4 WHEELER DIRT BIKE

"You'd asked about transportation. It's a major issue with so many people. Most major roads have "bike" lanes between the sidewalk and the main road, with some sort of barrier between it and the main road. I say "bike" b/c you get anything there that's smaller than a car -- scooters, motorcycles, and full-sized tricycles (motorized or manual) with carts in the back or with a two-seat bench to carry passengers (a kind of taxi).

We learned on the first day that just b/c the walk light is green doesn't mean pedestrians are safe to walk. Cars/trucks/buses only usually obey lights, and those turning are not at all interested in yielding to pedestrians. Anything in the bike lane usually won't obey lights.

Taxis seem plentiful, but when you want one, it's hard to find one that's available. The night in Hangzhou we couldn't find a taxi and Vivian was exhausted, so we took one of the motorized tricycle taxis. It was insane! Russell sat on Charles' lap, Vivian was in the ergo on me. Such vehicles drive in the bike lane (or on the sidewalk), but they turn left like cars, across all the lanes of traffic. And smaller streets don't have bike lanes, or sometimes even two full lanes for cars. Vehicles are always weaving and pushing and swerving within inches of each other, but I only saw one accident the whole time (an out-of-towner hit the barrier between the bike lane and road).

This traffic free-for-all is all much more vivid when you're in a little tricycle open to the outside! At one point in a narrow alley, the car in front of us decided to start backing up to get into a parking space, with no concession to the fact that we were right behind him. Our driver gunned the motor and swerved hard, and the car missed Charles' leg by an inch or two!"

Bangkok is well known for traffic jams. And taking a taxi can sometimes be a frustrating wait (albeit in air conditioned comfort). For a more adventuresome ride, you can try a tuk tuk, a three-wheeled motorized bike that can weave its way through any traffic jam (albeit among exhaust fumes).

If you look closely in the rear-view mirrors (view large), you can see me sitting back taking the photo w/ fill-in flash.