Post: #1

I just literally got thrown off road by a fucking truck on my way down from Chaweng into Lamai.. the truck was driving very slow i tried to bypass it by going to his right but I did not notice the wet patch on the right side of the road as i came back into the left the truck speeded up and tipped me on the back side of the bike and i ended up sliding off for like 300 meters down the hill.. i am all fucked up with road rash and cuts all over my leg and arm and the bike is fucked.. now comes the hard part I have to deal with this Thai motorbike mechanics to fix this thing.

If it wasn't for Muay Thai training I would get the fuck out of here.. but the training at WMC is pretty good.

Post: #2

Oh yeah.. and even though it was the trucks fault.. and a bunch of thais seen what happened the only person that came to see if i was ok was a Australian couple, this thais don't give a shit about you.. as soon as i'm done with this month of Muay Thai training i'm out.. probably go to Puerto Rico and do some boxing training and chill in Ponce or San Juan for a few months.

Post: #3

Welcome to the 3rd world my friend. I grew up on motercycles, and my skills are superb, but you would never catch me on one in SE Asia or the middle east. Just be thankful you are alive.

Post: #4

(03-15-2012 06:31 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  Welcome to the 3rd world my friend. I grew up on motercycles, and my skills are superb, but you would never catch me on one in SE Asia or the middle east. Just be thankful you are alive.

How can i keep all this road rash from badly scarring? i mean i have my complete right arm covered in bandages with a mountain of betadine rubbed on it.

Post: #5

http://m.wikihow.com/Treat-Road-Rash

On top of this, near the end of healing, I would switch to a concentrated vitamin E salve. Or have one of the local gals hook you up with a home remedy.

Post: #6

You're in tourist Thailand. Thais are different in those parts. They're much nice off the beaten path.

You're lucky you only got road rash. In BKK last April I saw a guy get t-boned by an SUV. He was dead before anyone could get to him. No helmet.

A couple weeks back I was on the open highway coming back from Sukhothai at about 90km/h and some old white whiskey junkie pulled right in front of me on a u-turn. I had no way to speed up or slow down. It was one of those perfect crash scenarios where there's no way to avoid it. I also grew up on bikes so it wasn't just a beginner's mistake.

He got thrown from the bike and had road rash all over the side of his face. Somehow I stayed on the bike. I still don't know how I managed that. I just had a big cut on my cheek from where my face smashed into his head and some cuts along the length of my leg since I was wearing shorts. Dressing improperly is a bad idea. I know.

I was lucky in that he was so drunk that he couldn't mumble a coherent sentence to the cops and there were lots of witnesses that said it was his fault. My bike had about 4000 baht worth of damages that he had to pay to have fixed.

Yeah, riding bikes here is dangerous.

Post: #7

Thailand has some of the worst per capita numbers for traffic accidents in the world. That you are giving up on the place because of this is a little odd. You should know that you-can-pay-you-can-play is what goes here by now. While that came out to bite you in the ass this time it is also one of the undeniable charms of Thailand.

Post: #8

Craziest sight I ever saw on the roads of Thailand was this huge American expat (short, fat, bald and old perfect stereotype), in a pickup barrel through a red light in the old city in Chiang Mai.
I was sitting out front of my hotel having a delicious late breakfast and practicing my thai with the cute waitress when the expat plows through a red light crossing Ratchadamoen Rd, he hits two Thais on two scooters, throwing one a long way down the road and doing the other no favour either.
Within seconds the intersection is jammed with scooters and they keep queuing on Ratchadamoen (pretty busy road where they hold the Sunday night walking street market), there riders climbing off - some going to aid the riders but most approaching the farang. The dumb expat gets out of the truck, scratches his head, stares up at the light walks to the front of his pickup and shakes his head, then checks the traffic lights again before a young thai woman gets right up in his face and starts abusing him.
I was out of my chair and about to go and see if I could help at all when my waitress grabs me and says stay, not safe. I look back at the expat and he is taking a kick to the head as more locals mob him, shouting "farang baa" (crazy forginer) and "farang kee nok" (bird shit crazy foreigner I believe) and bunch of phrases I don't know. They beat the shit out of the guy before cops showed up - pretty sure they had no sympathy for the street justice he received.
My waitress said never get involved with another foreigner in trouble unless they are a very good friend, thais always win she said. She then explained that the guy would either be handing over a LOT of baht to the two people he severely injured and something for the police slush fund or he would be locked up for a decent stretch.

Post: #9

Damn these are some crazy Thailand stories.

Post: #10

motorbikes are crazy to ride in SE Asia. My first time riding a bike was from Pai back to Chiang Mai. Wasn't too smart for a new rider, but it was damn fun. I had a few close calls. Another time I was riding through the mountains in Phongsali, Laos. It had just rained so the roads were completely flooded out. I rode through a thick patch of mud, lost my balance, and fell down a mountain. My bitch was on the back of the bike. We slid down the mountain for a bit, but luckily there was a fallen tree that stopped us from sliding any further. The side view mirror broke off, and the fender (whatever the front plastic part of the bike is called) was cracked in half. Luckily I came out unscathed. On the ride back to the bike shop the only thing I could think of was "fuck, these bike repairs of going to eat up the last of my budget," meanwhile, my chick was so shaken up from what just happened that she couldn't even speak. Got back to the bike shop and the guy only wanted 10,000 kip (~$1.25 USD) for repairs. Good times.

Riding bikes through SE Asia is one of the best ways to see the region, but it's also incredibly dangerous. In Chiang Mai I saw a few fallen bikes and brains splattered across the road. It was so gruesome it didn't even look real...

Post: #11

(03-15-2012 06:31 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  Welcome to the 3rd world my friend. I grew up on motercycles, and my skills are superb, but you would never catch me on one in SE Asia or the middle east. Just be thankful you are alive.

Not even in full gear? What about in the Philippines?

Post: #12

(03-15-2012 06:42 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  http://m.wikihow.com/Treat-Road-Rash

On top of this, near the end of healing, I would switch to a concentrated vitamin E salve. Or have one of the local gals hook you up with a home remedy.

thanks bro.. i will follow this instructions.

Post: #13

(03-16-2012 06:35 AM)Enfant_Terrible Wrote:  

(03-15-2012 06:31 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  Welcome to the 3rd world my friend. I grew up on motercycles, and my skills are superb, but you would never catch me on one in SE Asia or the middle east. Just be thankful you are alive.

Not even in full gear? What about in the Philippines?

Philippines is dangerous too.. those roads in Aklan Province (Boracay) were no fucking joke.. curves, hills and lots of sand and water....I would say they are even more dangerous because they have a shitload of potholes, in Thailand you want to rent a motorbike even if you know it's dangerous because you have a feeling is going to be fun.... in the Philippines the thought of renting a motorbike never came across my head.

Post: #14

Ko Samui is known as the deadliest island in Thailand for all the motorcycle accidents there. I was there for a week and saw two very serious crashes up close.

The countries with the most motorbike craziness are Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam. Vietnam is mayhem at some places

Post: #15

Definitely agree on Vietnam being on a whole different level of mental when it comes to the roads Neil (have not been to Taiwan or Indo however), they make Bangkok traffic look tame.

I spent New Years 2010 on Samui and witnessed quite a few crashes between Chaweng and Lamai on the that main road tracing the coast over the few days I was there. Combo of bends in the road, varied traffic (scooters, cars, pickups, ATV's etc), drunk drivers and riders, plus an unhealthy dose of people who have no idea how to ride thinking its the perfect place to learn. I saw one girl drop her scooter three times before mounting the footpath and almost plowing in to the bar - then the spoilt brat waved off my help "Just because I'm a woman doesnt mean I need your help."

Post: #16

(03-16-2012 06:35 AM)Enfant_Terrible Wrote:  

(03-15-2012 06:31 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  Welcome to the 3rd world my friend. I grew up on motercycles, and my skills are superb, but you would never catch me on one in SE Asia or the middle east. Just be thankful you are alive.

Not even in full gear? What about in the Philippines?

Bad roads, medical care, huge costs of medivac, ect. Its just not worth the risks.

Post: #17

Are there any decent and safe places in the world any of you guys would recommend to do motorbiking? I looked into doing it in Colombia, but all I could find were highway motorcycle tours (driving BMW and Suzuki 650s, too big for me!), I'm interested in off road dirt biking.

Post: #18

I rode bikes all over south asia and its not too bad, you will crash on samui or ko pan ang but nothing is fast enough to really hurt you most of the time. Vietnam is a different kettle of fish, Saigon can be mental, you need to understand raw survival instinct and pack mentality to survive there and out in the sticks you have to understand that the bigger vehicles have absolute right of way at all times, you don't move out their way you die simple. The Islands are ok if you are sensible but watch out for sand on the road, I dropped a few bikes turning on sand covered tarmac.

Post: #19

On my way to work this morning I saw a middle-aged woman trying to cut a across the highway during rush hour traffic get t-boned by a pick-up truck. The truck was probably doing about 140 km/h. She wasn't wearing a helmet. The side of her head was gone and the brains were spilling out all over the place.

Think twice before you on a bike in SE Asia. People are careless here and it can get you killed.