Thailand Part 2 - The Crash

I heard a lot about the “Koh Phangan tattoos” before heading to Thailand.  Mopeds are the most convenient and cheapest way to get around and scooter novice backpackers, hopped up on Chang and Thai whiskey, often make the poor decision of getting on their bikes, which often results in a crash, which often results in some sort of painful physical marking, hence the term “Koh Phangan Tattoo”.  I’d been mentally preparing for the dangers of Thailand scooter driving, drawing upon all my past knowledge of 2 wheel vehicle navigation and safety - I was confident that i’d come out on top, successfully avoiding becoming a statistic or “oh you should see what happened to my friend on the island” type of story.  And i’m happy to say, I did just that.  I followed the rules of the road, and while I was in control of the scoot, there were no crashes, not-a-one.  But I wasn’t the only one operating the blue scooter from Golden Hill Resort.

I don’t blame him.  I really don’t.  It’s easy to get the gas and the brake mixed up.  People do it all the time. You get situated on the bike, half asleep girl on the back, groggy because it’s 7am and the decision’s been made that going on a journey to get breakfast sounds better than simply walking up and ordering something from the kitchen, and it just happens. You turn the right instead of squeezing the left.  Easy mistake.  I’m assuming Saba was eyeballing the best route to take to get up the unpaved and treacherous terrane of our bungalow’s driveway when he gunned the gas like we were in a motorbike drag race.  Before I even had time to react I was sailing through the air, barreling toward one of the people doing yard work on a patch of grass, below a coconut tree.  After we hit the bump that sent me flying, Saba was able to regain relative control of the bike, staying on board, just clumsily and ungracefully tipping over the bike.

This little mishap left a scrape on my leg and ended up costing a bit of money when we returned the bike later that week, but all things considered we made out pretty well.  There were no broken bones, the damage costs weren’t outrageous and my leg has more or less healed.  Nothing permanently harmed or broken - except maybe Saba’s scooter driving ego...I think that may be gone forever.