*MOTO TALE* - My Accident...*WARNING* *GRAPHIC IMAGES*

November 18th ...2011... a day I will never forget.

I was on a scooter trip, on my Yamaha Fino 115cc, a cute little retro looking scooter, when i found myself on a pothole-y craggy gravely road; the 1263. Now resurfaced.

I was too confident on my scooter. I had begun to believe I was infallible.

I would often fly past bigger bikes on downhills, bouncing around without a care in the world.

I was very naive.

The combination of a better stretch of road on the 1263, thinking that stretch would continue, aiming to keep up with a faster companion (who is now well-known as one of the fastest riders here), wearing an ill fitting open faced helmet, with little body protection, on a bike with the suspension of a brick.... culminated, and I crashed.

I recall nothing of it.

My riding partner with me said all he saw was a cloud of dust, then me lying on the ground a distance from my bike. My bike was lying on the ground in one direction, i was lying on the ground in another. When he got to me he was met with an unconscious body with a face full of blood. He said to me later that he didn't at first know if i was alive, or even if i had a face left.

Although i was unlucky, Karma was good to me, because a couple driving a Hilux crossed our paths. They took me in their vehicle all the way back to Khun Yuam, to the hospital. This was on a road that very few vehicles were using. Then, as my partner was moving my bike off from the road, a pickup truck saw him and stopped to ask about what happened. When he explained the situation, the driver (and the laborer occupants), hauled up my bike and took it back to the hospital at Khun Yuam also. I feel very thankful indeed..and i don't know who to thank.

As the wounds were washed my body convulsed. I felt like I was having an epileptic fit. My head was still swimming and I was still in and out of consciousness. X-rays were taken and i have to say I'm very saddened and regretful that they either took the x-rays incorrectly or read them wrong, because they said nothing was broken, which turned out later to be untrue. The most problematic broken area was my nose..which had to be re-broken and which is still giving me issues...but more on that later. I was bandaged up and told to rest. I declined to stay in the hospital and went to rest in a hotel room instead. I don't recall if i was in the room for one night or two. I remember being helped at one point by my partner to wash the blood out of my hair in the hotel room. Everything hurt.. really hurt. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. I had no idea what the damage was going to be, but all i could do at that time was try to get through the pain.

The next day i went back to have the wounds redressed at the hospital. They sounded positive and said I would have only a small amount of scaring and no issues. They were only partially right.

When I felt a little stronger one or two days later I rode pillion on my partners scooter. That ride seemed to take forever. I felt each and every bump and jolt. The pain was so searing that my vision was swimming. I was worried about passing out and falling off the bike. I concentrated on getting through the trip, and said nothing. I tried to meditate and force the reoccurring step-retracing far from my mind. I kept trying to remember the events leading up to the accident, but i couldn't. I tried to push worrying thoughts of "how damaged will i look now?" far from my mind.

At Ob Luang we stopped off at a wooded area. I have fond memories of this area. I feel it offered me some sanctuary and a comfort. It was as if the tall trees were shading me from prying eyes and enveloping me in a caring embrace. I got off the bike and crumbled to the ground to rest for a bit.

My face and tongue were beginning to swell..and the pressure was intense.

I don't recall much after Ob Luang and getting home to Chiang Mai. Maybe i closed my eyes. Maybe i faded out. I don't know. I just don't remember it. When i arrived in Chiang Mai i kept the helmet on whilst I walked to my apartment, to avoid anyone seeing me. I recall at the front door of my apartment that my neighbour called out to me, but i held up my hand in a kind of acknowledged wave before rushing in to the apartment without saying hello. I needed time to adjust and i was just too vulnerable and sad to speak with anyone.

I don't recall much again after that, except numerous hospital visits and lots of smoothies (i had a lacerated and bit-through tongue which had a lot of stitches, so i couldn't eat properly).
It was a rather dark time with a lot of meditation going on to get me through it.
It was during the healing period at home, when the swelling was finally subsiding, that i realised there was something not quite right with my nose and my breathing. Taking a cotton bud I attempted to get it up into my nostrils..and was unable. My septum was smushed...and had begun healing in that smushed way. I took myself back to the hospital in Chiang Mai and asked to have my x-rays re-done. As suspected my nose was broken and my hand was fractured. Both had begun to set.

The doctor said my hand would be ok (advice i now regret because i get a lot of pain with it). He advised that there was no point in causing further trauma to reset it. My nose though, would need to be re-broken. He offered one of two ways; in surgery where they would put me to sleep and i would be required to stay in the hospital, or with Novocaine injections as an outpatient. I choose the Novocaine, and what a horrible idea...

I was scheduled to have my nose re-broken the next day. My nose was injected multiple times (which was insanely painful in itself) with Novocaine. Eventually, after about one hour, the area went numb. My doctor then arrived and taking a set of tools similar to a hammer and chisel, she re-cracked/re-broke my nose in about three sections. Let me tell you, if i had any idea it would hurt that much, i would never have done it. I also have a VERY high pain tolerance level (ie: i am the kind of person that LIKES the feeling of being tattooed, even when i had one on the top of my foot..)
Sadly the procedure was not successful and I ended up with not only the need to have a second general anesthetic operation, but also gained dorsal bumps. I was beginning to lose a little of my faith by that point..

Anyway, the initial damage incurred was as follows:

• Tongue split and lacerated - i dont recall how many stitches but i still have no feeling in the tip of my tongue
• Nerve damage - mainly my tongue 
• Nose broken and deviated - Even though the hospital at Khun Yuam said nothing was broken - ongoing issues with my nose..
• Hand fractured - my right hand too. Hospital in Chiang Mai said it would be ok, but its not. |
• Facial scaring - a fair bit of scaring, which i have had various treatments for (see below). I also had my nose bridge completely concave on me, but i resolved that... (again, see below).
• Scar tissue on my hand - nothing i cant handle really, occasionally gets itchy still

When the first surgery for fixing my deviated broken nose didn't work i was scheduled for another surgery, this time via general anesthetic. This required me staying in the hospital. Given that i has spent weeks in hospital just a few months prior to this accident (read about my first accident here), i was filled with dread. I was able to book myself into a private room though, which made things easier. My spirit was breaking at this point if I'm honest. Prior to the operation I had been fairly strong and getting through it. But by this point i becoming weak and miserable.

It turned out that the surgery had helped a little, but it really didn't fix the problem. By that point i decided enough was enough and i will not go through anymore procedures on my nose for now. I decided to let it heal and deal with it later on down the lines. 4 years on and i still need to fix it properly, but I'm just plain scared..

-----
Post accident..healing..

Well, once the stitches were out and i could see the scaring, i wasn't happy really. Initially i was warned against doing too much too soon, so my plan of action was to load up on vitamins and a lot of healthy eating. I also used Bio Oil and would massage the scar tissue gently and regularly to help break up the tissue underneath. I started using silicon gel patches, which I found out ISN'T good for my style of healing. I didn't initially realise. Silicon is good for someone who produces TOO much collagen and prone to keloid scaring. This is not my make-up. I am prone to concave scaring so restricting my collagen was a bad idea. Thankfully I found this out only a few weeks into using the patches.

Down the line, when the scaring had healed for nearly a year, something like that, I began to have dermaroller treatments on my face. I had maybe around 4 treatments. They were painful but i believed helped very much. I also had two laser treatments (the same kind of laser they use on tattoos) to remove the odd blue discolouring from the scar tissue on my forehead (the scaring here was caused by my helmet rather than the ground, so maybe some kind of dye or debris got in). The laser significantly reduced the blue and the second treatment removed it enough for me not to worry about it.

To end, i had one cosmetic treatment. A filler. On my nose (and on the forehead indentation).
The filler was called Juvaderm and was used to fill out my capsized nose bridge and indented forehead scar. I didn't want to have anymore nose surgeries until down the line, so having this treatment meant that i would (hopefully) be more comfortable with my nose until i finally did get the surgery. Conclusion on that? Best decision ever! Right before my eyes my nose (and forehead) improved. The juvaderm took away the concave area and helped reshape my nose back more like how it was. I was over the moon. (Something rather odd about the whole thing though is, the Juvaderm was supposed to last around 2 years max. However, it is now over three years and my nose is still fine. I dont know if somehow my own natural collagen has filled in this area or that the Juvaderm is just lasting really well with me. I'm not complaining though!

So there we are... so far.

I do still need to get my nose fixed (i cannot breath properly), but i am hesitant.
I do however feel quite lucky that it is not as bad as it could have been.
I also feel lucky to be alive.
..and grateful to the people who helped me.

I also finally retraced my steps and something quite interesting happened, which you can read about here

Wish you all safe.

Thanks for reading.

*MOTO TRIP* (Scooter): Mae Hong Son Loop

 Chiang Mai> Pai> Mae Hong Son > Khun Yuam > Ob Luang > Chiang Mai

Another trip on my Yamaha Fino 115cc, which sadly had a bad ending (serious motorcycle accident).

You can read about that here, but for the purpose of this trip report i will leave the details of the accident out.

You will notice the map is not a neat loop. That's because it was on the 1263 that the accident happened, and there was a turn back to Khun Yuam Hospital.

Anyway.... this trip had planned to be a 3 day, 2 night trip, but i think was 3 or 4 (or 5!) nights due to the accident.

Day 1:
Chiang Mai to Pai (stopping off for coffee at our usual stop-off point, 32 Coffee Hill) . Checked into a resort called PaiLanna Which was ok, if i recall, but a little chilly and the beds were hard. This was the scene outside in the morning.
Brr!

Day 2:
After a bit of a look around Pai (which at that time was nowhere close to as popular as it is now. It still had a hippy vibe, but it felt much less touristy), checked out of the accommodation and headed off towards Mae Hong Son, planning to stop at Fish Cave on the way.


I really loved Fish Cave. It felt like something out of avatar:

At Mae Hong Son, I was lucky with the accommodation. I went looking around and found a big hotel. When I inquired about the price and said it was too pricey (in a nice way, in Thai), the lady at the desk told me to wait a moment. She got on a walkie-talkie and then when she came off it  she said she had something to show me for (i think) 400 baht (im sorry, i don't quite recall). Anyway, someone came and led around to the back of the hotel..which was under development, but STUNNING! The accommodation was a beautiful bungalow that was next to a man-made lake area. Accepted the room and was happy as could be.

Thankfully the room also had a bath, for to be honest i was aching. I suffered terrible pain in my kidneys from all the bouncing around on a bike that is like a brick to ride. Since then i always wear a kidney belt and that has really helped the issue ten-fold.

Had a quick look around MHS and then headed to bed early. To be honest my concussion from the accident has kind of wiped out most of my memories of this day..so i don't have a lot to share.

Day 3:
Found out that a friend from Chiang Mai was planning on staying a night at Khun Yuam (taking his family to see the famous Sunflower Festival), so ended up heading that way and staying an unplanned extra night in Khun Yuam. I really dont remember much sadly. I remember having dinner with them, but that's about it.

Day 4:
My friend had told of the lovely sunflowers via route 1263, although warned the road was very pot-holey. So, changing plans (unfortunately), i headed down route 1263 instead of the established MHS loop route. It was indeed extremely pot-holey and lots of gravel (this has now been resurfaced, as i retraced my trip 4 years later, which you can read here). Unfortunately around an hour or so into the route, i crashed. I was wearing an open faced helmet and no gloves. My face and hands took damage. You can read about this accident here. I was concussed. Luckily a kind Thai couple picked me up and drove me back to Khun Yuam hospital...and a pickup truck took my bike back along to the hospital too. I had good Karma that day, even though unlucky to have the accident in the first place. I was lucky too in that on the whole 1263 route there were rarely any vehicles at all. So to have two vehicles pass within moments (im guessing moments) of my accident, was nothing short of miraculous. So i spent another night (or two) in Khun Yuam.

Day 4:
I was not riding solo on this trip and so i decided to load myself up on strong painkillers and wrap up my face (which was already bandaged), and brave a pillion trip back to Chiang Mai via Ob Luang. This was a lesson in mind-over-matter, for I said nothing on this trip, but i was in horrific pain. Each bump sent waves of searing pain through my body and face. It felt like days passed, rather than hours. I also had a lot of thinking time and kept replaying the hospital and the small flashbacks i had. Trying to recall the actual accident, which i couldn't. I was also extremely sorrowful and didn't know how bad a mess my face was in or what the outcome would be damage and scar-wise. Not an easy trip....

However, the trip itself is quite wonderful..and the MHS loop is very enjoyable.

I also recommend GT.Rider MHS loop map for this trip.
Invaluable.

*MOTO TALE* - Triumph Bike Photo Shoot

I was unexpectedly invited on a photo shoot.
Not a lot to say except that it was a brilliant day and lots of fun.
Here are some gratuitous shots:
(btw, the venue for the shoot is the now-named "Grand Canyon", which has become a popular tourist attraction and which charges a fee to enter. At this time the quarry was completely abandoned and a nice secret spot for swimming in.)

 

 

 

I dont know when this change really happened.... :(

 

*MOTO TALE*(Scooter) Accident *WARNING* *GRAPHIC CONTENT* - The time I nearly lost my foot........

Well ok..so here we go, my first accident tale.
For the record, I have been accident free now for 5 years. *knocks wood*!!
This accident (and the 2nd one i had later, which you can read about here ) happened when I was a new rider, and sadly within just a few months of each other.
This tale is also one that anyone who lives in a tropical climate should take heed of.
For it could have easily been non-moto related.

First of all, one should note that life in Thailand is not anything like the "West". For starters safety is taken less seriously in general. So the hospital care is, well quite frankly, often lacking..and that goes for many of the expensive hospitals too. I have come to learn to never have complete faith in anything here. I need to triple check anything that is deemed important or serious, and I always do my own research also. You absolutely cannot 100% rely upon anything said or done here. Sure, that can be the same in the West too, but I have found not to quite the same degree.

Anyway, at the end of July I was on my way home, driving along Huay Kaew Road in Chiang Mai.
It is the norm (and often the only way to get through traffic) in Chiang Mai for bikes to use the far left of the road to drive along. Particularly useful when cars are gridlocked or at traffic lights. On this particular day I was riding along the inside when suddenly, without using indicators (or his mirrors, obviously), a red Songtaew (small minibus kind of thing) turned left sharply, causing me to crash into him. For the most part everything was fine (including my bike), but I received a nasty road rash on the top of my right foot.

The driver was either suddenly requiring fuel (as he was turning into a garage), or, which I suspect more likely, he was fed up waiting in traffic and thought he could shave off some of his time by driving through the garage and straight out at the exit. Songtaews are notoriously bad for cutting up traffic etc.

Well, when the accident happened the driver at least got out to take a look. I was furious and shouted at him in anger, particularly about him not putting on his indicators (which resulted in him dashing back to his steering wheel and switching them on ..*sigh*) The staff at the garage came over and one was already calling for the police and emergency services. (I honestly didn't think i needed emergency services, but they were called, and it was good they were called really). The police came and took down a report from me and the driver. I am lucky that the garage staff took my side and the policeman was respectful towards me. The Songtaew driver and policeman went off to the local station and I was sent in a small emergency vehicle to the hospital. My wound was scrubbed and dressed and I was sent away and had to go to the police station to sort out the report.

Now, at the time I thought that's it, nothing really to worry about. I didn't press any kind of charges or ask the driver for any compensation. I just made the report, hobbled home, and thought all would recover in a short period of time. I remember being a little annoyed as I had planned a big night out dancing..haha. I began wondering if I could go dancing anyway, but thought better of it.

As a kid in the UK I always got cuts and scrapes galore. I was a girl who liked to play like a boy, lots of climbing trees and riding a bicycle like a mad person and stealing my brothers skateboard to play on. It was common for me to get cuts and bruises. They always healed easily and I have a few white scar slithers on various parts of my body as permanent reminders. So, i figured this wound would heal pretty fast and all would be well. It didn't. In fact within a day and a half my foot became massively swollen and pink. I became very alarmed and took myself to the hospital.

The hospital suggested I be checked in to stay, but stupid me and my horrible fear of hospitals declined the recommendation. I asked instead to have outpatient treatment. So, I was put on an antibiotic drip for an hour and told to return the next day (I later found out that I really should have been administered oral antibiotics at the time my wound was cleaned, but such is life...).The bad news is that the drip didn't improve anything and the swelling and the pink area spread. I returned again to hospital and was told that i MUST check in as an inpatient. That it was serious. Very serious. So, I checked in. I was put on antibiotic drips, but the swelling and pink didn't die down. The wound started looking really quite disgusting. The doctors were worried. I was petrified. At one point I was told that if things don't improve I may have to go to surgery and... *horror*... have the foot amputated! Can you imagine what it feels like to be told that? The blood rushed out of my face. Everything felt cold.

As I was given drip after drip of antibiotics I lay in bed picturing myself getting around with an amputated foot. I told myself it would be fine and that actually it's OK. Telling myself that didn't always work though and as days went by I got used to moments where my pillow got very wet with hot tears.

Anyway, the storm finally broke and I was told the infection was gone. I don't quite recall how many days that was, but i believe around a week. Felt like a lifetime. I was then scheduled to have the wound debrided as the tissue was dead. After the wound was debrided I was stuck on a vacuum pump in a busy Thai government hospital ward.

**Why wasn't I in a private ward?
Well... because I (unintentionally) found myself without insurance. Now before you roll your eyeballs at me, it wasn't quite my fault. When I purchased my Fino motorcycle, less than two years previously, it came with two years of free insurance. After one year, when I needed to renew the tax, I went along to the Yamaha dealer that I bought my bike from and asked about the paperwork I had, to check that I was still covered. The paperwork was completely in Thai, which was just too hard for my poor reading of Thai language, so I checked with the dealer instead. The paperwork was checked and I was told, yes, not to worry, you are insured for another year. (Mind you, the insurance cover is really awful anyway, which I didn't know at the time either..but would have helped.). Not only that, but when I renewed my tax they ALSO looked at the paperwork and gave me a new tax disc. So yes, NEVER rely on ANYTHING 100% here....
The reason there was confusion on this is because i had two sets of free insurance. One was third class accident insurance and the other was theft insurance. The theft insurance was for two years, but the accident insurance was only for one year. So alas, there you go...back to the accident story...

Its really no fun being a Westerner in a busy Thai Government Hospital, at least not for a quiet person. I was a constant curiosity. I was always stared at and talked about. I also could go nowhere really,

because I'm  rigged up to a static vacuum pump. I was only allowed to be off it for brief periods to use the bathroom or take an awkward shower. I was basically a fun side show for all.
My stay became stupidly long, and it was getting past the two week period. My surgery date for the skin graft kept being rescheduled because other emergency surgeries were taking place. I pleaded to go home and wait for a surgery date, and finally they allowed me to. So, my foot was placed in a cast and I was told to keep it extremely dry...during wet season in N.Thailand..lol. Sometimes I just want to bang my head.... and scream "WHY ME???!".

So a week or so went by and I was finally informed that my surgery date was set. I went into surgery and the big gouged out wound finally was covered with a graft from my posterior (my ass, basically, but i was trying to sound more polite). The surgery was performed under local anesthetic, so the whole thing was quite weird really, but i felt nothing. I was sent home in another cast and told to be extremely careful and keep my foot elevated. The worry was that the graft might be rejected and die. Thankfully luck was finally on my side and all was well. It took nicely and healed fast, and I have a rather bizare island looking scar on my right foot to show for it.

I thought my drama was over accident-wise, but sadly the biggest one of my life was to come a few months later. You can read about this here.

I *Knock on Wood* that I never experience anything quite like either of those issues ever again..

Ride safe and remember,
as nasty as they are,
always take antibiotics in the tropics! 
 
My foot now, a bit Franken-foot,
but still attached to me, so that's ok!
    You can can read about my 2nd accident here

*MOTO TALE*: First Taste(s) of a Manual Bike

Thanks to my friend Marcus, an accomplished rider, i had the opportunity to be taught how to ride manual. He took me along to a riding park owned by his friend and i was guided on how to ride a manual Kawasaki KLX 150. Absolutely loved it.

Talking of Kawasaki's, these 150's are really fun bikes. I have had the chance to ride a 150 KLX on a few other occasions and i really like them for exploring off-road. I like the fact they are light and easy to throw about.

I felt like i had overcome a hurdle that day and was well on my way to being a "real" motorcycle rider.



The second opportunity i got to ride a manual was a month later, when i rented a Kawasaki D'Tracker 150cc and again, with help from my friend Marcus, i took it onto a quiet concrete area and practiced riding for a few hours. He wasnt impressed much when i started messing about, such as standing up whilst riding. Haha. But it was way too much fun. I really didnt want to give the bike back. Was determined to have my own bike some day, but was warned against buying a 150cc. Why? Because chances are i would grow out of it very fast. Its good and true advice actually, but now i do wish i ALSO had a 150cc KLX as well as my 250cc, for soft dirt exploring. Maybe i will some day.

*MOTO TRIP* (Scooter) -One Hell of a Trip on a Fino: Chiang Mai > Fang > Mae Sa Long > Doi Tung > Mae Sai > Thaton > Doi Angkhan > Chiang Dao > Chiang Mai

My first big trip (well it seemed MASSIVE at the time) on a bike. 3 days and 2 nights.

I had only been riding for approximately 8 months or so, and I was riding a Yahama Fino 115cc.
If you know anything about this kind of scooter, you will know it merely chugs along on any kind of incline and has the suspension of a brick. So, basically you get thrown about on any uneven road etc.. and Thailand absolutely has its share of potholes, gravel, poor roads....

Regardless, this trip is firmly implanted as one of my most amazing trips of all time. Purely because i felt like i was on a mammoth adventure. I felt like a true explorer. At the time there were less foreign tourists in these zones also, so it felt like being from outer space..haha.

I loved every moment..even the mini crash i had, due to having no idea about how to break on gravel. Found myself on the ground with my bike on top of my ankle..which later on became the size of a small grapefruit. The perils of being a self-taught moto rider, with absolutely no idea....

Mae Salong. I couldnt believe how different this place was from the rest of the Thailand i knew. They speak Yunnanese. I felt like i was in a whole other country.


Thaton, which thankfully hasn't changed much over the years. The well-known Naga serpents had just been built.

 Doi Ang Khan

Doi Tung

 Ouch............

So...what was your first motorcycle trip? How did it feel?