JamesPhuket10

Give yourself an even better chance of avoiding danger as I do, drive a car. You may potter around at 40 KMH but that will not stop an idiot car driver ploughing into the back of you at 100 KPH, don't forget almost 100% of Thai cars have their windows blacked out including the windscreen, come dusk it is hard for them to see what is in front of them. In Thailand road safety is knowing the limitations of the local drivers and their low standard of driving test, a ten year old Western kid could pass a Thai driving test.

I was having a house built just opposite the beach in Rayong in 2019, I went to Pattaya for a visit and took a suitcase as I was going to stay a few days. I drove along the beach road and saw all the ladies of the night standing there except it was daytime, I saw the tattooed filled tourists walking about and so I left after a few hours. So true I could not live in Pattaya but not because of the traffic, sitting in traffic is no prob in air con luxury as I am never in a rush. Even here in Phuket a car is much more preferable to a bike, think of the skin cancer risk after a few years and the old saggy skin caused by decades of time in the sun. Premature aging is not for me, and not for the well off Thais I see.

No problem we are all allowed that. I enjoy the luxury of a car in Thailand over a bike, each to their own.

Seeing as the temperature of the oil is already about 33c when the car starts due to the high temperature in Thailand, my car is up to ruining temperature within one minute, hence no wear or tear due to the temp. I change my oil every 10k kms, with modern oil changing it early is just a waste of money and time.

Five cases of large beer bottles, that is 75 large bottles 640ml each, which is about 75 kgs and you can put them on a bike , how do you do that? 😄 What about the monthly food supplies which fill up my car completely with the back seats folded down, probably 120 kgs, would that go on a bike as well? Or do you have one of these ?

I suppose the ability to create eyes in the back of your head helps with defensive driving and the ability to see behind blind spots in the road will help. The two farangs in my area were killed in two separate accidents, they were sensible and drove carefully, they told me about defensive riding etc but it did not stop people driving into the side of them at 90 degree and at speed by Thai riders/drivers, there is no way to avoid such things.

I am not sure what you are saying, you say you ride your bike and take into account the risk but then say you mainly use it to go to a nearby 7/11, I do that on my pushbike as it is only a few minutes away on private roads, risk almost zero. I live in Kathu, Kathu, Phuket, I can get about anywhere just as easily in a car as a motorbike can with lots of easy parking, that is not true for Patong though. Patong is mostly for tourists. I overtake many motorbikes on a daily basis while sitting in comfort, they is no advantage in less crowed places. I do laugh though many times as some guys talk it up big in a bar having reinvented themselves as being rich and then get on a bike to go home. All the people I know who are genuinely rich would not go anywhere near a motorbike, it would be like swimming in the seas knowing there are hundreds of hungry sharks in the area. My comment on insurance was meant to mean tourists will not be covered as they likely do not have a Thai driving licence, and if it is motorbike insurance I doubt it covers the rider for the two million baht they might need if the accident is life threatening.

I like swimming in the sea, if I knew it was infested with sharks in the area I was swimming in I would not take the risk, I would be out of there like a shot. I like getting from A to B at any time of the day it suits me, it is freedom, the same freedom you get on a bike but it takes five minutes longer to get there, that is no prob, I am not in a hurry or on a 'save the world mission', that is the same for most farangs in Thailand. Why would I go on a bike in the hot sun, the rain, the fumes, the risk of death, the risk of life changing injury when I can get to my destination in my car. I can understand it if people do not have the money to buy a car they have to use a bike but doing it out of choice is just pure stupidity. The freedom aspect of a bike is just in the riders head. Also in my car I am free to go to Makro and buy five cases of beer, try that on a bike.

Even driving a car we have to be careful in order for Thai drivers to avoid committing suicide on their bikes. That is the case here in Phuket. For example I was turning off to go into my housing complex yesterday off a two lane main road, I had slowed down well in advance, indicated to turn left well in advance. I kept on checking my left mirror and sure enough a motorbike was about to over take me on the inside so I held my turn, the bike was also indicating it was turning left with me, I held the turn as there was no guarantee he was turning left, the bike rider then realised I was turning left, it must have take a long time for them to process such a simple situation and so they quickly overtook me on the right hand side while still indicating left and carried on down the road. We have to use such defensive driving techniques every time we drive a car as there are a lot of terrible drivers/riders out there. Would I ride a bike, never. My car gets a dent it can be fixed, my body gets a 'dent' many not possible to fix it,

Is that dollars or baht? If baht then it will not cover a serious accident, you might need 2.5 million baht to cover that.

Ah I see, in general English dumping something means getting rid of it and so I though he had done the same with a bike as that would be a sensible thing to do, so it is also a bike term I see. If he was wearing shorts etc as I see most farangs do in Phuket that 'dumping' would have meant third degree road burns as well on the skin. If he was in a car he could have just braked and if the car got bashed then no problem as it can be fixed, no injuries at all. As I was driving back to day from a walk around the reservoir, a woman on a bike did a right hand turn from the other side of the road cutting across at 90 degrees in front of me, if I had not braked hard she would have been in hospital now, it happens all the time here in Phuket. It means if she carries on riding like that then she might do the same trick with a bad car driver on his phone and that would be that.

So if he had already got rid of his bike as you said he dumped it, what caused him to break his hip?

I was referring to tourists on hired bikes, they would not be covered by their travel insurance. I don't know about long term private bike insurance, but even so bodies can not be fixed as easily as a dented car.

Buying a bike is the easy bit, being dim enough to ride one is not for me. I don't see what is so great about it, most people use bikes to get from A to B on a daily basis, just like a car but without the comfort or safety aspects.

I suppose the difference between riding in the open on a motorbike or a nice open top car would be about £60,000 hence most people go for the motorbike experience. I had a sports car in the UK and after doing 0 to 60 mph in a few seconds etc now and then constant discomfort, I got rid of it after a month and bought a large comfortable car. There is nowhere in the UK where we can zoom around at speed unlike when I live and worked in Germany and even less chance of doing it on the second class roads in Thailand but that is no problem as I am never in a hurry to get anywhere, I have all the time of the day.

If you had posted pictures of a few top end cars in your garage, that would have impressed me and many others.

It does not matter how confident you are or how defensively you ride you can not avoid all accidents, the Thais who ride motorbikes are well experienced and very confident but twenty thousand of those die every year in Thailand. You can not stop those or car drivers crashing into you no matter how defensively you ride, the best defence is not to ride one. That is why I always go to my destination in my car, it could get dented but can be easily fixed, a body can not. The cost of a bike is no prohibitive as they cost bugger all, what is stopping me from riding one is just pure common sense. Why would I want to ride a bike in the hot sun, the dust, the fumes when I can be in the luxury of a car? The reason so many Thais ride a bike is because they can not afford a car, the rich Thais I know never go near a bike. Two farang neighbours who had years of experience died on motorbikes coming back from work, two separate incidents, both dead leaving kids and a wife to fend for themselves.

Getting a life long injury making my standard of life a living hell for the rest of my life, being 'scared' of that is a sensible attitude, why would I want to risk that. The advantage of a motorbike, I will get to my destination five minutes earlier than with my car. Disadvantage, I might not get there at all as is the case with tens of thousands a year. (Two farang neighbours of mine, two different motorbike accidents, (both dead). Advantage of my car, I am 99% sure I will get to the destination in one piece. Disadvantage of my car, it might get dented, which will be paid for by my insurance hence not really a disadvantage. Further disadvantage of a motorbike, having to try and raise £50k to get back to the UK or pay for hospital bills as no insurance will cover us for a motorbike accident. I would be OK in that case as I have the cash but a bet a lot of motorbike riders do not. I wish I could afford a motorbike though and also dumb enough to ride one, they are so cool. 🤣

Dreamland

Not much different to an open top car. For real excitement I go to the Thorpe Park for instance in the UK. Roller coaster accelerating from zero to 100 mph (160 kms) in 2.5 seconds, 360 degree twists and turns, now that is real fun, nothing like sitting on a bike in the heat in the traffic with the noise and discomfort around, and the fumes etc.

A French guy who lived in the house next door here in Phuket was killed on his motorbike, he had been riding it to and from work for years, his wife and three year old kid became homeless and they had to go back home to Isaan. Another guy down the road was riding his motorbike from work to home (farang) a bike ridden by two guys from Burmah crashed into him, dead. I would not go anywhere near those death machines. An individual might be the best rider in the world but no one can dodge a dim a-rse riding badly next to them. If a bike or car hits me while I am in my car, the car gets dented not me.

I am 69, I ride a push bike on a designated 10km bike/walking/jogging circuit with hills etc around a reservoir in Phuket every day, I would not ride it on public roads though, I do not have a death wish. In my experience farangs/Thais with money drive cars, the poorer ones with no choice ride motorbikes and pretend it is about freedom. Even the most expensive motorbikes cost bugger all.

Hence the idea of using a car, it might take ten minutes longer to get the destination but we are sitting in air con luxury anyway, it is much better to get a dent in the car and live rather than get a life changing injury or death by bike.

I see, that is the difference then, there is lots of parking spaces in Phuket. In that case I would get an Uber taxi or such like.

Where is the freedom? Much more comfortable to ride an open top car, I did 170 mph (272 kmh) in my Porsche many times, though of course that is not possible in Thailand, nor is it possible to ride a bike that fast here. I don't understand the freedom nonsense quoted by bike riders, it is all in their heads.