Never too old to learn new tricks

Here I am, at the ripe old age of....... well never mind, donning my helmet and riding on the back of a motorcycle through chaotic traffic and complete madness.

This is not something that I've experienced in my life before except for a brief few hours during a trip to Pattaya, Thailand over a decade ago.  I wasn't a happy camper then and I'm not so sure I am now but I'll get over it (I hope).

Paul's still a bit wary on the bike; not with riding it but with the way the traffic scurries around here from every which way obeying no rules and seemingly no logic, so I've only ridden pillion with him a couple of times so far and then for VERY short distances.  Today, a friend's domestic worker took me into town on her bike to try to sort out an ongoing internet problem I've been experiencing.  It involved several trips to several places and I actually managed to stay cool, calm and collected the entire time despite feeling as though we were a target in some silly arcade game.

I've thought about getting a bicycle but not sure it would allow me to get to my next birthday if I ventured beyond the gate of this complex.  Everyone here has grown up on a scooter or motorbike.  You see kids who can't be more than 12 years old collecting their younger siblings (and I mean that in the plural) from school and they're so young that their feet can hardly reach the ground.  But they all drive around, weaving their way in and out, with no concerns whatsoever.

Once Calypso is safely in the harbour, I'm going to have to work out how I'll get back and forth to supervise the work aboard.  It's a good five kilometres away across the bay and there are no buses:  I'll probably have to hire someone to fetch and carry me.   Everything here is a learning curve.