Driving in Thailand

There's nothing like the sound of a big crash to wake you up on the highway.

The other morning I was sleeping in the back of the van we take to work, as I do everyday.

ZzzZZzzZZzzZzz...
*CRASH!!!!*

A Thai had driven into the back of the van, DIRECTLY under where my head was resting.

Driving here is certainly interesting. Even though there is a stringent set of traffic laws, they're actually more of a guideline than anything else.

Take the first time I took a motorcycle taxi for instance... The driver was weaving through peak traffic, at a speed of about 10km's / hour, while TEXTING - steering the motorcycle with his knees.

No, I was not very comfortable. Surprisingly, you do become used to it, and I caught myself thinking that this kid could probably outride most bikers I know.

When driving in Thailand, you're pretty much EXPECTING others to do whatever they please, which means you end up paying a lot more attention when driving. Since the other drivers expect the same of you, they are also in this alert state... most of the time.

There was the time where our taxi driver kept falling asleep behind the wheel on the way to Khaosan. He probably had a very long shift... Crazy bastard would drive about 5 metres, we'd wake him up... 3 metres... wake him up. Longest trip to Khaosan ever...

To conclude, traffic in Thailand brings up for me the image of a column of ants.

It might be messy, but it works. If you're awake...
Sent via BlackBerry® from AIS