Toby's Zany World

That's the question...
How many people can you get in a Pick-up?
Lets say you got a standard pick-up like a Toyota Hilux. 2 seats in the front = at least 3 people. Bench seat in back = at least 5 people = 8 inside.
Now. What about in the back?

In a town called Yasothon (northeast Thailand) a few months ago, I saw a Pick-up with 17 people in the back! No seats, just a few straw mats thrown down, couple of pillows and that was it.

How bout the police? No problem there - they just ignore it.
How bout the law then? No problem there either - they just ignore it.

How do you actually get that many people in the back?
Easy - a few sit down on the mats. A few sit on the sides and then there's plenty of standing room.

Yep, that's how they cart the family around in rural Thailand.

The human population of Thailand is around 65 million (about the same as UK). However, the motorbike population of Thailand is probably around 100 million!

Of course, a when I think of a "Motorbike", I'm thinking something BIG and GUTSY. But in Thailand, a "Motorbike" is a 100cc pop-pop machine. Nevertheless, there are thousands of them.

Here's what you need to do if you're gonna ride around on one of them here:

1) Crash helmet - don't need to fasten it. Just shove it on your bonce and that'll do. Note: helmet only required in large cities. In the rural areas you don't need one.

2) At least 3 members of your family and/or friends to ride with you (on the same bike).

3) Mobile phone rammed to ear so you can talk non-stop to your friends and control your machine with one hand.

4) Remove mirrors from bike. You don't need them. Remember that everyone else on the road can read your mind anyway!!

5) Colour-blindness is useful when approaching traffic lights.

6) If you need to turn right, just do it. Never mind about what's behind you or in front of you. That doesn't matter because they'll be expecting you to do something idiotic anyway!

7) If you need to stop suddenly - maybe you spot a friend walking down the road - just stop. Don't worry about anybody else on the road - they'll already know what you're going to do.

8) If you want to turn right, it's always best to overtake the car in front just before your turning, then sharply cut him up (forcing him to break as hard as he can) and zoom off down the road you want. Don't bother looking back, it wasn't you who caused that massive accident.

So there you have it. Driving a Motorbike (pop-pop machine) Thai style!

Greetings from dull, cloudy, overcast and very wet Thailand.

It's what they call the Rainy Season here now and let me tell, rain here means REAL rain.
For example, yesterday at 11am it started to rain. Within 30 minutes the street where I live was flooded. An hour later, I'd measured 5 inches of rainfall.

At 3pm, it rained again (lasted about an hour): another 4 inches of water. Then at 10pm it started to rain and went on all night. Result: another 9 inches.

When I lived in the UK, conversations usually included a good old British-style moan about the weather. It either rained too much, or in a hot summer, it didn't rain enough. It was either too hot or too cold. Too wet or too dry.

Here, in Thailand, nobody cares! They accept things the way they are. It's hot here most of the year and the locals don't often complain about it, they just deal with it. If it rains, it's an accepted part of everyday life. No point in going on and on about it is there?

As I write this up, my windows are wide open, the door is open, the ceiling fans are whirring away and outside - it's raining. So what?

In north-east Thailand - the Isaan Plain - the nation's rice grows. There they get about 5 or 6 months of rain and then 5 or 6 months of drought. Nobody complains. They need rain for the rice crop. And during the "winter" months, they just put up with water shortages.

It's a way of life.