TAKEN 4 A RIDE /BANGKOK

[pbee]

I was waiting for the airport bus at Nana,AE 3.Has it stopped running or was I just unlucky.I spent 1hr 20m patiently waiting , but nothing.The traffic was heavy as it was 9.30am. I was due to check in at 10 o'c. I decided to take a motorbike taxi,I walked down the road and found 8 young lads and arranged a ride to the airport 270 bht,all I had left. So off we went,me with my suitcase on my lap. This lad could beat Valentino Rossi on a good day I would bet money on it. Kamikaze kid comes to mind.Tearing down a busy 3 or 4 lane busy road in Bangkok I tried to peek over the suitcase as I was travelling blind.The helmet was ripped from my head by the wind.We pulled over and retrieved it from a car owner who had untrapped it from under his car,retied the strap and carried on. Now I had one hand on my helmet and the other holding my case,and my buttocks clenching the seat. When eventually we had cleared the traffic and were only a few miles from the airport,my driver decides we should take a shortcut through a culvert under the highway.This involved us riding bent as low as possible on a steep camber of concrete river bank.My helmet was scraping the underside of the motorway.We made it through and pressed on through waste land under flyovers,through road construction sites,and finally to departures. Was I scared,yes at times,was it dangerous yes ,but what an adrenaline rush.There is nothing I could buy on this planet for 270baht that could beat the sheer exhilaration of that ride.The rider wasn't mad or stupid,he was totally in control and knew what he was doing.I have nothing but admiration for him. I used to race motorcycles internationally in the seventies and this trip brought some of the memories back.What a way to leave Thailand.

[Lourens]

I always said - You haven't lived until you take a motorcycle taxi up Sukhumvit road. What a ride 

[dave the dude]

I like your style, pbee. You are my hero for the day   

Dave

[nookiebear]

I'd much rather have 4 wheels than 2 especially when in BKK.The AE3 was still running at the end of May......

[Admin]

Wow.. at least you arrived to your flight on time.. 

[urleft]

   I never had the courage to get on a scooter in either BKK or Pattaya.    

Finally decided it was not too bad in  .  But still do not expect to every take one in a major city  .  Would really have to be out of it  .