Expat Matt

Being the typical American, my first instinct when I arrived here was to get behind the wheel of some type of motorized vehicle. The car culture of the United States was very much embedded in my psyche. I quickly realized however that Asia is a continent full of motorcycles and scooters. There are plenty of cars, trucks, and SUVs on the streets, but they are far outnumbered by their two wheeled friends. I have taken a few backseat rides here so far on scooters with my local friends, and quickly lost any ambition to get behind the throttle of anything with an engine or even wheels for that matter.

The first major adjustment is getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road. It's almost like putting your shoes on the wrong feet. It just feels wrong!

The second was the realization that the traffic laws here appear to be merely viewed as "suggestions" instead of rules. Thailand does have a mandatory helmet law, but you would never know it by watching the traffic go by every day. The only instance I have seen police issue tickets was after witnessing a particularly gruesome accident right outside my apartment building the other day. A Thai man (without a helmet) pulled out into traffic and was broadsided by a large flat nose box truck. Both the bike and rider were thrown about 20 feet after the rider's head smashed into the windshield of the truck. The rest, I would rather not write about and will unfortunately never forget. Later that day, the police were out in full force with checkpoints around the city set up for all motorcycles. There were at least 5 officers at each checkpoint. Throughout the rest of the day, I never saw an officer without a ticket pad in hand and a non helmeted rider getting a ticket. The next day, it was back to business as usual.

Last but not least is the overall state of organized chaos that plays out every second here on the roadways. Everyone lines up at stoplight like a motorized version of an oversize Tetris game. The scooters slip into the spaces between the cars. The taxis work their way in between the trucks and the sidewalk. Everyone crams in as tight as they can get until you have this massive compacted sea of vehicles waiting for the light to turn. As the light approaches green, everyone starts to rev their engines. Soon enough, the light turns and we're off the races! Everyone speeds off and jockeys to get in a better position for the next light. I always thought that Americans had invented NASCAR, but now I realize that these guys have been doing it everyday for much longer.

I've given up my notions of being a motorist here anytime soon, and I'll be sticking to the mode of transportation that I was born with. I've had enough close calls just crossing the street here, and I'm not looking forward to adding any velocity to my daily travels. I generally walk about 5 to 10 miles a day now. At first it was painful, but over time it has proved to be good exercise and stress relief.