OK, I don’t know what day it is. I think it is Monday. I am in Mae Hon Song in the western part of Northern part of Thailand. Great roads, great scenery, hard to make good time. This bike is great, but needs a MUCH firmer seat. Kawasaki could learn something from the bed manufactureres. I have slept on concrete that had more cushioning.
This is some awesome riding. Did I mention that already?
Here’s some bits I put together over the previous days when I could get a few minutes on a computer…… Damn. I just killed a mosquito. I am sure it was loaded with Malaria or Dengeue fever or japanese encephalitis. Something. Oh, wait, it is night time. I think it is the malaria skeeter that I have to worry about at this hour.
MEDICAL
I got booster shots for Typhoid and rabies. Rabies just because, well, I got the original series of shots way back when due to a planned excursion that never happened and can’t see any reason not to keep it updated. Typhoid because it is highly recommended by my travel doctor.
My doc gave me Cipro, a heavy duty anti-biotic. Three LARGE pills amounts to three doses. Each dose will cure one case of ameobic disyntery. I have never needed anything like this before, and doubt I ever will, but it is good insurance.
Malaria. Taking malaria prophylactics is a huge controversy in the travelling world. There are a number of choices of drugs, some with severe side effects and some without. The travel doctors will recommend one or another depending on where one will be travelling, as some are no longer effective in some areas. Some of these meds can be VERY expensive. On a long trip, these can become cost prohibitive. In most cases, simple precautions to avoid mosquito bites is enough. There are enough other diseases that can be aquired from mosquitos and ticks that it is always a good idea to avoid getting bitten. Of course, if it bites, it will find me, even if no one else gets so much as a bug buzzing around thier head. Most of the diseases cannot be prevented with meds, and many are not even curable. You get them, and hope they go away without killing you. So, did I take Malaria meds with me? My doc said that with where I was thinking about going and what I might be doing, that I really should. If I was on a longer trip, then I might not have. On a short trip such as this, for me, the small risk of getting malaria are outweighed by the severity of the sickness and the ruining of the trip. Since the pills were not going to cost me anything, and the drug was one of the ones with no real side effects, I chose to go with it. Minimal negatives, minor positives.
In the past I have had shots/drugs for Hepatitis A, and a few other things. For the area I was going to, japanese encephalitis is recommended, but it takes a month or so to become effective so I did not get it. Cholera is not an issue, and most other diseases are not big in this area. Frankly, most people coming to this area do not bother getting any shots or meds. Nothing wrong with being cautious I suppose.
PROSTITUTION
Prostitution, if I read correctly, is legal here. There are many Thai Massage parlors, but that is for a fairly public massage, not porn. A deep tissue and manimulation massage, along with the ever popular foot massage. I don’t know if it is better than a chiropractor, but it is probably more pleasant. Considering the beds here, probably a good idea to get a massage every couple of days. As for the Sex, well, that is not as obvious. There are bar girls if you go to the right bars, but I don’t. There are ladyboys, if that is your taste (these are boys that dress and act as girls) that is certainly NOT my taste. From what I am told, whatever your tastes, you can satisfy them, but minors are off limits. HIV is rampant here. Might as well drive your bike into the front of a truck. I have seen a lot more obvious sex for sale in the US, where prostitution is very much illegal. I suppose if you want it, it would be easy to find. Frankly, I think anything is easy to find if you have enough money anywhere in the world. Especially AIDS.
LANGUAGE
I have a lot of trouble with the language. I just don’t have the ear for it. It does sound nice though, it has a nice melody. As with many languages, gender is a factor in speach, but in Thai, it is the gender of the speaker that changes how things are said. A man will end a sentance differently than a woman would. I don’t know about LadyBoys.
MOPEDS/SCOOTERS
Mopeds and scooters have got to be the perfect vehicle. People ride these things FAST down these mountain roads. They pack them full of products going to or from the market. Trailers and side cars are attached in a variety of ways. There are repair people EVERYWHERE. In tiny remote villages there will be a shop with a row of newish machines, and another shop with rims hanging up, and another doing welding on them. Animals, family, pets, baskets, almost anything will be strapped on. They are small and can be fit anywhere (what rule was that?). Everyone has one. If you see a rice field filled with workers, you will see bunch of mopeds parked there. Grampa on the back, driven by the grandaughter, who is holding the great grand kid, and the family dog is in the basket up front. In the city, they are amazing. Watching a bazillion of them, pilots talking on cell phones, everyone going in different directions, never a crash. So far, I saw the one crash aftermath with the death, and another where a truck inexplicably rear ended a car on a mountain road (minimal damage) and that is it. Why there is not continous carnage on the roads I cannot explain.
Additional Driving rule: NEVER try to keep up with the 15 year old that just passed you on his scooter. These are his roads, and he is not affraid to dive. If yu think being passed by this kid is embarassing, imagine the embarassment if you crashed trying to keep up…..
RIP-OFFS
Twice I have recieved drastically incorrect change for purchases. Once, I got 356 Baht of gas, gave the guy 500 baht, and got 356 baht back. I did not realize it until later when I counted my change again. Usually, when I buy something I know that I should get, say 140 and change back. I knew something was wrong, but since I had enough, I forgot about it. The second instance happened today. I went to buy water. I only had a 100 B bill and thought the girl had said 10 B for the water. That is rather high, as it should have been 7, but this is a border town after all. (30 baht is $1) She came back and gave me 70 B change. She thought I wanted to buy the whole package of liter bottles. Once I got through to her that I only wanted one, she gave me 30 baht back and a bottle. Now, my public education may hamper my math skills, but I think she just gave me a free bottle of water. I finally was told that a bottle is 5 B. So I gave it to her and she looked very confused. I think she thought I tipped her. Now, I suppose I could blame this on the fact this is a somewhat underdeveloped country and that thier education system may not be up to par, but I have had similar things happen in the US. Actually, it happens quite often when using cash in the US.
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