Day 2

Day two.....

Crew restless, it has been three days since we saw the three scribed marks of Arny Schnuessun.......

Wait a minute that’s someone else’s blog.

Truth is I reckon I’ll be doing a few of these until I get my wheels as there a lot of gaps in between doing things and trying to acclimatise to the heat and humidity so I am enjoying the air-conditioned comforts of the hotel. once I'm on the road and out in whoop whoop I'm sure the blogs will decrease in frequency.

It’s been a pretty good day as I have crossed the first major hurdle of obtaining a certificate of residency to purchase a vehicle. This meant a trip to the Australian Embassy on Sathon Road. It gave me a chance to practice my Thai and I have made a discovery about Thai navigation. Kwan was a hopeless navigator, even after passing her driving test and building up enough road craft to handle driving in most situations she was still unable to drive to the Asian market in Springvale because she could not navigate the way. I thought this was just one of Kwan’s quirks but after asking several people for directions to the Sky train station (Big concrete thing that is about 20 meters in the air), or the Robinson shopping mall (a very shopping centre on one Bangkok’s major roads) two landmarks you would think most locals would know instantly. But no it’s all black magic. OK I’m probably being a bit unfair, but by today’s experience the Thai’s make the navigational skills of your average Irishman look like Tonto. The Australian Embassy is quite an experience, the security is unreal. As with everywhere in Thailand security guards have bred like rabbits. After being checked in through a reinforced steel door, having my bag removed I was let through to the second checkpoint. To cut a long storey short there are no less than four security checkpoints and I counted no less than 20 security guards before I could be let into the consular section where I took my numbered ticket and sat in a queue of one for about 30 mins. No kidding I was the only one there.I have to have a certificate of residency, which turns out to be just a stat dec with a signature and a stamp, to purchase a vehicle in Thailand. I made the decision to buy a bike here rather than the other two options which are shipping my own bike or hiring a bike. Shipping my own bike would probably work out the cheapest option but as soon as you start looking into the details the logistics are fraught with problems. Transport from Erawan to the docs in a crate is a minor headache compared to the transportation problems and the acquisition of a fork lift at the other end. Then there’s storage of the crate until the return and fumigation of the crate. Also I was not keen to undertake the journey on the Duc as it is possible the most impractical machine for this type of trip. My investigation for hiring a bike also drew a blank, you can hire large motorcycles in places like Pattaya, Phucket and Chang Mai, but they not too keen on you taking them out of the city, they also like to have your passport as security. Both these issues make the travelling to different countries a tad difficult. So I plumped for the purchase of a relatively new Harley clone. I must admit not the favoured vehicle to do it on but probably the most practice, considering the stuff I have to carry and the short legs. Tomorrow is a public holiday here, it’s one of Buddha’s days (appears to have twice as many birthdays as the queen); I am meeting Kwan’s Mother and Brother at the temple where we had Kwan’s funeral. I’m sure it will be very emotional, but at least we will be there to support each other.I have set aside Friday to go and have a look at some bikes, Ad (Kwan’s brother) said he will take some annual leave and come with me, he is a very helpful chap but I wouldn’t want to eat into his well earnt holiday. I said I wait until I have found something I like and then get him to go with me to the bike shop so I pay Thai price not Furongse price.

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