In Thailand going from one place to another is done by motorcycle. That is a law of nature from which you don’t deviate or it could be detrimental to your health. So if your motorcycle is broken or a motorcycle is not available to you for whatever reason, you are really bound hands and feet. Last Sunday this crystal clear truth became very clear to me.

We were going to visit a lady with the three of us, Wongduan, Mali and me. Since a couple of weeks both Wongduan and Mali are totally immobilized because neither one of them has a motorcycle at the moment. Now they cannot go any place, life is very tiresome and inconvenient. Unfortunately, I cannot offer them transport  by car to the lady, who lives about threehundred yards from the church, either. My husband is using the car.

“Well, let’s walk”, I suggest. Both ladies stare at me with eyes big of dismay. “Walk??” They look around them doubtfully, hoping that maybe a motorcycle that they haven’t noticed so far, will suddenly pop up. But alas, the naked truth cannot be denied. There is only a bicycle, and we cannot ride it with the three of us. So, out of solidarity I walk with them and thus we head for the house of the lady. I try my best to walk as slowly as possible, but when I arrive at my destination, Mali and Wonduan are a good hundred yards behind me.

The visit at the lady’s house is very pleasant but towards the end of it, I notice that my two companions start feeling fidgety. Soon this unsettledness is being put into words. “How shall we get from here to my house?” Wongduan asks. When I don’t answer instantly, Mali repeats the question. “Well, by foot”, is the answer I am about to give, but I am starting to feel that the half mile to Wonduans home might not be reached by foot. Eventually, lacking alternatives, I propose this answer, but in a proper doubtful tone. This time there is no dismay to be read from the faces of the dear ladies, but pure panic.

But, oh glory! A solution is revealed in this dark situation. The sharp eyes of Mali discern the unmistakable outlines of a motorcycle that is parked at the restaurant of her brother, which is located right next to the ladies’ house. “I borrow my brother’s motorcycle so we can at least go to Wongduan’s house,” she decides. I wipe my forehead in relief. Fortunately they have been able to excape from a rough and miserable walk of a half mile.

Picture: Nina_999