Blind spots in Thailand
On a wall of about five hundred meters is painted at least fifty times the request of the municipal council in Hua Hin not to feed the monkeys. Almost every day, Thais come with big bags and throw bananas and pineapples on the sidewalk in front of the wall. What the monkeys don't eat falls prey to pigeons and other vermin. The monkeys are just as ungovernable as the feeding Thai. They (the monkeys) hang on cables for electricity, internet and telephone. Almost every day, technicians come to repair the broken cables, a job with a future…
Anyone who ventures on Thai roads in the dark is regularly shocked by the appearance of motorcycles (scooters) without rear lights. The driver/star often wears dark clothing and is therefore hardly noticeable. To be able to see for yourself, the headlight does burn. But whether other road users can see the vehicle is of no concern to the driver. A lamp costs less than half a euro, negligible compared to your life.
And then it starts to rain, preferably at dusk. Don't think that all Thai drivers, even in a gray or black car, turn on their lights to make themselves more visible. You can hear them thinking: I still see enough, don't I? Unfortunately, they don't hear me grumbling that the problem is that I hardly see them. Perhaps economy has something to do with it, because this way the lamps last longer.
Stripes on the road? They serve as decoration, not to shield road halves. And those dumb helmets are just there to make cops money if you don't have them on. This week, a police officer on a motorcycle was overtaken by a helmetless man on a scooter. The two pretended to be air for each other. The officer was wearing a helmet. He is therefore an exception, because a policeman is above the law and therefore does not need to wear a helmet. This is how the husband of a friend came to an end. After all, an officer does not have to wear a seatbelt. But he did hit his head through the windshield and bled to death.
Thais know that a line is the shortest path between two points. So the inside bend is taken much too wide and the outside bend much too tight. For example, last week I almost had a scooter on the hood. The man in question has learned nothing from it, because a day later, almost the same thing happened to the same man at the same point. I find it acceptable that people want to commit suicide. But for heaven's sake keep me out of it.
That of those monkeys is going to cause an uncontrollable problem, until a monkey with rabies bites a driver's child.
Is it advisable to vaccinate against rabies? We go to BK, Ayuthaya, Katchanaburi, Hua hin, Koh Tao.
Is that also a problem in Hua Hin? Where is that then? In Kao Thakiab? That's the only place I know where monkeys are abundant. And maybe neither Ao Noi, on his way there.
I was in Phetchaburi with my wife last Sunday. We then took the train there and walked to the park. When I saw a beautiful building nearby, I was amazed at the number of monkeys that climbed on that building. Just creepy. That corner was full of monkeys and they were quite brutal. Maybe because it was Sunday and few shops were open, so less people, they were more daring.
As for the traffic… yes, I know, it annoys me too, especially when you see the most illogical ways of driving. It's too much to mention. I don't want smooth, mechanical driving like in the Netherlands (where you get caught if you make a mistake once), but it would be really desirable if people couldn't just buy their driver's license here, but really learn how to do it. had to follow.
If you follow Chomsin Road uphill towards the Hin Lek Fai viewpoint, you will see a long wall on your left. That's the back of Royal Golf. Countless monkeys live there.
I do about 30,000 km a year on the Buddha's roads. I really hate how they drive here…so many accidents, so much unnecessary suffering. Defensive driving is a must, and I know most of the dangers here, but I am still regularly surprised by impossible situations. They are not interested at all.
Dear Hans,
I know that place all too well, but I am increasingly avoiding it.
I cycle past it regularly on my racing bike to conquer the adjacent hill with a gradient of almost 20% and end up at a beautiful viewpoint, called Hua Hin viewpoint.
But……… last week neither did I have a monkey on my back and one on my handlebars, luckily it was only for a short while and no bites but I was shocked….That was along the wall, but now the monkeys are also showing up on the steep climb hill and it is getting more and more.
Oh yes Hans , have you already met the growing dog population after the 500 meter wall ? They are still quiet, for how long…..
Every foreigner with a healthy brain who lives in Thailand is amazed at the many stupidities that the average Thai commits every day. Absolutely no respect for the law and do not follow any rules. If things go wrong once, they don't learn from it and just continue in the old way. Like that woman who hit my car on the road from Pai to Chiang Mai. She was on the phone behind the wheel and wasn't paying attention. The police wanted me to take the blame because my rental car was properly insured, but of course I didn't. When she left the police station, she drove behind me again. Her hood was pushed up quite a bit by the impact but I could just see that she was on the phone again while driving. Super tough.
Now I am unfamiliar with the situation in Hua Hin, but everywhere in Thailand where monkeys live in close proximity to people, I have seen stalls selling food for the monkeys. Thai and foreign tourists like to feed monkeys/animals, even in zoos where signs are asked everywhere to do so for the welfare of the animal. Although not entirely comparable, pigeons are fed in a number of cities in the Netherlands, especially in the inner city. Pigeons will not attack humans, but they can pose a threat to public health, not only through their faeces, but also because leftover food, like simple duck feeding, attracts vermin. That is why in some municipalities in the Netherlands fines have been imposed on feeding pigeons and ducks, they should also do so in Hua Hin with regard to the people who, perhaps well-intentioned, empty bags with food for the monkeys. I can share your annoyance about not having proper lighting in motor vehicles. In addition to motorcycles, a relatively large number of lorries have inadequate or even no rear lighting at all, and some drivers do not seem to realize that they are very poorly visible to other road users at dusk and/or rainy weather without lighting. Incidentally, the traffic mentality in the Netherlands leaves more and more to be desired. Hordes of pedestrians, who think they are alone in the world and cross haphazardly without looking left or right and massively ignore red traffic lights. The latter also applies to cyclists and scooters, many of whom I suspect have been on holiday in Thailand given the fact that they often use the sidewalk as a lane and drive against the direction as 'ghost drivers'. I myself live in the Netherlands opposite an intersection with traffic lights and I notice that more and more motorists, including many taxi drivers, drive through the red light and pass the intersection far above the permitted speed, especially at night. Hans, of course I wish you many safe kilometers on the road in Thailand and hopefully the motorcyclist, whom you almost had on the hood, will soon realize that he has to adjust his driving behavior to avoid accidents, although I have a hard head about that .
Burning Water,
Much has been written about Thai civil disobedience, but we can do something about it too. I am an avid Thailand cyclist. And dress up in the ugliest, but fluorescent, cycling clothing with some flapping flags. Not for show, but to stand out safely is a must!
On my bike tour in Nerd Thailand I passed a few cyclists and complimented them on their beautiful anthracite-colored bicycles and the matching fast, also, anthracite-colored cycling clothes. I couldn't help pointing out their “invisibility” in the dangerous Thai traffic.
Looked at me as if they saw water burning.
But I also meet sensible world cyclists!!