Life on a Scooter!

Today I had a total blonde moment…. 

I decided to rent a scooter for the week since it’s about $5/day and gives you so much freedom to get out and explore the island.  I had rented one a few days ago so I felt like I knew what I was doing.  When they gave me the scooter, it was really low on fuel.  Here there are not many gas stations.  Instead you see stands along the road selling “gasoline” in used glass bottles.  I figured that I had enough gas to make it to the market so I didn’t bother filling the tank.

After coming out of the market I went to start the scooter and for the life of me, it would not start.  I figured that maybe it was because it ran out of fuel.  I started to walk down the street knowing that sooner or later I would come across a stand selling gasoline.  I ended up buying a bottle from this woman who owned a street side clothing store (very random locations these gasoline stands).  I emptied it into the gas tank and it still did not start.  After asking a few random people if they knew what the problem was I decided my best option was to find the guy who rented me the scooter. 

I left the scooter in the parking lot and flagged down a songthaew, which is Thailand’s version of cheap public transportation.  A songthaew is basically a covered pickup with two benches in the back.  They each have a designated route, much like a bus.  Most post their destinations on the front of their truck but unfortunately not always in English (and trying to read Thai is absolutely impossible). 

About 15 minutes later I made it back to the rental place and I ended up riding with the guy on his scooter (it was pouring rain at this point) back to the market where my scooter was.  For him it started right up.  Seems that with Honda’s you need to have the kickstand UP in order for them to start.  I guess with Yamaha’s that is not the case (and that is what I had used the other day).  

Talk about feeling like an idiot…