Selling a CBR250
Things happen for a reason. My last school forcing a shit sandwich down my throat was a clear sign. Time for a change. Compounding that was a 600km MaeHongSong loop that felt like I was just going through the motions. I've ridden to every province in Thailand and it's beginning to feel old. When you get bored of riding here you know it's time to move on.



Bicycle


Although pedaling through this was awkward.
Buying a scooter
I still had to travel around Chiang Mai to tutor for a bit of pocket money. I could either rent or buy a scooter. Renting a decent one is about 4000bt/month. I figured I'd need to use one for 2 months (looking more like 3 now). So why not simply buy a cheapy and let Wan have it? So that's what I did.
I met a clueless American girl down a dark alley (good move on her part) to look at her bike. She was asking 12k but accepted 8k. I paid 3k too much as I soon discovered. She'd had it 6 months but didn't seem to have much idea about it. The ownership documents weren't in her name and the tax had expired. The brakes and lights needed attention but I could sort everything the next day.

Look at the state of that piston.
Spent another 4k replacing the piston, valve seats, brakes, lights, front tyre, battery, fuel gauge and oil filters. The tax and putting it into Wan's name brought it up to 4.5k. Phew.
I enjoyed helping my mechanic mate Sit do all this. Well, I enjoyed drinking piss while he did it.
Being a geek maths teacher I had to create a table of all the salient (to me) data points of my three motorbike purchases in Thailand.
Honda
Phantom TA200
|
Honda
CBR 250R
|
Suzuki
Step 125 Auto
|
|
First
Registered
|
June
2005
|
July
2011
|
Sep
2006
|
Province bought
|
Nakhon
Si Tammarat
|
Petchaburi
|
Chiang
Mai
|
Province
sold
|
Bangkok
|
Chiang
Mai
|
|
Date
bought/sold
|
Oct
2009/Jan 2013
|
Jan
2013/Nov 2016
|
Nov
2016
|
Age
when bought
|
4yr
4mth
|
1yr
6mth
|
10yr
2mth
|
Time
owned
|
3yr
3mth
|
3yr
11mth
|
|
Age
when sold
|
7yr
7mth
|
5yr
4mth
|
|
Price
paid
|
57,000B
|
70,000B
|
8,000B
|
Price
sold
|
30,000B
|
45,000B
|
|
Seller’s
nationality
|
American
|
New
Zealand
|
American
|
Buyer’s
nationality
|
Australian
|
Thai
|
|
Km when
bought
|
3,200
|
4,000
|
38,000
|
Km when
sold
|
47,300
|
78,300
|
|
Km
ridden
|
44,100
|
74,300
|
|
Total
time
|
7yr
2mth
|
||
Total
km
|
118,400
|
||
Round
the equator
|
2.95
times
|

It's way more suitable for riding around CM than a CBR. The basket makes trips to 7/11 a doddle. There's nowhere to store things on a CBR.
Out and about



Snake Fangs


I saw this sign in the middle of nowhere and had to do a U-turn. Sticky rice with snake? After consulting my dictionary it's actually sticky rice with snake fangs. I was curious to try some but it turns out that Snake Fang is just a brand name. So they're merely selling Snake Fang branded sticky rice. A bit like Tony the Tiger Frosties. Got me hopes up for nowt.
Brendan

Coffee in Samoeng.
Fuck You

It's ฝักยาว in Thai which I would transliterate as Fak Yao - but it sounds close to Fuck You which always makes me laugh. Here I am in a field full of Fuck You.
It's similar to saying you're 'practicing' something in Thai which could lead to this conversation:
Tam arai yoo khrap "What are you doing?"
Fuck you "Practicing"
The ridiculous sunglasses are to keep wind and flies out of my eyes on the bike.
Ganja
Further on we stumbled into some massive industrial scale greenhouses stuffed full of Marijuana. The supervisor let us in and I felt like Leonardo Dicaprio walking through the marijuana fields in The Beach.
Impressive smell.

Nightlife


One day I was with Da when we stumbled upon this illegal bare-knuckle fighting near where I live. The police never arrived during the 10 minutes I was there.

China
My first taste of Asia was Beijing in July 2006. It blew me away. I loved it and I always saw myself in China after that. However, I got sidetracked in Thailand. In 2009 I failed in an attempt to work in China. In September 2016, just before I quit my last school, I was offered a role in Xi'an. It was double my current salary with a FREE apartment near the school, a flight home and a $1500 completion bonus. There'll even be someone to meet me at the airport!
I love Thailand (I really do) but sometimes you have to use your head instead of your heart. After my retirement catastrophe I need to bank some $$ again. Every ONE month I work (and save) in China I can come back here and live stress free for FOUR months!

One incorrect word derailed the whole process. So after 10 weeks we're back to square one. I had to post the incorrect documents back to Xi'an where they'll correct the mistake and send them back to me. I'm guessing I'll be heading to China around the end of January which means I'll have had 4 months of chilling in Chiang Mai. I'm not complaining.
When you work full time as a teacher you kinda could be anywhere. You're in a school 8-10hrs Monday to Friday and the weekends fly by. You might as well get paid well for it.
HIV

The Optician said: "shit mate".
Minimalism
In 73 glorious days I've spent a whopping 34,000bt ($1k). Around 470bt/day. This includes accommodation, food, beer, petrol, the odd massage and even a gf. I could happily support this lifestyle for years. Perhaps I will once I'm 50.
Since Wan moved out (preempting my move overseas) and found a decent job to support herself, costs have declined even more. In the morning I drink coffee and do something educational. Afternoon is lunch and a spin on the bike. Evenings is a 5km run and exercise followed by an al fresco dinner. Life is good. Sabai Sabai.
The next post should be from Xi'an, hanging onto the coat tails of China's economic boom.
An excellent read, Mr. Hepple. Always enjoyed your entries.
ReplyDeletePracticing)
ReplyDeleteYou're always ditching girls like socks. Wan must be heartbroken.
ReplyDeleteEverything's impermanent. Status, wealth and relationships. Attachment leads to suffering.
DeleteHurting others leads to suffering as well
ReplyDeleteYes. She should consider that the next time she monkey branches to another man.
DeleteWomen aren't always the victim.