Learning to moped

Well I did end up getting the bike In the end, about an hour and a half after I finished writing the previous instalment. I rented for 24 hours from 3:30 pm which gave me a good chance to explore South of lonely beach towards Bang Bao in the couple of hours of sunlight on the first day, then all the way over to the east side of the island the next day.

It was very fun riding a moped and it came very naturally to me as I’m used to riding a bike and also using motor power to transport such as my virtual skateboard. The roads on the West side of the island are winding and occasionally steep but fun to drive and I enjoyed having a look around the sleepy fishing village of Bang Bao.

The east side of the island is much flatter with straight roads making it easy to cover a lot of distance blasting along at 60 km/h. I found that speed to be the happy middle ground between making the time and going so fast that the roaring wind was painfully deafening and bumps became quite sketchy.

The roads here are generally very good, much better than most places in England. They have the odd pothole and there tends to be a bit of a bump either side of bridges but overall I’m very impressed.

There was much less to see on the east side of the island. Settlements were sparse and it seemed to be just the odd resort along the coastal road.

The Ring Road does not connect at The south of the island so everything to the east is much quieter and sleepier, and there are some stunning beaches that stay almost completely empty. The trip totalled about 110 km, which is a long way when the first time I drove a bike was the day before. Even with the four hours I left, I didn’t get to stop anywhere for too long and only just got back in time.

When I got back I joined Livi on the beach and chilled for a little bit, but I was feeling a little bit battered after a long time on the moped so I went home and had a nap after not too long.

This did make me feel very refreshed and finally I felt like it was time to socialise a bit more so I headed out to the bars without Livi as she wasn’t feeling 100%

I’m glad I went out. I spent the evening with three blokes playing pool and drinking beer. It was my first proper experience of social in my time here and it was absolutely my vibe. German Richard, Israeli Shahid and Canadian Jack all shared a bit of their own experience and it makes me realise I have so much to look forward to. It’s also a very long time, the same amount I was at Redwood for which felt like a mini lifetime. It’s scary I’m less than a week in but unbelievably exciting too.Read more