I knew hiring a moped on Ko Phangan was a bad idea...

Years ago, in Vietnam, when we were on our first RTW, I had a go at driving the moped we’d hired.

I got my twisting, pulling and pushing mixed up and mounted the pavement extremely inelegantly  scattering the picnicking Vietnamese family who were quietly enjoying their lunch.

I hadn’t been near a moped since.

This morning, on Ko Phangan, I thought it was time to face my demons and have another crack at the moped thing. It can’t be so hard. Everyone here rides one, usually with babies, toddlers, sisters and grannies riding pillion.

I spent an hour practising, up and down our lane to Haad Salad Villa and went for a solo ride to Haad Yao, conquering the incredibly steep hills on the way.

Yesterday I published a post called Family Budget Travel. I clearly stated that I would never put my babies on the back of a moped. Well that was yesterday!

We had a lovely family moped ride to Thong Sala.

Riding a moped on Ko Phangan is really pleasant,there is nice scenery and interesting things to look at. The other drivers are thin on the ground and considerate to bikes.

The boys enjoyed the ride and were great passengers, Boo and I were singing, having a lovely time. I was feeling really proud of myself for learning a new trick.

We pulled into Thong Sala and decided to stop for an ice cream at the 7-11.

This is where it went pear shaped.

Chef pulled into the pavement, I pulled in alongside him, both the kids hopped off.

For some reson I will never understand, Chef reached over and tried to put my front brake on. I was stationary and about to take the key out of the ignition.

As he squeezed the brake he squeezed my hand on the ignition putting the bike back into motion. The bike and I mounted the pavement and I fell off.

I’ve bruised my knee and Chef has burnt a hole in his running shoes on my wheel ( which will hurt him a lot, he loves to run).

We’re fine, the kids are fine but this is GOING TO COST US!

We’ve damaged just about every panel on the bike. I don’t know how much it will be yet, but it won’t be cheap. So much for saving money on transport by being self propelled.

It could have been a lot worse.

We were all wearing proper shoes and long trousers, they saved my knee and Chef’s foot. Everyone had helmets, although no heads were involved. Please take care!

Ours was a freak accident, we were ultra careful and rarely went above 20Km/hour and we still had a crash.

It’s hit us in the pocket but we’re all fine and I’ve learnt how to ride a moped OK. It’s a useful skill to have in SE Asia. The bikes cost us 150 Baht each per day. You couldn’t get a tuk tuk from Haad Salad to Thong Sala for that.

In conclusion I’d just like to say, IT WASN”T MY FAULT, Chef is totally to blame!

UPDATE: THE COST OF REPAIRING THE MOPED WAS  $460.

They claimed that every scratch on the thing was down to us and saw us as a great opportunity to make money. Think about that before you hire a bike on Ko Phangan! I must say though, it’s about the only way to see the island, taxis, tuk tuks and water taxis are expensive, there is no public transport and you can’t walk. Lesson learnt, never hire a bike unless they will offer insurance. I can tell you exactly where NOT to hire a bike on Ko Phangan.