Oh my dear lord, driving in Thailand.
Discussion
Here I am in the Land Of Smiles for 7 weeks, so I get to drive the (new 
) wife's car.
Seriously scary stuff, driving in Bangkok. You would be the worst driver in the UK and still be better than 99% of Thai drivers. And last week I found out why:
Bruv in law went for his driving test. I tagged along. first of all, a written paper of 30 questions. Dunno how many you need to answer correctly but if you pass you get to do the driving practical.
Outside to a big yard. Drive forward in a straight line for 50 meters, reverse back in a straight line for 50 meters, reverse park, drive around a semi circle and parallel park. You do that without touching a bollard, and you pass. You get your licence without being tested on a public road with other drivers about.
And apparently if you know the right people, you just pay some dosh and you don't even have to take the test!
I want a
) wife's car. Seriously scary stuff, driving in Bangkok. You would be the worst driver in the UK and still be better than 99% of Thai drivers. And last week I found out why:
Bruv in law went for his driving test. I tagged along. first of all, a written paper of 30 questions. Dunno how many you need to answer correctly but if you pass you get to do the driving practical.
Outside to a big yard. Drive forward in a straight line for 50 meters, reverse back in a straight line for 50 meters, reverse park, drive around a semi circle and parallel park. You do that without touching a bollard, and you pass. You get your licence without being tested on a public road with other drivers about.
And apparently if you know the right people, you just pay some dosh and you don't even have to take the test!
I want a
in fact he should get a place on a GP grid and sort them pooftas out I thought the taxi drivers were excellent, 80 mph + inches from each other, undertaking, and using horns as indicators whilst engaging in a broken English conversation using the only two English words they know 'United' and 'Manchester'. Saw some gorgeous old Japanese cars too, the best was a mint Nissan Laurel
Starting with the bloke called David.There is a worse place than Bangkok though....
Cairo.
Officially has a road fatality rate twice that of the next highest city in the world!
I have been driven round it, which was one of the singular most scary experiences of my life.
On a short jaunt around the city centre I saw three accidents in the space of about 15 minutes. The most spectacular of which involved a lorry falling about 40feet off an underpass and catching fire.
No-one seemed especially bothered.
Cairo.
Officially has a road fatality rate twice that of the next highest city in the world!
I have been driven round it, which was one of the singular most scary experiences of my life.
On a short jaunt around the city centre I saw three accidents in the space of about 15 minutes. The most spectacular of which involved a lorry falling about 40feet off an underpass and catching fire.
No-one seemed especially bothered.
groucho said:You should try the roads on Koh Phangnan and Koh Chang. Very tricky.
I've done some motorbike riding in Koh Samui; it doesn't even seem that drinking and driving is illegal as I have seen on many occasion a police officer help a drunken rider up off the floor.
Mate lives on KP and one of his neighbours rolled his 4WD whilst extremely pi$$ed. His insurers paid out and just commented that perhaps it wasn't good to drive so drunk
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