For eight months I have relied on hired cars, public transportation, and the kindness of friends (and sometimes strangers) to get me to and from school and other destinations in Songkhla and Hat Yai.

For the round trip of most of the entire first term, I took a car, two motorbike taxis, and a mini bus.  Starting in late September, I cut out the car, added an additional motorbike taxi, mini bus, and tuk-tuk in the morning, and swapped one of the afternoon taxis for a ride from Rafik (a fellow teacher).  In December, I started going to the gym.  Add another motorbike taxi to get from the gym to the mini bus.

The public transportation between Hat Yai and Songkhla ends at 8:00 pm.  Therefore, if I want to spend time with friends in Hat Yai, I have a curfew of 7:30 pm or I have to take a “metered” taxi home at a cost of 500 baht.  That’s $15.  To put that in perspective, my usual round trip with two motorbike taxis, two mini buses, and a tuk-tuk costs only 110 baht (just shy of $4).  And although the taxi has a meter, they WILL NOT turn it on for you at night.  They know that you have no other alternative and won’t drive you for anything other than flat rate.

Additionally, being a slave to public transportation has impaired my photography and leisure activities.  If I pass a sight that I want to shoot or a place I would like to shop or investigate, tough luck.  I can’t tell the mini bus to stop.  I could stop the motorbike taxi but it would cost me more money just for a quick look-see.  And I don’t feel right asking a friend to drive me around on a photo excursion.

The upshot of riding on so many buses is that I have had the opportunity to read 14 novels in the last three months…

I spend a lot of time trying to sort out where I can and cannot go based on being able to tell a motorbike taxi my destination.  Sometimes I get around this by knowing a landmark nearby or (wonder of wonders) knowing how to get there and giving directions.  This is a rare occasion, however.  I have spent a lot of the last eight months doing and seeing very little in the cities I live and work in.

Not anymore…

I did a cost-benefit analysis and determined that it was in the best interest of my pocket book and my sanity to bite the bullet and rent a motorbike.  For 3,000 baht a month ($100), I could be footloose and fancy-free on a scooter all my own.  Having ridden on the backs of so many bikes, I had a pretty good feeling of how driving in this country works and how to get to the major places I needed to go.

So, two days ago I became the proud renter of a beautiful fuchsia and white Mio scooter.  At first I was a little nervous but it didn’t take long to become comfortable with it.  My inaugural trip was the long drive down the back highway to Songkhla from Hat Yai.  During rush hour.

Nailed it!

Driving to school the next morning, I took the main highway, which was exhilarating!  There really is nothing quite like riding 125cc’s of raw power at 50 miles per hour with the wind whipping through your blue and white helmet with bunnies on it.

Side note: motorbike security systems.  One thing that you need to keep in mind if renting (or buying) a motorbike is that locking the steering column will NOT prevent an industrious person from stealing your bike.  When I went to leave school, my bike was not where I had parked it.  At first I freaked out a little (inwardly).  Then I noticed that it had been moved to the opposite side of the parking lane.  Which means someone (or, more likely, a couple of some ones) actually picked up the bike and carried it across the driveway and placed it with the other motorbikes.  I must have parked somewhere I wasn’t supposed to.  Live and learn.

I am astonished to find that my brain has imprinted itself with maps of Hat Yai due to dozens upon dozens of taxi rides.  When I was leaving the gym, I thought I would just go to the main road (Phetkasem) and take it all the way to Big C Extra.  I didn’t trust myself to take the “short cuts” that that taxis take.  Figured I would get lost.  Upon exiting the parking lot, however, traffic was jammed up.  In a knee-jerk reaction to stand-still traffic, I cut through the hotel parking lot that begins the “short cut” route.

Without a single wrong turn or backtrack, I made it across town using the tried and true methods employed by the seasoned taxi drivers of Hat Yai.  Sometimes I surprise even myself.

In celebration of my amazing feat, I stopped for the first time and bought a dress.

Because I can.