Are scooters considered to be poor man's transportation?

[Nordude]

I live in a luxury condo in Bangkok. It's just me and one or two other farangs who ride scooters. And those who work at the condo, of course. All the other residence have cars, mostly BMWs and Benzes.

 

I find it a bit strange, because you cannot get anywhere reasonably with a car in Bangkok, you will just be stuck in traffic. In countries like Italy or France, you can see smartly dressed business people riding home from work on their Vespas and MP3s, but never in Bangkok. I don't think I ever saw someone wearing a suit riding a motorbike in Thailand.

 

Are motorbikes considered only a poor man's transportation in Thailand, or what's the deal with this?

[CGW]

5 minutes ago, Nordude said:

I don't think I ever saw someone wearing a suit riding a motorbike in Thailand.

Hardly surprising given the heat especially this time of year, if you need to wear a suit for the "image" it creates, going to be somewhat spoiled when your soaking wet and dripping with sweat on arrival at your meeting, hopefully your body odour doesn't proceed you! 

The bigger International companies don't encourage their expats to use motorcycles or motor cycle taxis for safety reasons.

Motorbikes are not IMO considered to be a "poor man's transport" its just they are impracticable if you are going for a business meeting or wherever due to the climate, if it was 15c cooler sure they would be used a lot more - as you say, easier to get around, though the safety aspect isn't ideal.

[DILLIGAD]

It would be interesting if you asked your BMW/Merc riding neighbours what they think and then get back to us?


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[Nordude]

2 minutes ago, DILLIGAD said:

It would be interesting if you asked your BMW/Merc riding neighbours what they think and then get back to us?


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Much easier to ask random people on the internet than actually talk to my neighbors ????.

[Santogold]

If you're talking about the farang point of view, they will mostly say no, it's not just for poor people; there's many practical reasons to ride a scooter.

 

From the Thai point of view, yes, it is a poor-mans mode of transportation. Some will not say this straight out because it would be embarrassing. But yes, scooters are for poor farm workers and students.

[Nordude]

4 minutes ago, Santogold said:

From the Thai point of view, yes, it is a poor-mans mode of transportation.

What I don't get, is why wealthy Thais don't buy luxury scooters. There's only PCXs, and Waves, and the odd Forza or Xmax. But they are still cheap. I have a 500,000 baht BMW scooter waiting for me at home in my country.

It's either PCX or car, it seems. Nothing in between.

[elliss]

9 minutes ago, Santogold said:

If you're talking about the farang point of view, they will mostly say no, it's not just for poor people; there's many practical reasons to ride a scooter.

 

 

    Quality farlangs ,  drive   quality  cars , hope immi pick up on this .

      Cheap Charlies , ride scooters , pensioners on scooters , so sad.

       You could not make that up.  Lol.

 

 

[david555]

11 minutes ago, elliss said:

    Quality farlangs ,  drive   quality  cars , hope immi pick up on this .

      Cheap Charlies , ride scooters , pensioners on scooters , so sad.

       You could not make that up.  Lol.

 

 

"Quality faring's "car drivers in stand still que's or in best way in a go slow , an trouble to park , unless living in the stick's where ever..., just same as I can not wear any gold I have in Thailand because the risk to meet trouble ...

[elliss]

1 minute ago, david555 said:

"Quality faring's "car drivers in stand still que's or in best way in a go slow , an trouble to park , unless living in the stick's where ever..., just same as I can not wear any gold I have in Thailand because the risk to meet trouble ...

 

         Wear your gold  be a quality  farlang , flaunt it ,  the CCs  not have . 555

[david555]

Just now, elliss said:

 

         Wear your gold  be a quality  farlang , flaunt it ,  the CCs  not have . 555

some of those CC shall wear mine then probably , as when I wear some a time , the girls warn me to be vigilant ….. so they know wat is outside as they cover their own gold bracelet's with sweat wrist sponge bands 

[Enoon]

1 hour ago, Nordude said:

Much easier to ask random people on the internet than actually talk to my neighbors ????.

 

The answer is yes, even though you live in an expensive condo, the reason your Thai neighbours snub you, consider you trash (and will not talk to you) is because you ride a small motorcycle.

 

Maybe buy a Gold Wing?

 

That might brighten them up a bit.

 

 

[SteveK]

I find my life is much easier when I only have 20k baht tied up in my vehicle. If it gets damaged or stolen it is hardly a big deal, obviously that is not the case with a 4 million baht Mercedes. Plus servicing, insurance, and running costs are literally peanuts on those little putt putts.

 

I had a brand new CBR600RR once, it got knocked over twice whilst parked, both times costed over 100k to fix up as new which came out of my pocket (cracked fairings, damaged foot pegs, damaged fork leg, light housings, indicators, damaged engine casings, rear fairing and seat cowl smashed, etc.). Obviously nobody saw anything nor was a note left by the careless driver. It's Honda Waves for me from now on.

 

If I need to wear a suit somewhere, I'll take a taxi.

 

Remember that rich people don't get rich by spending money. They get rich by saving it. Many people with flashy cars probably have them on finance and almost certainly are not as rich as they would like you to think, whilst that business owner who drives a 30 year old Honda 90cc cub could well have 100 million in the bank.

[Nordude]

13 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

Maybe buy a Gold Wing?

 

That might brighten them up a bit.

 

LOL, in Norway, an expensive vehicle isn't considered to be a status symbol anymore. Because everybody can afford a nice car there. Just go online and arrange a new loan and pick up the new Beamer tomorrow.

 

People that feel the need to distance themselves from the working class, like leader role types, have been forced to do so by other means. For example in sports, cycling is very popular among the elite.

[Kinnock]

All to do with status.

 

Lower status workers ride scooters and small motorcycles, mid management drive locally built cars, Senior management and HiSo people drive (or are driven in) imported cars.  

 

I manage a business, but consider a small motorcycle to be the best way to commute to the office - but my team is not impressed that the boss rides a bike.  I do have a car (locally built as I think the tax on imported cars makes them very poor value) - but it would add an hour to my commute to use the car.  So I value convenience over perceived status, but I'm not Thai.

 

Getting hot is also LoSo - and even an expensive BMW scooter is not air conditioned.

 

[SteveK]

14 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

 

Getting hot is also LoSo - and even an expensive BMW scooter is not air conditioned.

 

I'd much rather be branded LoSo and have my money safely in the bank!

 

But then I've never really been concerned about what others think of me. Saving money is smart, chucking it around in some vain hope of impressing someone (who, exactly?) is definitely not very smart, but most Asian people do love to show off with some kind of status symbol. Chinese especially.

 

I'd rather people called me farang kee nok whilst I have a very healthy bank balance, than being respected by people I don't know and being loaned up to the hilt. Showing off is very crass and obnoxious behaviour.

 

Surely in Thailand, making it obvious that you are stupidly rich is basically putting a target on your back?

 

I'd much rather have a quiet life, without people coming to me with their begging bowl.

[tingtongtourist]

8 minutes ago, SteveK said:

I'd much rather be branded LoSo and have my money safely in the bank!

 

But then I've never really been concerned about what others think of me. Saving money is smart, chucking it around in some vain hope of impressing someone (who, exactly?) is definitely not very smart, but most Asian people do love to show off with some kind of status symbol. Chinese especially.

 

I'd rather people called me farang kee nok whilst I have a very healthy bank balance, than being respected by people I don't know and being loaned up to the hilt. Showing off is very crass and obnoxious behaviour.

 

Surely in Thailand, making it obvious that you are stupidly rich is basically putting a target on your back?

 

I'd much rather have a quiet life, without people coming to me with their begging bowl.

Surely in Thailand, making it obvious that you are stupidly rich is basically putting a target on your back?

 

Maybe if you are farang, but if Thai it means you can pretty much get away with anything!

[SteveK]

13 minutes ago, tingtongtourist said:

Surely in Thailand, making it obvious that you are stupidly rich is basically putting a target on your back?

 

Maybe if you are farang, but if Thai it means you can pretty much get away with anything!

So, here's a question:

 

Imagine two Thai drivers in Bangkok. One is on a clapped-out old scooter. The other one is in a brand new AMG Mercedes which costed millions.

 

If they both committed the same traffic offence, who would be let off by the police, and who would get the fine?

 

Would police think that the Mercedes driver is rich, and try and extort them for more? Or would they think they are rich and elite so let them go, for fear or some kind of corrupt retribution?

 

Would the police assume the Mercedes driver was well-connected and turn a blind eye? I suspect that they would see the scooter rider as less likely to be hi-so or have any kind of connections, so try and get a few hundred baht whilst waving the Merc driver on.

[madmen]

58 minutes ago, SteveK said:

I find my life is much easier when I only have 20k baht tied up in my vehicle. If it gets damaged or stolen it is hardly a big deal, obviously that is not the case with a 4 million baht Mercedes. Plus servicing, insurance, and running costs are literally peanuts on those little putt putts.

 

I had a brand new CBR600RR once, it got knocked over twice whilst parked, both times costed over 100k to fix up as new which came out of my pocket (cracked fairings, damaged foot pegs, damaged fork leg, light housings, indicators, damaged engine casings, rear fairing and seat cowl smashed, etc.). Obviously nobody saw anything nor was a note left by the careless driver. It's Honda Waves for me from now on.

 

If I need to wear a suit somewhere, I'll take a taxi.

 

Remember that rich people don't get rich by spending money. They get rich by saving it. Many people with flashy cars probably have them on finance and almost certainly are not as rich as they would like you to think, whilst that business owner who drives a 30 year old Honda 90cc cub could well have 100 million in the bank.

"Remember that rich people don't get rich by spending money. They get rich by saving it."

errrmm no you will never get rich with that mindset. Nobody got rich by tucking away a few bucks here and there

[SteveK]

8 minutes ago, madmen said:

"Remember that rich people don't get rich by spending money. They get rich by saving it."

errrmm no you will never get rich with that mindset. Nobody got rich by tucking away a few bucks here and there

I disagree - the few rich people I know never waste money. They chuck money into investment opportunities, but they certainly don't chuck money down the drain. A friend of mine in Hastings is a multi-millionaire purely by being born into a rich family, in 20 years I think he has bought me one pint, I've bought him dozens and paid for his Sunday roast dinner on several occasions!

[madmen]

1 minute ago, SteveK said:

I disagree - the few rich people I know never waste money. They chuck money into investment opportunities, but they certainly don't chuck money down the drain.

To make money you have to spend money and as a business person I guarantee thats true.  Tuck away every last bean and you will feel warm and fuzzy but absolutely not rich.

[SteveK]

Just now, madmen said:

To make money you have to spend money 

Wise words.

[VocalNeal]

^ 

= Speculate to Accumulate

 

As for scooters. If you are a true rider. It is that you ride, not what you ride. If the OP is a farang then we are to a certain extent outside the normal social mores HOWEVER how one carries oneself is important. If you ride a clapped out old Honda Spacy wearing thongs and a tank top then you will probably get treated as such. But if you arrive on a clean Honda Wave wearing a Polo shirt and boat shoes.... No different than in one's home country. 

[Youlike]

6 hours ago, Kinnock said:

All to do with status.

 

Lower status workers ride scooters and small motorcycles, mid management drive locally built cars, Senior management and HiSo people drive (or are driven in) imported cars.  

 

I manage a business, but consider a small motorcycle to be the best way to commute to the office - but my team is not impressed that the boss rides a bike.  I do have a car (locally built as I think the tax on imported cars makes them very poor value) - but it would add an hour to my commute to use the car.  So I value convenience over perceived status, but I'm not Thai.

 

Getting hot is also LoSo - and even an expensive BMW scooter is not air conditioned.

 

Also a BMW is for poor people in the hi-so world...they can't afford an imported car so they buy a locally build one which is cheaper and inferior than a Benz from Germany.

 

If you wanna be hi-so you buy an Audi because those are always imported.

 

My hi-so thai cousin had a new BMW X3, the thing always shaked on the highway and the garage couldn't fix it...so she went to the honda dealer and changed it for a nice new honda without issues...

 

Thailand might build BMW's these days but they lack the engineers to service them properly.

[ballpoint]

In most Western countries, scooters are like fat girls.  They're fun to ride until your friends catch you on them.  They don't have that stigma here, being more of a daily workhorse.  Less fun to ride, but getting the job done, even if you do end up a bit sweaty afterwards.  (And scooters are the same).

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Youlike said:

Also a BMW is for poor people in the hi-so world...they can't afford an imported car so they buy a locally build one which is cheaper and inferior than a Benz from Germany.

 

If you wanna be hi-so you buy an Audi because those are always imported.

 

My hi-so thai cousin had a new BMW X3, the thing always shaked on the highway and the garage couldn't fix it...so she went to the honda dealer and changed it for a nice new honda without issues...

 

Thailand might build BMW's these days but they lack the engineers to service them properly.

So who services the Honda?  Or are they easier because it's Honda?

 

 

[jackdd]

It's mostly about status. Many of the people in those luxury places also don't drive themself, but they have drivers, so the cars you see in the parking lots aren't actually used much.

At these expensive places you will also often notice that they don't have proper parking spaces for motorbikes, but only for cars.

Once i stayed at such a place for a few days (5 star serviced apartments, monthly rent something like 150k THB up), i think it was only me and the employees who drove a motorbike there. The only motorbike parking space (not a designated space, but some free space where people parked) was behind the building and when i went inside i had to walk through a small corridor with rooms for dirty laundry, employee kitchen and so on, before i arrived in the lobby and at the lift.

[neeray]

10 hours ago, Nordude said:

Much easier to ask random people on the internet than actually talk to my neighbors ????.

You wouldn't get a straight, honest answer from your BMW/Benz neighbours.

 

I appreciate your post. Personally, I would be on the scooter. I don't have the need to display my wealth (haha, what wealth?) via the badge on my car. I like the open air, practical aspect of a scooter.

 

Yes, I know the stats on scooter/motorbike accidents in Thailand.

 

[Pravda]

11 hours ago, Nordude said:

I live in a luxury condo in Bangkok. It's just me and one or two other farangs who ride scooters. And those who work at the condo, of course. All the other residence have cars, mostly BMWs and Benzes.

 

I find it a bit strange, because you cannot get anywhere reasonably with a car in Bangkok, you will just be stuck in traffic. In countries like Italy or France, you can see smartly dressed business people riding home from work on their Vespas and MP3s, but never in Bangkok. I don't think I ever saw someone wearing a suit riding a motorbike in Thailand.

 

Are motorbikes considered only a poor man's transportation in Thailand, or what's the deal with this?

 

I think your idea of a luxury condo is The Base  or Aspire.

[luk AJ]

I have a BMW car and a BMW scooter. I live in Bangkok so depending on traffic and weather, I choose what fits best for the occasion. BTS is another option if the destination is close to a station.
No idea why a motorcycle is considered a poor man’s transportation, rather a clever man’s transportation. 3 times faster to destination with very low fuel consumption compared with a car. My scooter goes 30km with 1 l!


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[RobMuir]

I drive a car. Not because of the status. But because of air conditioning, the stereo, the airbags, the comfy seats, I can carry a lot of stuff, 5 people etc. and I can go a lot faster. 

 

I only have one life, I don’t want to end it splattered on a hot road. Have a car crash I just pay to fix the car, have a crash on a bike and likely death or serious injury and a lot of pain and scarring.

 

I do laugh to myself when I see a farang in pants and and a shirt, tie etc riding a motorbike, sweat pouring off them, wet patches under the arms, on their backs, and I wonder how bad they smell when arriving to their low paying jobs.

I assume they are English teachers.