First Motorbike Experience In Chiang Mai, Thailand

Rob on the motorbike in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Rob on the motorbike in Chiang Mai, Thailand

One of the best moments of our time here is the first time we rented a motorbike and took it around town. I will admit, the thought of getting into, what seemed, madness on the roads of Chiang Mai was not very thrilling to me at first. Looking through the filter of an American driver, all that can be seen is chaos on the roads. You see mototrbikes darting out  of every alley and driveway and weaving through the bumper to bumper traffic. Pedestrians walk alongside the road (sidewalks seldom exist) and try to make their way across the traffic. There are red pickup trucks that are the public transportation of this town that make sudden stops and starts. There is almost always traffic on the main roads.

Aside from all of this, you have the fact that Thais drive on the left side of the street. So, trying to get your mind wrapped around driving on what it has been trained to know as the “wrong” side of the road is a whole battle in itself!

song thaew
Red Truck – song thaew

Nevertheless, we needed to experience it. Not to mention, walking everywhere was limiting us and taking the red taxis, called song thaew, although very cheap (20 THB, $0.63 per person to most destinations in town), was starting to add up. We decided to start off with renting a motorbike for a week to see how useful it would be. Turns out it has been very useful.

The song thaews are great for going to known, popular destinations, but it is a hassle sometimes trying to ask them if they will take you to a particular place. There are “tuk tuks” that can do more personalized routes since they don’t stop to pick up other passengers. Tuk Tuks, however will charge you more (100 THB, $3.13 to go a couple of miles), especially being a tourist. While they are fun to ride, and I would encourage anyone visiting to hop on one, they are not very practical for everyday transportation.

Rob inside tuk tuk in Bangkok, Thailand
Rob inside tuk tuk in Bangkok, Thailand
inside view of tuk tuk
inside view of tuk tuk

Ok, back to our motorbike experience. We found a place called Buddy Internet (yeah they rend motorbikes AND have internet and faxing services!) right across the street from Kad Suan Kaew shopping center. There, we learned that he had limited choices since it was the weekend, but we decided to get one of the bikes that was left anyway. It required a deposit, which could be paid in Baht or Dollars, so we gave him $100 to save our Thai Baht. They also require a copy of your passport and full payment for the duration we are renting for. Our week’s rent came out to 700 THB,  100 THB a day ($3.13 a day). This includes insurance for the passengers but not for the bike.

Rob took it for a test drive first in the back ally and it wasn’t long before we were on the road with the wind in our hair. Here is our experience:

The drive back home in the evening:

2 responses
  1. m88 Avatar
    m88

    Hi, i think that i saw you visited my blog so i came to “return the
    favor”.I’m attempting to find things to enhance my site!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!

    1. Taiss Nowrouzi Avatar
      Taiss Nowrouzi

      Hi! Thanks for visiting!

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Hi! We’re Rob and Taiss. We set off to live a life in as many places as possible. To actually live in locations around the world long enough to get to know the locals, the culture, and the food, not just a taste of it.
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