A thought that often crosses my mind is whether I should buy a motorbike in Thailand. For about 15,000-20,000 baht, I can get myself a pretty good automatic scooter and feel like I'm above and better than other Thailand expats in every single way who don't have their own means of transportation. I took a look at insurance costs which are minimal and license aren't hard to get either.
But here's the thing, I am a few minutes walking distance from the BTS (semi-brag), my gym is 20 minutes (40 baht bike taxi away and Big C just a 30 baht motorcycle taxi away, although I order most my food online from Tesco.
Getting taxis and motorcycles each day does add up but lots of motorcycle taxi drivers in Bangkok are pretty reckless, jumping in and out of traffic, and pretty much giving 0 fucks.Seems they just want to get from A to B ASAP with 0 regards to traffic etiquette.
I even see some drivers drinking Samson while on the job near my condo which is always reassuring.
Why I've never bought a motorbike in Bangkok
The main reason I have never bought a motorbike in Bangkok is because I'm a pussy. I know how to drive on the roads because I rented on in Indonesia which has much busier traffic than Bangkok. But it's not me I'm worried about, it's everyone else.
So many people drive recklessly on the street and don't care too much for others. What's more, if I decide to drive at night there's a higher likelihood that drivers are drunk which make things worse.
I actually knew someone who died a few years ago in Phuket as a direct result of driving a motorbike, and I have another friend who crashed because of pot holes in the road had some semi-serious injures.
It seems not a week goes by where you don't hear about some dying because of a crash on the road. If I do get hit, although I'm covered in mass amounts of lean muscle I don't fancy my chances, nor do I expect the other person in the accident to help.
Another reason why I'm hesitant is because my insurance does not cover motorcycle use, if I get hit I'm footing the bill. And I'm not selling enough ebooks to pay for such luxuries just yet.
Just the other day I saw a minivan crash into a motorbike on Sukhimvit road, the car stopped and waited for the cyclist to stand up, when he did, the car just drove off. Another example of 0 fucks given.
Asides from the convenience of having your own set of wheels, are there any other advantages to riding a bike in Thailand? I used to ride a bicycle in Bangkok which was great fun and I was thinking about buying another. However, they cost 10,000 + for a good one and for a few thousand baht more I can buy something with a motor.
A few of my friends ride bikes and they love them, they say they hate getting taxis or the BTS. I don't mind the BTS because as someone with a slight feet fetish, it's a great place to see toes and ankles. Do any of you own motorbikes in Thailand? Should I get one or not?