Just another bay in paradise

I wanted to see some of the island, so I rented a motorbike, a decision which proved to be foolish. First I looked in to jeep tours, but like the trip to Ang Thong nobody else is interested. So I considered taxis, but that would get expensive for one person. Instead I figured I'd do the motorbike thing for only 150 Baht.

Unfortunately, I had never driven a motorbike before, and Thailand is not the best place to learn. After the rental lady gave me cursory instructions on how to operate the death machine, supplemented by some passing English people, she started the bike, and I drove slowly through the crowded streets to a gas station. A nice Thai lady deployed my kick-stop, filled up the tank using the strange siphons, then started the bike for me.

After getting out of the busy streets of Haad Rin, the road, which was concrete, thankfully, became very hilly and windy. The first big hill I came to I couldn't make it up in second, so I tried to downshift into first, and stalled halfway up. Luckily some nice Thais passing by started the bike for me.

After breaking all the way down a particularly steep hill, then limping up the next, there was a curve at the top, and a taxi coming towards me. I lost control and wiped out, scraping up my right hand and elbow. Nothing like the South African girls' injuries, but painful and anyoing nonetheless. I finally flagged down some Thais to start the bike, then headed back to town. The funny thing is I started to enjoy the bike as I got close to town. The roads are too crazy for me here, though. So after an hour I returned the bike, paid the 700 Baht in damages I did to it, and went to one of the many "nursing units" to have my wounds cleaned and dressed. All told the fiasco cost me 1000 Baht, about $25. At least I finally figured out how to use the kick-stand!

Then I did what I should have done first and had a taxi take me to some sites. First I saw some waterfalls. After New Zealand I didn't think I wanted to see a waterfall again, but these were neat because there was nothing stopping you from climbing right out on the rocks and looking over the edge. I'm sure in the US it would all have been fenced off. Then I climbed up another crazy Thai "trail" to a great mountain viewpoint over the forest of palm trees out to the ocean and Koh Samu beyond. Finally I had the driver take me to the Marble Budah, which was dilapidated and deserted. All told the three hours of sightseeing cost me $12. Exorbitantly expensive, but less than the motorbike fiasco.