every other building on this island has a “bike for rent” sign on it. everyone rents out these moped/scooter things and they only cost 150B a day (4$). i had only been on the island for an hour or so before i started kind of wanting to try one out. according to my guidebook, moped accidents are the leading cause of tourist deaths in thailand. hrm. after contemplating that fact, the fact that the roads here aren’t in great shape and covered w/ gravel, the fact that i’d be driving o the wrong side of the road, and the fact that i’ve never been on anything like that before… it took me about 10 seconds to decide that it was my destiny to try it out.
so i went, rented one, and asked the girl at the counter how to ride it. my lesson lasted less than a minute: “kick this to start, twist this for gas, press this for break, switch gears here.” that was it. so i hesitantly get on the thing, and as i’m wobbling about pressing everything in sight, the girl gets this look on her face like she might have made a bad decision by renting me the bike. she asks me if i’m ok, and i yell that i am as i teeter off.
so, i got in the swing of it in no time. it was way fun… zooming around the little roads of the island. the hardest thing i’d say (other than that i kept forgetting where the beak was) was that i had a really hard time driving on the left side of the road. it’s just not something you get used to very easily.
i also did the first day of my diving instruction today… which unfortunately just consisted of watching a boring video. hopefully tomorrow i’ll get to do some real diving. also tomorrow i’m meeting up w/ jamie, tom, and the rest of their crew so that should be really cool as well.
-vlad
i’ve always wanted to ride a little moped! and scuba diving! what is the ocean temperature there like?
riding the mopeds is a blast! and there’s no traffic lights here (or rules) so you can just book it down the road at top speed. so fun! the water here is sooo warm! you can just jump right in at any time without feeling the least bit cold! even when it’s overcast and cloudy out, the water is still great. i’ve been to hawaii and cancun before and neither of them even come close to this!
-v
acapulco’s ocean water was warm, i doubt it would be as nice right now though, i was there in august, and it was like a warm bathtub…
damn, i knew i should have tried to hide in your suitcase 🙂
heh, well.. if you do go travelling when you graduate.. thailand is definitely a good place to go!
-v