Getting around in Thailand

Actually I want to talk about 4 movies I watched this weekend. Since this blog is "The Asian Way" I guess I should start with something relevant though.

So, the most common form of transportation in Thailand is the motorcycle. Now this is not a true motorcycle as we know it, it is more of a cross-breed between a motorcycle and a moped. You can do up to about 60mph on these give or take depending on what size the engine is. 

Family of 5 , not one helmet !



The main difference being that while in the US, these could hold two people, in Thailand they are used to hold families of up to 5. They also use them to carry huge amounts of cargo.

   

Well at least the man has a helmet !

 Some of this may account for the high accident rate involving motorcycles in Thailand...I could be wrong though. Maybe it's the mass amounts of Lao Lao (homemade whiskey - moonshine !) While I see these all the time in Thailand , and yes I think it's funny, I can't imagine life without them. I know Karma is gonna be on my ass for that one !  Laila even lost her brother in a motorcycle accident. And I still can't help but laugh. Turns out he was driving his cycle up the winding mountain roads, but he was a bit distracted. He was carrying a very uncooperative, live pig in his arms at the time. He went wide around a corner as the pig squirmed and he swerved right into an oncoming truck. I know, I'm sick.



The bus to Krabi

Anyways, you can always take the usually slow, often smelly train to get to places also. For long hauls, I usually fly. It is very cheap to fly within Thailand. On occasion I will take a V.I.P bus for a change of pace. They have nice wide seats that recline and have a foot rest that comes up..Kinda like a lazy boy. 

Oh yeah, If you live in Bangkok, you also have the Sky train and the subway around the city.

OH SHIT ! I forgot tuk tuks ! Man, these are an exciting, white knuckle, breathe in the exhaust fumes ride !  These are normally meant for two passengers or one fat guy like me. The pic above has six Thais in it ! Anything to save a satang or two !

Ok and finally, I watched 4 movies this weekend : She's out of my League, Machete, Knight and Day and Jonah Hex.  Outta my League was mildly entertaining, same old tired plot, However, there were a couple of scenes that had me laughing my ass off. Because of those scenes, and the fact that Alice Eve is spakin' hot. B-, Then I watched Machete A+ . Made like the old 70's style action flicks. A GREAT role for Danny Trejo. The movie also has other notables such as Cheech Marin, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, and Don Johnson. I loved it in the same way as Raising Arizona. A lot of dark humor, and some slap-stick in the way of a machete. So I pressed my luck and watched Jonah Hex next. It was terrible ! The one bright spot, Megan Fox of course ! This one got a D-, would have been an F if Fox wasn't in it. Oh, one other thing, I find it amazing how much Josh and James Brolin look alike....Actually I think both their acting careers are in the shitter too.   Finally, I watched Knight and Day, figured it couldn't be worse than Jonah Hex and this did have Cameron Diaz in it ! And some other guy, Tom something or another. Anyways, this movie made Jonah Hex look good. How many times can we take watching Mission Impossible ? Oh, wait, it wasn't Mission Impossible, it was just another movie where Cruise plays a super spy. Sorry Cameron, even you couldn't save this tired ass movie F-. Waste of free download space !

CYA ! 

테리