abode acrobat . net

I escaped from Samet partly because the mosquitoes had pretty much destroyed my feet and ankles. Koh Chang was rumoured to be tamer (although those mosquitoes present may be malarial), so here I am with my feet up. This island is much bigger, however, and mobility is a problem. Others have suggested motorbikes, but with no riding experience I decided to see if I could flag down a taxi circling the perimeter road.

After quite a struggle I ended up somewhere other than where I wanted to be, and started to think that surely a teeny little moped couldn’t hurt? After complex negotiations about how I would be able to extend the hire beyond a day if necessary, and a brief guide to the moped’s controls, off I went. Not wanting to worry the owners, I was determined to set off confidently. The first stretch went surprisingly well, then I even managed a corner.

The photograph here shows the point 500m down the road where I fell off - according to a witness I was going too slow and the bike toppled off the road. Sorry I couldn’t get a picture of the bike wedged into the barrier with me underneath it.

Despite rather dramatic damage to the bike (shoddy engineering I say), my only injuries were grazes and bruises on my feet. The hobble back to the shop with a swollen toe, and then 5km home, was agony. But at least when the mosquito bites become too painful, I can focus on the injuries instead. And of course if the swelling and grazing is overwhelming, I always have my mosquito bites to fall back on.

So the search for a transport solution remains. I will enquire at the elephant hire centre, but I don’t think they really go fast enough.