and the guy said I flunked the test. I said my tires were flat. How am I supposed to drive properly when my tires are flat?! It didn't matter. They gave me a slip and told me to come back the following week.
And so I did -- and with my own scooter! I of course passed and everything was fine. But man, come on! Flat tires! That ain't playing fair, ya know?
Now on to driving the motorcyyy! Firstly, they drive on the left side here. That takes some getting used to. I pulled out of the school a few weeks ago and started driving on the right side -- OOPS! That was a little embarrassing.
Secondly, traffic in populated areas like Bangkok or even the suburbs can be horrendous. But when the traffic IS moving, it's an all-out, anything goes affair, especially with scooters. They're weaving in and out of lanes, driving on sidewalks, cutting in front of cars -- if it's physically possible, they're doing it. In fact, this subject deserves an entire blog post. Give me a few weeks.
Here's a little video snippet the other Teacher Tyler took when he was on the back of my scooter. This is us leaving the village Kayne's house is in. There is a guard booth right at the entrance. Part of their job is to say "Krab" and salute you when you come and go. It's they're way of being polite and showing respect.
What's hilarious however is that the other Tyler a few months ago started saluting them back. Amanda and I do it now too. It puts a smile on their faces every time. Now this specific time, the guard must have seen that we were filming so it behooved him to make his "Krab" especially loud. It's right at the end of the video. I crack up every time I see it.
That's all folks. Happy driving!
Love the new ride! Scooter are the best. Living in foreign countries is always full of adventures. I am glad you made that decision. Can't wait for the next one.
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