rainy day crap

yesterday had a very promising start before crashing and burning (much like the meteor that hit russia only not as exciting).  pablo rented an atv and i got a scooter and we all went exploring.

the roads here are a mix of pavement, dirt and rock.  and there are alot of hills, nothing too extreme but i haven't driven a scooter in some years so it took me a few minutes before i was comfortable.  shanti pablo and sol had rented an atv a couple days ago so they had their system down, sol up front standing and holding onto the padded bars, pablo driving, and shanti behind, holding onto sol.  sol got a cute little helmet with a visor and looked like a true biker baby.  except none of the local babies wear helmets, they're just for tourists.

we went up and down some pretty steep hills to get to our first beach on the other side of the island and swam for a bit.  we went to this particular beach because our boat taxi driver took us there the first day and showed pablo a giant rock that he could jump off.  the rock was pretty high and after swimming out and climbing the base he had to use an anchored rope to get to the top.  he made a successful jump, sol practiced his new swimming moves, and we went to sit in a nearby restaurant to escape the unexpected rain sprinkles.

as soon as the rain stopped we loaded onto our bikes to find another beach.  up and down some hills, some of them pretty sketchy, and we ended up going pretty vertical towards a resort with a view.  it was called 'eagles nest' and that's pretty much what it was.  i was not particularly looking forward to going down the giant hill we climbed to get there but i had a very new scooter with good tires so i wasn't worried that i'd have any problems.  it did occur to me that if i did any damage to the scooter i wouldn't be able to hide it since the scooter was so new, and when we were at the rental place we had to sign forms with the price lists for replacing parts.  we also had to leave our passports as a guarantee so there wouldn't be any ducking out of payment.

we pulled up to the resort right as the rain started coming down, might as well stay here for lunch.  the eagles nest was an open air restaurant with a metal roof and cushions on the floor by the tables.  as we were looking out over the incredible view the storm really blew in and it was a total white out, pouring rain blowing onto us wherever we sat.  sitting in the only building above the treetops high up on a hill during a thunderstorm under a metal roof made for an exciting lunch.  the food was really good too.

the storm lasted about an hour and finally it blew off to the other side of the island.  we were ready to get back home for sol's nap before we headed out again.  to add to the excitement, the giant hill we climbed was soaking wet from the storm and we slowly started making our way down.

about 2 minutes into our descent i heard tire squeals and yelling and before i could look an atv plowed into me from behind.  the guy had the whole open road to fly out of control but he had to steer right into the tiny bit i was already on.  he was fine but i'm laid out under my scooter, so mad that 'fuck' is about the only word that was coming out of my mouth.  another guy ran up to help get my scooter off me and the idiot on the atv was just sitting there.  i yelled at him.  a lot.

after assessing my arms and legs (and thanks for even asking if i was okay, asshole), i started looking at the damage on the scooter and thinking about how much it was going to cost, and that i didn't want to pay it.  i told him that he needed to pay for the scratches and dents and my adrenaline was spiked pretty high and so i wasn't being very nice.  all he kept saying was 'calm down', not 'are you okay' or even 'sorry' so i thought i was going to punch him in his smarmy face.  if he had even offered a small word of concern i might not have been so fucking mad.

his friends were much nicer and it was decided that they would follow us back to the rental place to pay for the damage to my scooter.  we had seen warnings about rental places charging outrageous amounts of money for minor damage so this was not something i was looking forward to.  if the guy ditched us on the way i'd be stuck paying or lose my passport.  to add to my worries i didn't want the guy driving behind me down the giant wet hill but his friends assured me that they would stay between us.  the guy and his friends were covered in fresh bloody scrapes from earlier in the day so it didn't make me feel much safer.

we made our way to the bottom of the hill and across town without incident, although i was shaking from post accident energy the whole way.  the rental place had a fairly steep incline and i gunned my scooter up and smashed right into an atv parked in the driveway that i couldn't see.  which caused me to dump my bike again, this time right in front of the doorway of the shop about 2 feet from the owner who was sitting on the stoop.  fucking great.  i haven't felt like such an asshole in a long time.

instead of having the guys deal with the damage and the owners alone i had just put a fresh set of scratches on the front fender to pay for.  awesome.

the owner brought out a price list (which i had ignored when renting the scooter) and the amounts were ridiculous.  there was also a condition that no matter what damage is done the price charged will be to replace the entire part.  my front fender, although there were just a few scratches that could be sanded out and good as new, was going to cost me 4500 baht ($150).  the mirror and exhaust cover damage from the accident also had scratches that weren't too horrible but the owner was going to charge them 3500 baht ($115).  and so started about an hour of arguing and bargaining and i was pretty sure that i was going to have to break into their shop at nite to rescue my passport.

the argument went round and round and the owner was not willing to come down in price below 4000 baht for all of the damage.  it was pretty ridiculous that a few scratches would make him insist that each part needed total replacement.  some sandpaper and paint and the scooter would look brand new.  but he wouldn't budge.

pablo had come with me to help and i am so grateful for that, i was pretty useless.  i was angry and bruised and not feeling like being nice.  pablo took charge and was amazing.  finally the guys realize that they are going to have to pay what is asked and gave me 2000 baht for their part and we let them go.  the problem now is that i don't have money.  i was supposed to come up with 2000 for my part and i only had 1350 in my wallet.  pablo had dropped shanti and sol at the hotel with their bags and he didn't have any money either, so we're stuck there because i couldn't come up with the amount for my damage.  that makes me even more pissed off because if the guy hadn't hit me in the first place i wouldn't have rammed the atv.  but nothing to be done about that now.

pablo is being reasonable and respectful and i started apologizing and telling them i had no more money and please accept what i have and they keep refusing.  so we all just stand there getting no where.

after another 20 minutes or so the old woman at the shop said something to the man and she took my money and called it even.  finally.

i was supposed to have the scooter for the rest of the day, until 9am the next morning, but i was worried that they would 'forget' that we had paid for the damage and have to start this all over again so i exchanged my key for my passport.

i think what i'm maddest about is that both my knees and both my ankles are bruised and sore and that puts an end to cheap foot and leg massages, my favorite thing to do here.

pablo on his rock