Phuket Problem part II

I'd love to “stick it to the man” and rent a motorbike of my own, which is the preferred and cheaper form of transportation, but I'm too afraid. The streets are congested with lawless traffic.

Road lines are faded suggestions, speed and age limits don't exist and even the direction of traffic flow is open to interpretation. I've seen kids motoring around, with their friends/siblings, and drivers going the wrong way down streets narrowly avoiding head-on collisions. Helmets aren't required, which wasn't the case in Malaysia where I experienced another discrepancy between foreigner and local treatment.

When I was in Malaysia I had hitched a ride to the Yaht club with an old Italian man and was pulled over by the police for not wearing a helmet, even though I had seen hundreds of other passengers, usually kids, helmet-less. The special price for me was a 200 Ringet fine. After some talking, however, I ended up getting a ride to my destination in the police cruiser, without paying the fine.

I guess I don't always mind corruption when it's in my favor.