A friend recently nominated me to post a photo(s) that makes me feel proud to be a Biker. So be aware that this blog post is a rather indulgent one. Read on only if you can forgive me for being so self-focused..!
Turned out to be not as easy a decision as I thought it would be.
How can one sum up that feeling succinctly in photo form...?
I mulled it over for a while to work out what photo(s) would best illustrate that feeling for me....
So, initially I thought maybe the adventures I have enjoyed on a bike could sum it up..because that's a huge part of what I love about riding.
..but no, not quite right....
..then I thought, maybe it could be the fantastic events I have been lucky to attend...
..but no again.
<--Err, sorry ..that's a little random. Its just that all this "no again" stuff suddenly had me thinking of the Hong Kong Phooey cartoon I watched as a kid. If you have no idea what I'm talking about then you are either too young or too old or not from a country where this was shown, and I am not going to help you out by giving my age away :p
..ok, back to "the - plot - thickens" style deduction...
So I thought maybe its the great motorcycling friends I have made over time, who have been great fun to hang out with and who have been helpful to me.
but nope..as much as I love my friends, that isn't quite cutting the mustard for me either.
Then i figured what about that time i felt like Ms Hot-Chick-On-A-Bike? haha...
..but although I had a lot of fun that day, the personal sum of my motorcycling worth isn't measured on whether I look hot or not on a bike.
Lastly I was thinking maybe its the progression from automatic scooter to manual bike.. which has been pretty much self taught aside from initial guidance...and that was a close definite for me.
But nope nope nope.. .....and then it hit me like a lightning bolt. I also had the perfect photo to illustrate it...
What makes me feel proud to be a biker is the resilience to keep going, to get back up on the saddle even after falling. The unbelievable urge and desire to be on that bike NO MATTER WHAT. The fact that most bikers I know, myself included, have had accidents or bike related injuries, yet where possible they dust themselves off and get right back on. In fact, most will still be dreaming about getting back on their bikes even when trussed up in a hospital bed with pins coming out of limbs. This resilience makes me proud to be a biker.
The photos I have chosen to sum this up, is the photos illustrating my accident and then the photo of finally having the nerve to retrace that accident..and complete it.
I had ridden many routes over the four years since my accident, but just couldnt bring myself to retrace the actual accident route. So..that day was an achievement for me, and a day when i finally put the past to bed.
Of course, I do hope to never have another accident again, at least not anything severe. ..and I wish the same for my fellow riders.
Road sections polished like pebble stones + oil residue + short but hard tropical rainstorm + mountain curves = lots of this.
I saw three accidents today at Doi Suthep; 2 motorcycles and this car. I didn't even go up the whole mountain. This was just a small section. Thankfully on all three, nobody was hurt.
Samoeng loop the last few days was like riding on an ice rink in
sections. My bike sliding, yet my tires are good. Lots of oil residue on
polished roads. Bad enough as is, but add a spot of heavy rain and it
can feel like an oil slick.
Mini Adventure Drama...with a magical twist. (...involving "homing pigeon" shoes, a beloved moto jacket, an orange shopping bag, and a dizzy female > me)
Day 1 (2 days ago):
Took a quick motorcycle trip around the Samoeng
loop, only to stupidly lose a bag i had (obviously) tied badly onto my
bike. In that bag was an awesome pair of beat up flip-flops and my
prized motorcycle jacket that fits me like a dream (we women of various
shapes and sizes don't find this easy to come by!). So..tracing back my route 3 times and finding nothing, i eventually gave up. Handed in
my number to a local policebox and returned home despondent.
Day 2 (yesterday): With a renewed resolve of at least ATTEMPTING to
find my jacket, i made up some posters and flyers in English and Thai
(thanks to help from my friend Tik). I went back over the area and
painstakingly got on and off my bike on a hot day to hand people the
posters and flyers and explain the situation. I figured that if i didn't
at least try, i would end up kicking myself. Nothing ventured, nothing
gained. If i didn't get the bag back, it wasn't meant to be. The nice part
of the whole thing was that it forced me to interact with people (which
I'm normally quite reserved about), who all turned out to be lovely and
helpful. A bonus being some mahouts with baby elephants that i stopped
to chat with.
Day 3 (today): Well officially last night really. I
received a phone call around 7pm last night. My bag was found! I was to
meet at the local police box at 9am. I arrived at the box before 9am,
(and as is the way of Thailand in general haha), when I arrived, I was told that the lady who found it had gone to work and forgotten to bring the bag in. So, I had to ride back 80km or so home and wait to return later.
Around 2pm i received a call to say the bag was handed in and to make my
way back to the policebox.
I arrived to find all the contents intact! The
policeman (although not smiling in the photo) was lovely. I left
an envelope with a finders fee for the lady who found my bag, and a bag
of home made treats for the policeman. Really amazed and happy about
the outcome.
----- The magical twist...
..ok. The
flip-flops that were in the bag are really old beat up things that i
have had for approx 8 years. In that time they have been washed down a
fast flowing river and retrieved (which i actually have a comical video
of) ..fallen off on a road... fallen down a mountainside... and well, a
number of things. Yet, they somehow let themselves be found. Because of
these magical homing-pigeon flip-flops, my bag and jacket came back to
me. HAHAHA.
--- To end..
Most people do like to return
things. I could have made it easier for them to do so if i had put a
number in the pocket of the jacket or used a marker on it etc. Its a
good heads-up to me to do this to my motorcycle gear and anything
important to me. So...might be a good tip for you to do so too. ^.^
So i think its about time to learn more about fixing up my own bike. You know "just in case". ..and, because i enjoy it. ..and, because im Scottish (frugal is the word, frugal!) Anyway, there was an rather annoying ratting/vibrate sound coming from my bike. The longer i didnt do anything about it, the more the sound began to irritate me.
So... time to investigate. Turned out to be one small thing. A missing screw. Funny really. One small thing causing a whole lot of noise.
Talking of bike maintenance, i also finally did my first home oil change. Yes, i really havent done it myself before..>.< Pretty
vile what came out actually, and shockingly small amount. Feeling ashamed
that i let the oil get so low and so manky before changing.
After a bit of distance and several years of riding under my belt, i felt strong enough to retrace the route of my motorcycle accident from four years ago.
Given that I had concussion at the time and remembered nothing leading up to the accident, I wondered if any memory would return.
My full trip report is posted separately here,so this blog is concentrating solely on the ride on route 1263, where i had the accident.
I set off along the road and no memories were returning. I kept looking around trying to get some kind of flashback, but nothing came. The road had also been resurfaced, so that probably didn't help much either. As the route went on I began to just enjoy the route, often forgetting the purpose of my trip. It really was a lovely route.
I was already more than halfway into the route and totally happy, when I had a sudden frightening and strange reaction. (My body is full of goosebumps just now, just writing about it and remembering!) I came around a curve at a bow of a hill, and suddenly it was like a camera bulb going off in my face. The whole scene became like camera snapshots rather than reality. Sudden terror took hold of me and my body began shaking convulsively. I let out an horrible wail. (Im really filled with goosebumps and shivers going up my back now!!) I was still riding and this was really not a long section that I experienced this weird and terrifying reaction. I pulled over to catch my breath.
Huge body shaking sobs took over for a moment and I slumped over my bike, letting it out for a bit before finally composing myself again. I looked back over the area I had just passed and I was filled with utter terror. Yet when I looked at the road in front of me, I felt neutral. I absolutely KNEW that was the section of road. I cannot explain it. I do not recall the road. No memory came back. But inside of my brain somewhere the GPS location of my accident is hardwired. Amazing really!
Early this afternoon when the sky was overcast, i went to exercise at a
park just down from Doi Suthep mountain.
The sun began to emerge and
seeing as i had already pretty much worn myself out, i decided that i
may as well hop on the bike and head up the mountain.
The sun was
out.
The air was clear.
The sky was blue and filled with big puffy
clouds.
Just perfect!
A bit further along i see a guy on a KLX 250
riding leisurely. Overtook him. But like sticky rice, he was right on
my back the whole way. At the 2nd lookout i pulled over, as did he. Ironically it turned out that the guy was someone i had been meaning to meet up with for around a year or so.
We got to chatting for a while, but in the full sun.
Suddenly I became very
aware that i was getting seriously faint. I told myself to snap out of
it, but myself didn't listen. (Remember that i had already worn myself out
earlier from the workout (and although i drank water, it was probably
not enough)). I had planned to eat lunch after working out but didn't (as
i instead went up the mountain), so that probably didn't help either. So it must have been a combination of lack of food and water, and a touch of heatstroke. But really brought on by a lack of hydration (ALWAYS keep yourself hydrated!) This bad combination not
only made me nearly fall off my roadside perch by fainting...it
also..(thank you Murphy's Law)..made me (in front of several
tourists)..PROJECTILE VOMIT over the side of the view.
No ordinary
graceful vomit either (if vomiting could ever be graceful
really...)..but PROJECTILE. Oh happy days. @.@ (Picture "The Excorcist" ..)
....Once
recovered, i attempted to redeem myself and my embarrassment. All i
could think of to say was "the only way this could get worse, is if i
sh*t myself".(Classy, right..)
..and NO, thankfully i didnt (sh*t myself)..! But bloody hell after i said
it i thought, 'Murphy' (Law) is a mean bugger and he may just add insult
to injury!
..anyway, it turned out good in the end.
Decided to
throw in the towel of my day and head further into the mountain.Thankfully it turned out to be something funny to look back on, rather than something solely cringe-worthy. But that's often about the company too. So thank you to those who help me laugh at awkward situations.
I recently wrote on my Facebook timeline "Today the weather God decided that ordinary rain made of water droplets
was too boring. He decided that rain made of millions and millions of
tiny little razor blade needles that have the ability to penetrate the
skin like lasers when riding a moto, would be far far more fun..", however, not to worry, it isn't always this way. In fact Rainy Season is a very beautiful time in Thailand in my opinion.
If, like me, you come from a standard four-season country (in my case, the UK), you will likely associate rainy days with gloomy days. In Thailand however, it is often warm rain and not uncomfortable. It usually comes in big heavy bucket-loads, rather than drips and drabs, and it usually comes in short sharp spells. Almost like someone turned a big giant tap on, or dropped a huge bucket of water down. It suddenly on, and then its suddenly off again.
The beauty of rainy season for me is how lush everything becomes. During the hot season months prior to rainy season, where temperatures can reach up to the 40+ (centigrade), the land becomes parched and dry. In truth much of Thailand's beauty comes from its stunning nature, and when dry season has sucked all the moisture out of the ground and all the leaves off the trees, it isn't as pretty a sight. There is a sorrowful amount of litter in Thailand also, and the lush green vegetation hides this sorry shame. In dry season plastic bottles and waste is revealed, exposing a nation that generally needs to be more educated in keeping its country beautiful.
But well..back to rainy season. Rainy season starts from around May and goes on for as long as five months, ending around October. Its usually a four month season. Lately the rainy seasons have seen less rain than usual, which is not good for Thailand's water resources and the vegetation. But, by the end of rainy season the beauty of Thailand is restored as it enters into the cool season and peak tourism period.
So, don't be put off from visiting Thailand during the rainy season, as you will get to experience the full glory of tropical rainstorms.
Watching a rainstorm from a balcony is one of the most joyful experiences i have here. Everything feels so alive at this time, especially the frogs, who are out in full chorus. You will see some stunning mist and cloud formations and, if you are lucky, you may even get a double rainbow! Its also low season, so everywhere is cheaper. So, that's a bonus for the budget minded!
Here is a tale to pull the heart strings and give you a little faith in humanity. My friend (an off-road tour company owner and animalistic drummer!) Alan, came across a hill tribe school when searching for new tour trails. This school was in dire need of some assistance as it was poorly funded. The main care for the upkeep was coming from the Royal Thai Border Patrol Police and the Army, with teaching carried out by volunteers. The children and their families were quite poor in the region, and there was very little in the way of facilities, including running water. So Alan, being the soft-hearted gentle giant that he is, after speaking with the staff and border police, decided that he would make an appeal to help the school out. Over the course of a few years, with the help of the local community and volunteers at the school, lots of fantastic improvements took place.
By the time I went along for the first time, some of these changes had already taken place and work was ongoing. On this particular day (14th August 2013) it was more about a celebration day for the children. Essential items were taken up in 4x4 trucks and a few riders who had donated came along for the ride. A bit of fun was organised for the children, which included a giant bag of toys for them to enjoy (which was part of the Chiang Mai ToyRide, an annual fundraiser for children in need.)
Me, not knowing what services to offer for that day, fell back upon face-painting, which I had done on a few occasions in the past with a bit of success. So, armed and ready, I waited for the children to come over and have their faces painted upon.
None came. They were super shy!
One of the volunteer teachers rounded up a couple of the children (haha, poor things!) and veered them in my direction. I had already printed out a collection of face paint designs I had gathered from the net (spiderman, butterfly face, etc), so i showed the paper to the first wary victim sitting in front of me. His eyes lit up as he pointed to Spiderman. So..Spiderman he became. This got the other boys a little excited and a low hum of whispers started circulating among them. The next brave victim took the seat and became Batman. The hum of whispers then started getting louder and the buzz of energy was starting to draw in curious faces. By the time I had finished the third face and looked up, i could no longer see the same surroundings I had before. I was now right in the center of a mob of children all battling to get a view of the facepainting going on. Haha! Great!
HOWEVER, I then realised that I had a sea of eager faces all wanted to be painted on, but only one of me. I needed to step up the pace, drastically!
I really don't think i have ever painted that many faces in such a short duration in my entire life. I just didn't want to let any of the children down. By the end of it I was hot and sweaty but I felt absolutely wonderful. I looked around and saw children playing the roles of their painted faces, whereas before they were being shy and reserved. Success! But getting back to the important stuff. Over the course of a couple of years hundreds of thousands of baht was raised. This money transformed not only the school, but paid for necessary items such as warm winter blankets and health care, such as eye testing and spectacles. I had the joy of returning again a year later to help paint the outside of the school building. Was a fun day even though I was initially teased by friends for wearing a disposable pink rain jacket (joke was on them when I had no paint splashes to worry about though!). It seemed that some of the children remembered me from before, but most were too shy to speak. They just would stand and watch a little then run away with nervous giggles when spoken to. One boy in particular though was very brave and practiced his English on me. I was very impressed!
It was a very heartwarming experience and wonderful to have had the chance to go along. Hope it gave you a nice warm feeling too :D
To end, I should give a quick plug for Alan's tour company which offers amazing tour packages. If you check his website you will see what I mean. He offers fully supported and fully inclusive, motorbike tours for off-road, on-road & enduro: Thai Bike Tours
*NOTE* A couple of these photos are from others who attended the event and not my property
Doi Inthanon is a fantastic day ride from Chiang Mai. At 2,565 metres above sea-level Doi Inthanon is part of the Himalayan mountain range, and is the highest point in Thailand.
There
is also overnight accommodation available in the National Park, but as i
haven't stayed overnight I cannot comment on that. Definitely might do
this one day though.
One thing to note about Doi Inthanon though
is the double tier pricing, which is common across Thailand. Thai
citizens pay a much lower price than foreign tourists to enter the National Park. This may seem
fair enough, but this rate is supposed to include those with documentation proving they live in Thailand. Unfortunately, it isn't quite as clean cut as it should be. For, even if you hold the correct documentation (work permit etc) and live in Thailand but have Western features, you will likely find yourself being refused the local rate. It's a bone of contention for many... but lets leave that one for now.
If you do decide to pay the 300 baht entry fee (150 for children, 50 for Thai) then you wont be disappointed. It really is very scenic. I was lucky the day I went to the mountain, because they accepted my Thai driver's license and gave me the local rate. I think this has all changed now though.
When you do get there you can explore the mountain via walking trails, visit waterfalls, visit a local hill tribe village, and visit Brichinda Cave (which is worth the visit in itself). If you do decide to visit, would love to hear your stories and reviews also. So please comment below.
Have a great trip! :) Additionally: This trip was just a few months after my accident, I remember feeling rather manly in my new gear and a little silly having such hardcore gear for a scooter ride. This gear was a gift and I am very grateful and helped give me confidence to get back on my bike. I have since upgraded the jacket to something a bit cooler and more feminine. Will update with links to a gear review when I have it.
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
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
..but no again.
finally having the nerve to retrace that accident..and complete it. 
You can can read about my 2nd accident 
