12-28 The Motorbike

Today started off in the way I’d like to spend all mornings in Thailand, watching the sunrise over the ocean. There is a calm to the break of day here, where time slows for a few seconds as the sun makes its daunting and controlled entrance. The reflection of the new day’s sun over the ocean always brings family and loved ones to mind, hoping they could be beside me to share the experience.

But even before the sunrise, a companion awakened me in my single bungalow, of whom or what I still do not know. At 6am, right when I needed to get my ass out of bed for the morning spectacle, the calls of an unknown creature brought me out of my unconscious state. The sound was so close that it had to be coming from somewhere in my room, but after some investigation, the culprit was not to be found. Has anyone ever heard of ghost animals?

After breakfast and a swim, Gift and I decided to rent a motorbike for the day, which I was really excited about. There is a road that runs around the island of Samui perfect for motorbike, the preferred method of transportation for the Thais here and most of the other parts of the Land of Smiles. Gift was a little skeptical of the idea, and me almost crashing at the hotel did not soothe her confidence as we boarded the bike to peruse Samui.

The first stop was the Big Buddha Island. The island is the home of the Wat Phra Yai, and wouldn’t you know it, its got a big Buddha there. After milk tea, buying a horde of white clothing for my upcoming meditation retreat and some photos, it was off to another nearby Wat for more photos. ABW could apply in this situation. (Another Bloody Wat?) We then made our way through some beautiful countryside to Chaweng, the most touristy part of Samui. Upon parking our motorbike, I felt like I’d landed in San Diego, with the number of white faces quadrupling the natives and every sign catering to the farangs’ lack of ability to interpret Thai script.

Quickly exiting Chaweng, Gift and I headed inland to search of some more authenticity to our journey. We passed through some beautiful countryside, catching a glimpse of the durian fruit farmers collecting their daily harvest and the coconut trees providing a backdrop I’d only seen in movies or on cheesy screensavers. It seemed so different from the other parts of the island we’d seen that day that I had to think twice to realize we were still within Samui proper. Upon finding the entrance to a waterfall, Gift and I dismounted hoping to see it with our own eyes. After a half hour of trekking, there was no waterfall to behold, so we turned around, fearful of nightfall making the motorbike ride home an even more perilous voyage.

I could feel Gift’s uncertainty for the motorbike throughout the day, and I was trying my hardest to keep my attention on driving; to soothe her fears, as well as keep us both alive! These bikes are reliable, but when you are traveling 60km per hour on a hill and cars are passing just a few feet away from you, it makes for a interesting ride. As we were exiting the parking lot for the waterfall, I accelerated the bike and hit a batch of sand. The bike spun out of control, sending both Gift and I off the bike, onto the sugar-colored sand hands and knees first. Initially I was more concerned about Gift, seeing if she was ok and realizing that she suffered only a few scrapes and scratches. I wasn’t even conscious I’d suffered the same until I got back on the bike and saw my bloody feet and elbows. Funny how the mind works right? The part that sucked the most was that I’d put her in danger, but she took it like a champ and was laughing about it much sooner than I.

With my pride hurt more than anything and the blood beginning to dry, I started the bike again up the mountain to try to beat the sunset. But, with the lack of propulsion we’d gotten from starting our trek in the middle of a hill, our little bike would not make it up the inclines. This left us trying to find a flat surface to give our shitty Honda automatic the flatland it needed to climb the Samui curves, and when we did, the process was repeated again and again, with the bike loosing its steam each time the hills began. After a few minutes of trying, and the recent crash fresh in our memories, we decided to take the longer route back to the hotel, characterized by its beachside views and more importantly, flat surfaces.

We arrived an hour later, cleaned our cuts and I bought a big Chang beer to help me forget the annoyances and mishaps of the day. While on the walk home, Gift informed me of an interesting revelation. She’d been to see a fortuneteller a few months before, and the physic told her that she would be in a motorbike accident within the next year. Further understanding her apprehension and laughing to myself at the ridiculous nature of the situation, I wondered if going to the Thai fortuneteller might help me to ward off some avoidable pitfalls in the future as well!

Will we take the bike again, tomorrow only knows, so until then I’ll keep my helmet buckled tight.