Driving in Thailand
Driving in Thailand is OUT OF THIS WORLD
In this episode dana and Mike talk about the ups and downs of driving in Bangkok, Thailand
Full Transcript
Dana Blouin
What's going on everyone? Welcome back to Bangkok strange. Once again, today we're talking about driving in Thailand.
Mike Somerville
Never a controversial subject
Dana Blouin
never at all. Now, before we get started, do not forget to subscribe iTunes, Google Play Spotify stitcher tune in anywhere you get podcasts, YouTube, obviously YouTube. And also check out our merch shop that Bangkok strange.com we've got some shirts, mug mask all up there that you can check out. Really cool. We've got the one logo design right now with the the sort of packing label or the office label
Mike Somerville
where you get the mugs coming to so we're gonna be able to show
Unknown Speaker
off the products right?
Dana Blouin
Eventually. That's gonna be great. That
Mike Somerville
will be fun. Were you shipping that from the US?
Dana Blouin
Yeah. Yeah, I don't know if they ship from that. So they have a UK store and the US store for Teespring. Okay, so wherever they ship from
Mike Somerville
might be British British ceramic, then this could be worth a lot of money in a year or two. Probably not. Oh, yeah. Well, maybe
Dana Blouin
cheap Chinese clay
Mike Somerville
guy can hope.
Dana Blouin
Anyway, be sure to check the shop out YouTube channel. Definitely. We just finished a live stream actually. So that was killer. Yeah. So be sure if you're subscribed to the YouTube channel, turn on notifications, you'll get our live streams. We haven't really worked out a schedule yet. But we'll figure something out.
Mike Somerville
No, not really. But I think at least once a week, right? We'll have at least a podcast. It'll
Dana Blouin
be good. If we could do a live stream weekly and kind of talk about
Mike Somerville
that'd be fantastic. We could do that. And a podcast. I think we'd really be able to hit a lot of topics. Yeah, you know, a lot of topics. Yeah.
Dana Blouin
Not just lady boys and Dick pills from soy.
Mike Somerville
In other words, we've been able to talk about lady boys and Dick pills on a regular basis, weekly
Dana Blouin
by twice a week. I mean,
Mike Somerville
I gotta get my mom as a listener. Somehow. I gotta come up with some decent topics. If
Dana Blouin
you're not talking about dick pill, she doesn't just want to hear like
Mike Somerville
Michael Listen, you know what, 85 I just really need to be stimulated.
Dana Blouin
Like the guys I'm hanging out with they need these. I love to know where to get them. My mom
Mike Somerville
is a librarian she's got a degree in home economics and nutrition. She is the party of all animals.
Dana Blouin
Like you'll find in like street details in the drug. She's kid
Mike Somerville
Oh, long before it was even invented. I mean, it's like horny goat weed that she would pick up at 711 bring that shit. herself. Come on, and big toil and trouble. Yeah,
Dana Blouin
Mom, what's that? Don't eat it.
Mike Somerville
Don't just get new do not use your blood pressure is gonna go through the roof.
Dana Blouin
So Tony, huge shoulder.
Mike Somerville
Well, that's why he's huge. You think that's why he's got that nickname. He just like hung like a Shetland pony. Maybe he could be
Dana Blouin
like, 15 years younger than me. I'm surprised he didn't.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, yeah. I mean, and I'll tell you what, dude at his age. I was not I had massive blood flow going on. Yeah, even when I was your age.
Dana Blouin
I wasn't having to take it daily to weird right. Yeah,
Mike Somerville
speaking of penis, let's talk about driving in Thailand.
Dana Blouin
smooth
Mike Somerville
sailing like that. That's why I was in radio.
Dana Blouin
Talking about penis anyway. Yeah,
Mike Somerville
so I'm driving around in my car, you know, circumcised playing with my deck.
Dana Blouin
So anyone who's been to Thailand knows driving here is a fucking nightmare. To put it lightly.
Mike Somerville
It's a nightmare. But it's also very different. I mean, first of all on the left, so that's friggin weird.
Dana Blouin
It is the opposite. If you're American, it's on the opposite side of the road. If you're anyone else, you're wrong.
Mike Somerville
And if you're driving down the road people coming the other direction. Yeah, first of all motorbikes coming the other direction that's
Dana Blouin
cars. I'm driving my scooter in a truck was coming the wrong way on the fucking road. But he was on the you know,
Mike Somerville
he was like, Well, you know, it's normal. Yeah, I mean, I've only got like six blocks to go It's normal. Why would I make a U turn? And I'll tell you what's crazy about it is the other day I'm walking down the street I see someone what I'm like man when I go home, I'm gonna really miss being able to drive down the wrong side of the road. Because how fucking efficient it is. If you have to make a U turn on sukumvit you get
Dana Blouin
about a dude on a motorbike? Yeah, he's gonna drive down you do what you want Come on. So anyone knows everyone who like even follows like a traffic or or motor vehicle related news knows Thailand has the deadliest route Yeah. In the world by far and I actually done like song Ron and like the New Year holiday Yeah, the highest they they they call it like the deadly seven days each time so it's sad. You know, people are just dying left to right. They they have a death toll on the news. That's how how common it is.
Mike Somerville
To be fair, isn't it related to alcohol?
Dana Blouin
A lot of it's related to alcohol. Yeah, a lot of it's also just related to shit like driving the wrong way down fuckin six lanes of traffic and
Mike Somerville
the lack of training. Like when you and I got our way it was like, Okay, look, you got to take a class in high school. Yeah. And then maybe you can get your permit at 15 Yeah, otherwise, you got to wait till 16 and
Dana Blouin
practice for like a year.
Mike Somerville
Right? And no one under 18 could be in the car. You always had to have an adult with you.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. Which of course we always we always. Did
Mike Somerville
ye Tell you what. The odd thing was when I got my learner's permit. I had so many friends. I didn't realize were three years older than me all of a sudden yet well in the same grade. It was crazy. How many guys got stayed back? Yeah, I got my license. They're like, dude, I'm totally I mean my brother. Shocking. I look just like him. I'll just use his ID to swap those babies out. Yeah.
Dana Blouin
No big deal. Yeah, same same but different.
Mike Somerville
So here that doesn't occur. You're not getting like training
Dana Blouin
like so this isn't a primary school or secondary school like Junior High High School. Okay, right down the street. I think you have to be 20 to drive in Thailand. What seriously are 18 it's like the higher age in the US legally.
Mike Somerville
How many? 14 how many 10 year olds Do you see driving a motorbike? So
Dana Blouin
I was gonna say there's a school right up the street. Yeah, like a junior high and they're all three per bike. So the scooter for those of you who don't know the scooter is the minivan of Asia? Oh, yeah. It's everywhere. It's not SUV. It's not uncommon to see a mom and a dad. In three kids. Yeah. On a single scooter. Just whipping down. sukumvit
Mike Somerville
they put the dad will be driving. Yeah, Mom will be all the way in the back. Yeah, the middle child will be right between the two adults. Yeah. And then the youngest child will be standing. Holding the handlebars. Yeah. And the adults will be the one wearing the helmets. And the kids won't have the helmets on
Dana Blouin
No need. And it's like they're resilient. That's
Unknown Speaker
that's your Genesis me that's going to help your fans resilient.
Dana Blouin
So if there's a baby like a newborn baby, they just sort of snuck tuck that baby in between the mom holds it in, put it in get some friction. It's like a glove box basically.
Mike Somerville
Some betrayed and actually
Dana Blouin
they have little baby seats for school. Yeah, it was just Yes. So it
Mike Somerville
fall over. You want that kid to be stranded underneath the frickin vehicle. So
Dana Blouin
it's funny to even think to describe this. It's, it's a baby seat that like bolts to the front of the motorcycle and the kid sits. So they have the very popular type of bikers and underbone. Right behind the cob is an underbone the Honda wave is an underbone. The Suzuki raida underbone where they have like kind of looks like a girl's bicycle where the tube comes down. It's so you can step over it but it's not as big as like a regular motorcycle
Mike Somerville
step through like this
Dana Blouin
like step through like the click okay. And so the baby seat mounts to that underbone part of the bike. And then the kid has like a little thing that wraps around their butt and their legs just sort of hang right near the gas. right near the mall. The gas is under the seat and those buttons right near the front wheel. Oh,
Unknown Speaker
yeah, no debris, no debris.
Dana Blouin
And so that's where the kid the baby hangs out. And so that's if you want to have the full minivan conversion of your scooter variants. That's how you roll, especially with the Honda waves probably the most popular bike right now in Thailand with the shifter. centrifugal clutch. Okay, yeah, so there's no clutch right lever. You rev it up to like a, but actually that's a great little system. The Honda cub. The Super Cub. Yeah, is the same setup. And that's the most popular vehicle sold in the world. Like over 100 and 50 million or something the cub?
Dana Blouin
Yeah. Is that like the scoopy?
Dana Blouin
No, looks like the wave looks at the way just a little higher end. Okay, has metal body plates, stuff like that?
Mike Somerville
I didn't I figured the clay I see clicks everywhere.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. clicks popular because they have a 125 cc version. That wave the wave is by far the most popular.
Mike Somerville
I like the automatics because I don't have to think about I would prefer like your bike if I'm gonna have a if I'm gonna have a shifter I'm doing the clutch. See I
Dana Blouin
I like that. But in the city like the centripetal clutch is great. Yeah,
Mike Somerville
well, automatic. I would
Dana Blouin
better. Listen, triple clutch is like the it's the isthmus between the two.
Mike Somerville
So I'll tell you what the new word that you've clearly adopted as being really cool in your
Dana Blouin
world. Yes, it's Christmas.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, just because like whether you have a lisp or not. You say that word. You're fucking intelligent. Yeah, you passed your LSAT with flying colors, all that word,
Dana Blouin
your intellectual baller. Yeah, you're balling? Absolutely. intellectually, for sure. For sure.
Mike Somerville
Okay. So there's no instruction. Obviously, the alcoholism is an issue. Yeah. And arguably, in the United States. We had a friggin issue with that two years ago. We both
Dana Blouin
have Thai licenses.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, yeah. And we have both of them. Yeah.
Dana Blouin
So I have both. And I just went and converted my American license to a Thai license.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, you took the one that and but you also said you went there with your Thai license and a Thai friend.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. which helped you?
Dana Blouin
Yeah, help me facilitate the the process.
Mike Somerville
Whereas I actually had to go through the motorcycle training class in California and get the M on my license so that I went to them. And they said, Oh, yeah, clearly you're serving
Dana Blouin
my Ohio license. Just cover me for everything. Yeah. You
Mike Somerville
had a friend that said, Oh, yeah, I am. Yeah, I'm the walking em. I will justify this person.
Dana Blouin
Correct. And she was like, 18 Sure. Like, university student. She's like, hey, Yes, fine. Fine for him. Maybe just not fighting for the police.
Mike Somerville
Right, right. Yeah. No, don't worry about that. So
Dana Blouin
Oh, good. He's skilled. So I literally left the Ministry of Transport got on a scooter that had been driving illegally drove there. Yeah. Yeah. And off I went
Mike Somerville
when you were there. So I had to do I had to get a medical certificate. I had to get proof of residency. And then I had to go there with my license that does have an M on it. But she said, No, no, you still got to take a class. So Gracie and I stand around, we sit around, we wait to like, one o'clock. Everybody goes upstairs. I'm the only you know, foreigner. And we watch literally a YouTube video that was on I guess, training. All in Thai. Yeah. And and when we began, I remembered this from like, just school in general in Thailand. So the adult comes in, and everyone like even the adult, you know, male men and female men and women. They all stand up like he's like important. They don't like it. Oh my god. Maybe he's like the, you know, the general of the DMV, I'd better watch it. Start playing this video is all on time. Yeah. After about 30 minutes, they're on their phones. Yeah. Big time on their phones. I look up and you can see the amount of time is it two and a half hour video? I
Dana Blouin
was surprised they waited 30 minutes. Yeah, yeah. A
Mike Somerville
second. I waited until the majority of them went into it. Yes. I'm like, I'm not gonna get thrown out of this thing. Right. So then it's like, it's a two hour video. Yeah. So we're about 15 minutes in, the guy comes in, says something in Thai. Obviously, everybody stands up, and we leave as the video still playing. Yeah. And I'm like, Okay, well, this isn't like a bathroom break. But he would have paused. So we go outside, and then we do the tests that you went through to Yeah. But after that, like we didn't have to watch the whole video. The red
Dana Blouin
light, red, red, yellow, green.
Mike Somerville
Yes. And I was towards the back of the line. Yeah. So of course, all of the people in front of you. They're doing this in mass, right. So each person goes up and he like does something they say red grid all in Thai. Yeah. So by the time I get up there, I'm like, Okay, I think I heard what the word and taught in Thai was for red. I think I know what yellow is. And then he points to green and I'm like, green. Yeah, everybody laughs at me. I'm like, I don't know how to I did my best. And they're like, Ah, yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it.
Dana Blouin
For me. Dang red. Okay, dang. My Dang. Dang. Nice.
Dana Blouin
Yeah,
Unknown Speaker
that's a good way to do it.
Dana Blouin
For a long time. Red was the only color I could remember. Everything was red.
Mike Somerville
I mean, that's the most important one. Stop. Yes. Do not go. That's why it's at the top if it's yellow or green. Good. Okay, so there's no official training. Yeah. And the ability to do the reaction
Dana Blouin
test. Yeah, yeah. Did that afterwards. And the depth is a depth perception test.
Mike Somerville
Um, I don't know I did the break. I don't remember.
Dana Blouin
The depth. The depth perception is the break. So like you watch that you
Mike Somerville
press the pedal? I think they like, Yeah, I don't remember that. There was
Dana Blouin
a guy who kept failing it when?
Mike Somerville
I know. Right? If you don't do it, right. They're like, we'll do it again. Well, we'll do it again. And then afterwards, they're like, you don't have a clue what you're doing. Just go downstairs and get your fucking life. Just take the goddamn motorbike and get the hell out of here.
Dana Blouin
Okay, you're not allowed to smile in your license photo. Isn't that crazy? Yeah.
Mike Somerville
Well, same with passports not to capture your teeth. Really? Yeah. I mean, I think it's a monkey thing. Like,
Dana Blouin
if you have like gold fronts and you want to look?
Mike Somerville
Well, I mean, yeah. Well, if you're gangster, then obviously you can do whatever the hell you want. Because you just sit there, you're gonna hold your nine. Otherwise, you're gonna put a cap on it.
Unknown Speaker
Hey, listen,
Mike Somerville
let me into your goddamn.
Dana Blouin
My ak 47. What's the ISIS flag in the back of my passport?
Mike Somerville
Why do you think I'm wearing this hood? So, but again, so there's no there's limited accountability? Yeah, right. And you're going through the process. You don't get a license like in California, we get a license. If I get a motorcycle license, then I get a new license and it just has an additional annum on it. Yeah,
Dana Blouin
here you get to I get to
Mike Somerville
license I got the motorbike law. And it's only good for two years. I have a temporary license
Dana Blouin
right now. I'm on my my I have the the federal version. Yeah. Five Year.
Mike Somerville
Okay. So that you did that, like, obviously 18 months, two years, something like that got to renew.
Dana Blouin
I think my first one might have been only good for a year.
Mike Somerville
I think, Well, my temper they're good for two years.
Dana Blouin
Maybe?
Mike Somerville
Yeah, it's been a while now. I know. Because you just go through it. Where is it? So California, you get your license. And after that you pretty much just like log into a website and they keep your same picture, renew, renew, renew, renew, renew. I mean, as long as up to like, 75. I think
Dana Blouin
so. Yeah, you can California can do it remotely. Yeah, absolutely. So in, in Thailand, like 10 years ago, 15 years ago. It used to just be you got your license. You have that one license for life?
Mike Somerville
Never expired.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, never expired. Right. You can be legally blind, but you get a license and 16 you have surgery. Yeah. Who is this guy? They did. The old ones didn't even have photos. Really? Yeah. So you
Mike Somerville
could give it to your buddy like a hairdryer. So my
Dana Blouin
friend was telling me like he had his license. And it didn't have a photo on it. And it was good for life. Wow. And now when you went to like if you want to get a new one with your, with your photo on if and it goes into this whole process that you can get the renewable thing. But so they have their national ID card here. We don't have that. That's a big deal here. Yeah. So that has your photo. Yeah. So even if Have an old license that's good for life the slots to see your national ID. So that makes sense. Yeah, they can verify Who's Who
Mike Somerville
is it true that you can be arrested as a Thai person? If you do not have your international ID on you? I do not know the answer to that. And I heard that the other day, and I was like, Okay, well, I mean, I guess I mean, at the end of the day in California, obviously, if you're driving a vehicle, this is probably true in every state, you need to have your driver's license with you physically on you,
Dana Blouin
because unless you're one of those free to travel douchebags.
Mike Somerville
No, no. I mean, if you've gotten a DUI, you're not going to be holding that thing. But you still gonna drive around? Yeah, so long as you drive around sober then you could. At least that's what I hear. But so you can do that. But so there's no like, but what's funny in the Philippines, which I say is arguably backwards, yeah, and are not as advanced as Thailand, let's just say that, Gracie, she goes out, buys a motorbike and then kind of learns how to drive it like in a parking lot. And then upgrades to the side streets just like we do with anything bicycle kind of thing. And then she just recently went to take the course, to be able to learn how to drive this motorbike, that she drove to the school to learn how to drive. Right, so did that and now she has like a temporary license. It's good for like 90 days, okay. And then she needs to go back in like 30 and then do something like give him a medical certificate, and then she gets the permanent one. But there's nothing like that here. Now as far as I know, although you sent me an article about from Bangkok post. Yep. About this upgraded thing. So remind me
Dana Blouin
so now they're gonna want to have a health check for anyone getting a license or renewing a license.
Mike Somerville
I had to do that when I was in charge. You didn't have to get a health check now
Dana Blouin
okay. And so they won't have a health check. I assume it's the same as like your work permit visa health check. They're gonna check you for syphilis because obviously that's pandemic issue as well. Yeah, everyone, everyone's got to get a work permit. You gotta wear a mask anyway. Yeah, right. So checking for syphilis check your blood pressure. Check you for TB. Okay, and a few other things and that's your they ask you like some questions check your heart rate All That Is it
Mike Somerville
like the medical thing I had to get to get my visa to come here? Yeah, probably very soon. epilepsy, which I didn't have.
Dana Blouin
So I don't know if they I don't know if they don't check me for epilepsy when I've done it. I've done it a few times for my visa here domestically, and they have clinics that are set up just for health check.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, right. Just a couple hundred bucks. Yeah, one after another.
Dana Blouin
Like $6 us Yeah. Right. You walk in boom, check you did it. I remember when I went to is a little weird. The doctor like she had her stethoscope but she like just put her hand inside my shirt to feel what's
Mike Somerville
coercion like? So when they're like girls out on the sidewalk saying mess I mean, doctor.
Dana Blouin
No, but she's like, Oh, your heart is strong. I'm like,
Mike Somerville
Dude, why don't you video this? This
Dana Blouin
is gold. This was years ago. But yeah, it was that was a little strange. And no blood work. She just goes, you don't have syphilis. I don't like mesh like, Okay. Now Did she say Did she touch your boobs? And then basically asked if you had syphilis or beforehand you don't have syphilis, right? No. Oh, well,
Dana Blouin
after Absolutely. No. Instead of bloodwork. She's like you don't have syphilis. Right. Okay. Awesome.
Mike Somerville
That's great. What if you What if you do have syphilis? There's plenty of people that have syphilis in California pride driving around
Dana Blouin
honor system. honor system.
Mike Somerville
No, but I mean, if you have syphilis,
Dana Blouin
that's just part of the hell that's part of the health check for the visa. I don't know if that's part of the health check for the driving thing. Okay. But I'm sure they're also checking vision hopefully.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, maybe
Dana Blouin
in the US My grandfather was legally blind still driving.
Mike Somerville
How did they let him I mean, cuz you they have the little they have the machine
Dana Blouin
he would get a note from his optometrist say that he had 2020 vision
Dana Blouin
to get renew his license
Mike Somerville
that is a great optometrist. So people that say it's like corrupt to live over here. Come on.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, this is like Rhode Island right? But yeah, my grandpa is awesome as he was like, he was like, just to cat like cataracts in both eyes. both eyes were cloudy. And he had to wear that VR mask looking sunglass like god you know, remember those big right because it would go over his glass Yes.
Mike Somerville
All tinted all the way through
Dana Blouin
he literally was shit all Lawnmower Man like, like, like this whole
Mike Somerville
man from Rhode Island Ladies and gentlemen, stand back
Dana Blouin
just dry. You remember law more than your movie is brosman. And he's driving around with his VR masks.
Mike Somerville
And you're like, Oh, yeah, can you drive me to the mall? Cuz that'll be safe.
Dana Blouin
And I was like, sure at all cyber, so he was like, Oh my god, you would drive his car somewhere. forget forget. Like, imagine if that was Bangkok. We I parked my car in the mall. Which mall? 70
Mike Somerville
just the mall. You know, how did you get there? drove on the right side of the road. Seems like there was a lot less traffic on that one. took that poor guy. He listened to the podcast. You're gonna know we're walking
Dana Blouin
long dead.
Dana Blouin
And he wouldn't have remembered after he listened to me.
Mike Somerville
That was the funniest. Wait, no, wait. Okay,
Dana Blouin
back in 19 219 ought to it not. Yeah. So another thing in Thailand Now usually now if you get your license your motorcycle license will the scooter okay like 90 cc Honda from like 1960 Yeah, right. You get that license you can go out the very next day and buy like a 1200 cc superbike Harley. Those like, four 300 horsepower Yamaha. racz rockin
Mike Somerville
no problem. Yeah,
Dana Blouin
right. Oh, good. Hi a boosa short,
Mike Somerville
what? Isn't that the change now, if you want anything over 400
Dana Blouin
anything over 400 you need to take an additional test to prove you can handle that bike now. But look, there's a big jump from like 400 to 650 to 1000 how
Mike Somerville
are they gonna? Like in other words, if you go into a shop and you see a 650 and you're like, yeah, here you go. Here's 400,000 baht. They're gonna be like, Nope, sorry, we can't take your money you're gonna need to go to basically land transport. You
Dana Blouin
know, you've got that especially if you get that 400 baht. So if you get pulled over driving the bike you don't have the right license. I'm sure there'll be ramifications. Some type of accountability. Maybe
Mike Somerville
financial on the spot. Yeah, accountability.
Dana Blouin
Whatever. 500 bottle money. Yeah, absolutely. But you just pretend to speak English and good to go. They'll let you go eventually.
Mike Somerville
Oh, yeah. Cuz they look at us and they're like, there's no way these fucking guys speak English. Jesus Christ. They were born
Dana Blouin
like you from like, Norway.
Dana Blouin
They're just like,
Mike Somerville
that sounds like Norwegian.
Dana Blouin
Norwegian sounds like sounds like not English. And not Thai.
Mike Somerville
Yeah. Is a Thai he has a Thai cop. He's like, Oh, yeah.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, he's like, get the fuck out of here. I
Mike Somerville
don't even stop talk. Oh, yeah. If you're not wearing a helmet.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. 500 bucks.
Mike Somerville
500 bucks. 500 baht helmets.
Dana Blouin
This is the other thing. Like if you're not wearing a helmet, you're kind of stupid.
Mike Somerville
I completely agree. It's like wearing a seatbelt. Yeah, right. I mean, we just get in.
Dana Blouin
But also they sell these shitty foam helmets here. Yeah, index, right. Which like I've seen I saw one of these like, fall off a guy he was wearing not wearing the strap. Yeah, falls off hits the ground just shatters into a million pieces.
Mike Somerville
duct tapes. It Back throws it back on his head. He's like, I bet.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. So I mean, it's obviously not the greatest helmet and expensive helmets here are very expensive. They
Mike Somerville
are Yeah, and I will tell you, I mean, I've gotten a motorbike accident and I got this big hematoma on my chin because I wasn't wearing a full face helmet. Yeah, because of course back home that's what you buy. But like here, you know, I get the one because I rent motorbikes like I don't own one right so everywhere I get I get the little you know friggin mode, Larry curly cover thing. And I and as you know, if you drop a helmet once, yeah, it's, it's done. Yeah. But of course, even if it doesn't look done, it's done. Usually when I'm renting a motorbike, I will probably drop that helmet three, four or five times throughout the course of the week or so. Which I'm sure everyone else never did not I'm showing them that. And I'm wearing the same yet friggin styrofoam. You know the plastic but I'm like, well, it's better than nothing. So
Dana Blouin
my when my first helmet I got here from when I had my first motorbike was an open face. So it covered the ears and everything was open face
Mike Somerville
didn't cover the chin.
Dana Blouin
No, it just had like a drop down sunscreen for the eyes only.
Mike Somerville
Okay, and what motorbike were you reading?
Dana Blouin
That was my Suzuki Raider 150 stupid little scooter 150 cC underbone yeah way six speed transmission speed too fast for it would shake once you get into like over 80 kilometers an hour
Mike Somerville
over 80 dude I don't
Dana Blouin
want to say how fast I hit on that but
Mike Somerville
well over 100 Come on. We're all family here you can tell us about 147 nice we're guy good shop and he's here to talk about Yeah,
Dana Blouin
but I mean it's like shaky shaky but I had the open face okay when I first got that and I was living in passing Tani and the school was all the way out and bumfuck bonga de like this industrial district nine slum please so 30 kilometers like one I prostitutes like just the one I just the one that the way they don't have depth
Mike Somerville
perception. Perfect. That would work great for my ego huge. I swear to God, that's a 200.
Dana Blouin
But I'm driving up the road going from the ranks of campus back to my dorm and bongani or my lab. And a piece of debris falls off one of these dump truck right bounces on the road breaks up but a piece of it flies up and hits me in the face. Bus my lipo Ouch. And luckily, I didn't lose any teeth, but like a big gash in my in my gum, right. And so like, literally that day, I drove to another motorcycle shop and bought a full face. moto biggest I mean, it's not as hot as long as you got
Mike Somerville
good airflow. And usually it's got the flaps to turn. Yeah, totally. So you got to be moving. But if you bought one of those index ones, it just has a little hole drilled in for through no channels. You know, it's funny, too. I mean, that's like, you know, we're in it. Right? So when do you do your first backup after you lost data? It's like when do you buy your first decent helmet if you get smashed in the face? Yeah. And I mean that, you know, and that's kind of scary. But, you know, again, look at here's the thing that I would submit with all of the accidents, I would say that the majority of them probably happened in the middle of the fields, because they don't happen in Bangkok.
Dana Blouin
So I write for now. There are a lot of accents and a lot of accents on the road been hit by cars on the road, right Bangkok. But it's always like a low speed color. That's
Mike Somerville
my point is that if you're going like if you're lucky, you're going 30 kilometers an hour. The second bit yeah, you know, if you're lucky, and if you're in traffic and you're in a motorbike you're just swerving. You're getting somewhere but you're not going fast
Dana Blouin
and passing Tani. I've seen like, fatal accidents. Yeah, like I remember one night I was coming back from campus. And I was like, I think I was swimming at the ranks of campus. I was driving back to Bondi and this is long, just long industrial road. Two lane highway. Yeah, each side two lanes and you always have flatbeds and trucks parked on the side. So debris. Yeah, so sometimes there's debris but I was driving back and there's also all these like little pubs and bars, local spots right along the road here. And basically I came across a police had to kind of like taped off but look like three girls on one scooter. Like dress like they were maybe working at one of the bars got smashed into the back of a flatbed.
Mike Somerville
decapitation kind of thing.
Dana Blouin
Well, the first one the one who was in the front definitely and then like just three bodies just not not a good look. A lot of blood a lot of stuff.
Mike Somerville
take selfie. Instagram, they didn't have it back then
Dana Blouin
too late.
Mike Somerville
Yeah.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. back then. You have the flash on the selfie. Right?
Mike Somerville
Exactly. Just on the tin. You couldn't turn it around like that. And I got the white balance. This is gonna be a pain in the ass. I'll just cruise home. But I mean, that sucks. Like, that sucks in any country. Yeah. Okay, but I mean, you see, and they none of them had helmets on Yeah, I remember not seeing shoes anywhere. Right? Okay, dude, you're like driving on a motorbike with three other people and you all have helmets and you had a flatbed
Dana Blouin
is still dead. Yeah. Who fucking
Mike Somerville
was a parked flicking all those dead people have helmets on?
Dana Blouin
Yeah, Park flatbed but still.
Mike Somerville
All right. Usually when you hit a parked car, you're a little inebriated.
Dana Blouin
Yes. Also like Lisa probably like close to midnight.
Mike Somerville
So here's the question just Thailand really have a driving problem? Do they have a drinking problem?
Dana Blouin
little of both little both
Mike Somerville
because I can tell so mad right Mothers Against Drunk Driving. And you probably heard of that started in my hometown. Okay, okay. We're actually next Hall. Right. And so what's Okay, it started but it also a lot of short answers that started in Massachusetts. Yeah, they were mothers in other towns. It wasn't just one lady and then all of a sudden. But the point is, is that Yeah, her son or daughter died. Right? And she's like, Look, this is this is crazy. And he got together with enough mothers and it's like, holy kids. So then obviously, there's education, which, who knows? I mean, yeah, they told me at 18 if I drank and drive, I probably hit something. And I'm like, okay, so like, so I'll just do a lot of coke. Yeah, exactly. I'm gonna just stay awake. And I fall asleep. I got this, the Peruvians have a solution for this. Cue the Colombians, and I'm good. So I mean, but so yeah, but then there's the punishment. Yeah, I mean, I got you know, I have had friends even less than a year ago that I've seen. Like, why are you Why did you stop drinking? Oh, because I got a DUI in California. What that cost you $27,000? Wow.
Dana Blouin
Okay, that was the final the legal fees. That's
Mike Somerville
everything. legal fees, fine. You got to go to a class, you got to you know, you have to you don't necessarily have to go to AA, but if any lawyer worth their salt, they're like, Look, dude, you should probably get some documentation proving to the judge that you're like, gonna change your life somehow. So they won't because you lose your license for a year. Yeah, right. jail time, one night kind of thing. Community Service. But I mean, over here, like, are they gonna ever? What would the be the equivalent of that? I mean, obviously, we're not just going to do the exchange rate. They're not going to be like, Okay, 650,000. No.
Dana Blouin
So yeah, the do there are penalties for DUI. It's a crime. Right. Okay. It is like in sangren. I remember seeing like they posted the numbers of how many people were arrested for driving drunk. Yeah. Not this pass on chance. Obviously before that. Yeah. So like, they were unfortunately they are doing something, but I don't know how consistent that is. However, I have been out late. And coming back in a grab and we'll go through a DUI checkpoint. Yeah.
Mike Somerville
Oh, yeah. I've seen those too. So
Dana Blouin
usually, like, if they shine the light, they don't check most people. They're like, Okay, go ahead, win a car. Now. If you're, well, if you're a grab driver, I think for the most part, they see that you've got a passenger or whatever. Yeah.
Mike Somerville
And usually depending upon the passenger, they're just like, Well,
Dana Blouin
yeah, but I'm also sure like, if you were just like shit faced pulling up to a DUI checkpoint today. Hey, because I have seen other cars pulled over the driver.
Mike Somerville
You mean?
Dana Blouin
Yeah. Like I have seen what I've seen cars pulled over. Yeah, from the driver. I've been checked on my motorcycle. I pulled through a point and they've just got like one that you blow into.
Mike Somerville
Oh, they've Okay, so they've full on check you Yeah, like take your helmet off blow.
Dana Blouin
Wow. Yeah, park the bike shut the key.
Mike Somerville
Didn't even do a walking test. They just went bam. Yeah, put this thing in your mouth. They were checking everyone. When does that happen here in Thailand,
Dana Blouin
so they don't this thing? Yeah, well, you know, occasionally I
Dana Blouin
mean, when I'm broke, so I 23 Yeah.
Dana Blouin
not making any money. Yeah, yeah, dude, you got Dude, I get it. Yes, sir. top line bought this. Yeah. Damn right.
Mike Somerville
All right. So you're blowing in front of it. so
Dana Blouin
tightly closed, but it's not like you don't even have to Yeah, the cops here. their uniforms are like fit 100 like painted off.
Dana Blouin
Like they show up at the station in the morning. There's like
Mike Somerville
the cops like really get excited about cameltoe like look at this. Do you see what I got going on here? I'm getting on a motorbike. Yeah, they are fit.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. Yeah. Like they're all in good shape and all of their fuck. Well, I've seen some of their uniforms is still fitting.
Mike Somerville
No, exactly. I mean, they are I mean their muscles really but they mean that any
Dana Blouin
Well, the young ones like some of them are jacked.
Mike Somerville
Okay, so you got some nice jack tight fitting clothes cop. Some in your mouth. Yeah, tell me what happened.
Dana Blouin
It's like weird because it's not like a US one where has a tube that you have to blow in? Okay, it's got a hole, you just blow in that hole.
Mike Somerville
And it goes into like somewhat meter.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. And it just beep, beep beep and then you're good to go good or bad. Okay, so I remember I was good. And he's there. I get back on your bike. And then the guy behind me was bad. Jesus like midday. He's like, Nah, he's like, sit over here. I made him sit on the fucking Oh, it's sober up. He didn't like put him in jail.
Dana Blouin
Here's a cup of coffee.
Dana Blouin
I don't know if they came over and arrest him afterwards. But they were like, sit sit on the curb. Wow.
Mike Somerville
Okay, that's, I mean, and I think that's part of it. Right? It's actually I think it's a large part. Hmm. Because it's like, Look, you could train everyone how to drive. Great.
Dana Blouin
But here's the thing that's Bangkok, which is the biggest population center, but it's a very small part of time.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, yeah. Outside of Bangkok. There aren't checkpoints necessarily.
Dana Blouin
I don't know. There's fields. There's rice fields, right. So I've never seen a checkpoint outside of Yeah, Bangkok right. Now. I've know I've been upcountry a bit, you know, driving up like I remember I tried to take my motorbike up to a UTI. Okay. And it was like just after rainy season a big part of the road on my path was missing.
Mike Somerville
Yeah. Washed away. Gotta get on the other side.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, I've saved like for like two hours into the trip and like section of road isn't good side. I'm like, just gonna go back.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, what's the worst thing to get out? I'm thinking about taking the train if he did what it was that 45 minutes.
Dana Blouin
It's not that long. Maybe hour and a half. Check. I do live stream
Mike Somerville
Yeah, that a six hour live streaming a train
Dana Blouin
was easy. You might hit some you might hit some empty spots on no coverage spot.
Mike Somerville
Is it gonna be like the road where like, half the track is just like completely to get to
Dana Blouin
now. I love the trains. And yeah, the whole sort of change. Definitely. Well, I'm a big train guy. But road wise. The other thing if you ever travel up country by car or like you take a boss or something? Yeah, you'll see these spots on the side of the road. Once you get like outside of Bangkok. Okay, we'll see cars pulled over. Oh, they've got these covers, and there'll be fans and people pull over and they pop their hoods like a rest area. Yeah. And they'll pop the hood and they blow hot kuliah not been able less hot air onto the engine to cool it down. Yeah, but you're basically taking a break. Let your car cool. Because it's just so fucking hot. During the day, like like, imagine having a Harley out here. That's air cooled. Plus,
Mike Somerville
not only you're driving around with your air conditioning on Yeah, cuz there's no heat in cars. No, no all air conditioning. Oh, so you've got the
Dana Blouin
loud you have heat in a country that doesn't give a little 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mike Somerville
I had no idea. I'm driving around and we're in Nakhon ratchasima. This is in November. Yeah. And Molly, my girlfriend at the time she's got this truck and like we're leaving in the morning about six or seven in the morning. A little chilly. Yeah. Right. Cuz I'm a complete wussy. And so I said, Hey, can you turn the heat on? Yeah, right. Because I have like, and she's like, but so she just reaches over and she turns the knob all the way counterclockwise. And it's only labeled blue. There's no red there. Right?
Dana Blouin
So I'm not even white. It's just
Mike Somerville
a little bit of like, lighter blue. And I'm thinking well, what are you doing? Like, can't you just turn the heat on? She's like,
Unknown Speaker
heat.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, what do you mean? And that's when I learned I'm like, Oh my god, it's like so therefore you got the
Dana Blouin
Southern California in San Diego with the cars come with defrosters on the rear window.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, well, yeah, because they just sell the same car everywhere in the United States
Dana Blouin
given Florida. They don't have defrosters
Mike Somerville
Okay, I didn't know that. Yeah, that's interesting. I don't know why they wouldn't because I mean, it's not just ice. So I remember one condensation
Dana Blouin
one of my friends live in Florida and he was up in Rhode Island Okay, it was winter time Yeah, it is back windows just ice ice No, like tons of difference like we don't have those in Florida.
Mike Somerville
He was just giving you shit. I mean, did the same car so the frickin Providence and so did Matt Miami. Yeah,
Dana Blouin
but it's easy enough to swap over a window because it's just an electrical lead. Yes.
Mike Somerville
True. Yeah,
Dana Blouin
so not installed imagine how much cheaper it is to build that glass without embedding?
Mike Somerville
Well, so the last few cars I had right it was like this is this metal film in there. So like you get a chip in your windshield. 1200 bucks.
Dana Blouin
Oh, but what the green the windshield?
Mike Somerville
Yeah, and the windshield? Yeah, so yeah, so it's for I had mirrors that were defrosted now it was a ridiculously expensive car. Trust me my ego it's taken years to get it right sighs
Dana Blouin
well hundred dollar windshield Yeah, jeez,
Mike Somerville
Yeah, I know.
Dana Blouin
I remember I broke the the rear window on my someone smashed the rear window on my veil to get in.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, because they wanted what
Dana Blouin
was probably my ex girlfriend just fine. Be typical. Yeah, totally. I can see Hong fuckin I know it was you yeah bitch I've always hated her screw her fucking Hong lamb
Mike Somerville
and lamb when she hung lamb
Dana Blouin
So anyway, I'm pretty sure it was her but we could do another $500 rear window for that's like in a van. Yeah, that's like like one eighth the price of the car
Mike Somerville
I was gonna say wow that must have made it look pretty It was like the old shoe with new shoe laces going on. Do you get this really nice shiny brand new defroster
Dana Blouin
so I had to go get that window replaced that sucked. Yeah, that's a dope causes like bright blue. Well, there you go. Sure. sweet
Mike Somerville
red racing stripe down the side of it. Yeah. Yep. Mac Yeah. Yeah. mag wheels on
Dana Blouin
it or Well, I replaced the the steel wheels with like a lightweight alloy.
Mike Somerville
Right like aluminum, high tech polymer,
Dana Blouin
not aluminum 13 inch 12.
Mike Somerville
Wow, dude.
Dana Blouin
golf cart. Yeah, I don't know what the standard size was on that. That Aveo might have been 12 inch a 13 inch.
Mike Somerville
Actually identical one and a half liter engine?
Dana Blouin
One liter. Oh, was it the three cylinder one? I think it was. It was a fourth rounder. But I think I if I remember the front wheels were smaller than the rear wheels.
Mike Somerville
I guess that makes sense. Yeah, cuz when you drag racing, you always want the rear wheels to be bigger so I can understand that in that high performance Chevy tail Did you get with that friggin beast,
Dana Blouin
you know?
Dana Blouin
It was huge inside to like a lot of room in the front. Very expensive rear window. Yeah, very high. Class one eight, the cost of that
Mike Somerville
car? Top notch. Okay, so let me ask you this. You've seen this right? So they go over there and they cool off their cars and everything. I walked by I mean, I've been saying this down. akama guys are parked there at the bus station wipers. Yeah, the wiper arms are like up. Mm hmm. Now I understand why people park their cars and they like fold the mirrors in. Yeah, right. Because you don't want to. But why would you because we're from right New England. You put them up because you don't want the guide and things to freeze to the frickin what
Dana Blouin
is melting. It's the same it. They saw see. Sun beating down on glass right with rubber against it. Yeah, they melt.
Mike Somerville
Have you seen the mouth? I mean, it makes sense on me. I've never seen the melt. But I mean that. You know, it's very possible. Maybe they just stick maybe it's more of a stick thing.
Dana Blouin
Maybe like when cars first came out? Well, that's the thing. I'm thinking like,
Mike Somerville
because here's the deal. There's a rubber seal that holds the windshield in and you don't come out to your car after a hot day and the goddamn windshield pops up.
Dana Blouin
This is Tyler. highly possible. Was that old Jeep that they had in America was like a front windshield that folded down well get
Mike Somerville
a Jeep Cherokee. I mean, the the CJ? standard Jeep word Yeah, the windshield. You could you could lift the doors off. Right, but this was all cool. Yeah, yeah, I'm a warrior. Without fucking I'm a navy seal and flip that sumbitch that because the last thing I want is anything protecting me.
Dana Blouin
So as soon as you just came out with a new Jeep in Thailand, similar to the old Suzuki ninja.
Mike Somerville
Oh, that's Uzuki knit. Yeah, weird. That's a great car. Yeah, that was a really cool four
Dana Blouin
cylinder little Jeep thing. Yes. Wranglers a coolest fuck but if you live in a city, it's kind of pointless a
Mike Somerville
pain Plus, I mean, let's face it. It's heavy gets shitty mileage. You know, the use of a wheel drive? Uh, actually, no, I remember my he could do too low. Oh, could you? Yeah, but I mean, it didn't matter. I mean, you still like turn it very heavy. The transaxle Yeah, very heavy. Alright, so hold on. Let's talk about these cooling stations because I actually never seen those. I've seen the wipers.
Dana Blouin
Actually, they'll come in, they'll go around your car and you actually get your your radiator flushed.
Unknown Speaker
Just
Mike Somerville
Okay, so you pull over to get coffee, gasoline.
Dana Blouin
They have a meal. Usually there's a restaurant with these things.
Mike Somerville
Usually it's an Amazon cafe.
Dana Blouin
Yes, it's there's usually an Amazon cafe. But there's also like, Well, those like the regular rest areas. Okay. There's almost always an Amazon cafe somewhere because PTT, right? Yeah.
Dana Blouin
But they'll always be like these little pop up restaurant deals too. And then they'll usually be like, like some other type of like little sit down place.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, I've seen that right.
Dana Blouin
Almost get like a street food style type of vibe at some of these things.
Mike Somerville
Well, yeah, and okay, but what about those ones? You know how like you cruising down the road and then off to the left. There'll be like, it's almost like a small neighborhood. Yeah, it's like shop houses one after another. But I don't see any gas. There's no gas there usually, but it's just like shops afternoon is that like, I've never does that where I would have normally seen the fans.
Dana Blouin
Some of them it will be like a little covered area and you park under that little metal covering. Okay, just to keep the sun off the car. Okay, then you'll pop the hood and then like you'll eat and like they'll they'll check your tamp and when it's cool enough where it won't fucking explode in their face. Like in the top. They'll they'll pop the radiator and they'll flush it. I mean,
Mike Somerville
but like i see i don't get that because I mean new cars. Now again, I've had not owned one in Thailand, but it's not like Southern California doesn't get you know kind of hot
Dana Blouin
yeah but not compared to here right the sun like the level of like the the actual beating of the Sun here is pretty fucking crazy
Mike Somerville
Actually you know what I've seen okay so you know how you probably been on this like you driving up a hill yeah and on the side of the road obviously speed limit sign and there's another one that says turn off AC right if you seen those as well in I don't know if you remember this but Southern California you'd be going up through the mountains and there would be these giant concrete like buckets basically like Florida and they would be filled with water hmm just in case you needed that for our cars
Dana Blouin
that would that's cool.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, that was fun. But of course the cars now the new you don't need it's a sealed system. Yeah, like in a newer car. I don't think I ever saw the temperature gauge do anything but go right in the middle and just sit there
Dana Blouin
for the most part actually one of my
Dana Blouin
my first car was this old Ford Taurus. My dad got me for two hours. Okay. It was like is this guy sold it to them that like all this guy did was fixed for Tauruses? Like
Mike Somerville
he was an officiant
Dana Blouin
Okay, so he had like a little junkyard and photogate Rhode Island, right? And like you just buy like junk for Tauruses. Right. Basically. I guess what he told me is all the parts were kind of interchangeable. Well yeah, I mean, same model like from every year
Mike Somerville
for just said, Look, here's the thing. We're not gonna modernize this thing for
Dana Blouin
a decade. So it's like basically I got this Franken Taurus. Right? So I had this Franken tours I'm fucking driving around it's like had this horrible metal on metal sound like
Mike Somerville
he had no pads and the
Dana Blouin
temperature gauges always pinged out at a Ha. So he's a bad gauge, like cost too much to change. He can't trust the gauge. Like Don't worry, though. He's like get radiators. Good.
Mike Somerville
You know, it's funny. I mean, I've had cars before where the gas gauge didn't work. Yeah. So I had to use the my mileage thing, right? Because it would always be like, either on E or whatever. And I used to love it because I get friends it would sit in the car. And we'd be cruising around and be like, way out middle of nowhere and I would look down like Oh shit, and they'd be like, oh, we're out of gas. We're gonna die. I'm like, I don't know usually when it's on me It's so we should be good for like another couple miles but you might want to put your shoes on so we have to start walking and get a gas tank and Okay, it will be dry for like another hundred and 50.
Dana Blouin
Like what? That this is an amazing
Mike Somerville
car. Like, I get like 7897 miles a gallon. It's friggin amazing. I'm gonna count six Cadillac, you know? The car weighs 4000 pounds.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, this Taurus is big, too. It's tough to drive.
Dana Blouin
front wheel drive, though. Just long.
Mike Somerville
Yeah. And it's got rounded, right? The Taurus was almost
Dana Blouin
kind of boxy. It's like a 991. The body was from nine. The VIN number the VIN number in the dash trace back to 91. The temperature gauge
Mike Somerville
clearly that was an antique
Unknown Speaker
Yes, that's just ban
Dana Blouin
that hot all the time. Like a motherfucking smoking.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, crazy.
Dana Blouin
But yeah, what a what a Franken car, man.
Mike Somerville
I mean, my first car was a 74 Plymouth scamp. I mean, I'm 10 years older than yours. So Dodge Dart. He probably heard of the Dart Yeah, it was one of those slant six engine. Okay, amazing engine last forever. But you know, not a performance car. Yeah. By any means. And And then from there, actually, this is a high school. I got a 1965 Mercedes 190 Oh, dad, and I bought that off some guy. You know, how are you know, the one ads? There's no Craigslist back. They opened up the newspaper? Like thousand bucks. Yeah. Because I'm like, you know what, I want to get a car and I want to like rebuild the engine or I want to fix and so all you got to do is buy a used German car. Yeah, that'll give you plenty of fixing ability for the next year. But that was a really interesting car. And my buddies actually at school, they just called the staff car. Because it looked like you know, some from Hogan's Heroes. Yeah, so one of them thinking this will be really funny. He like gets some stickers or whatever, and get some two flags that have swastikas on him. So he throws it on the front fenders, right? I think okay, that's kind of funny. My buddy Andy, who was Jewish.
Dana Blouin
Not not so funny. Not a fan. He was
Mike Somerville
he did not have the sense of humor that my friends did.
Dana Blouin
racist white supremacy humor. Yeah,
Mike Somerville
exactly. You know, I wasn't shaving my head back then. So I'm like, Look, I didn't even fit the profile, you know? So he comes, yeah, take some, you know, breaks, throws him on the ground, you know, kind of how dare you and I'm like, I don't know, dude. I mean, I just like just, I like Hogan's Heroes. What can I tell you? I'm sure. I'm a sergeant Schultz guy. I mean, he's my buddy.
Dana Blouin
I'm sure that went over great.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Andy loved me after that. Yeah, that was a he was a big fan
Dana Blouin
of anti defamation league still still got you on the list?
Mike Somerville
Yeah, Mothers Against dumb kids as well basically. All right, so we have the cooling station. Yeah. Then they're here. They're not in the city. It's just up country right? Yeah, just Alright, so around here. What do you think other than like the wipers? What are they doing around here to like keep the cars cool because I mean, if you're sitting in Bangkok traffic, dude,
Dana Blouin
I mean, I don't know. I think that just always sitting in traffic. Keep in mind mostly like sukumvit and all that. You've got kind of cover from the BTS trail. You'd have some shared Yeah, that's right, the highway. Okay, but yeah, traffic's still a motherfucker.
Mike Somerville
So do you think it's ever gonna get like better like, in other words in the US, obviously, tons of people used to get caught drunk driving, and that was a problem and people would die. Are they gonna like after this after this, this new law, you're gonna need to take the exam, you need to take the driving test and you're gonna need to get a health certificate. I would
Dana Blouin
love that gonna do I would like to think yes. Like, like, accountability and stuff comes with that. But I don't know, man. You know, like, it doesn't happen overnight. I mean,
Mike Somerville
it's 2020. And again, I still see 10 year olds.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. And I see you see kids driving scooters anywhere.
Mike Somerville
literally walking over here today. Yeah, you know, but the funny thing is, I see him and I'm like, you know, that guy's fuckin skilled. How do you make that U turn, but I put his feet there. Jesus.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, no, they can definitely drive. But so I mean, it's a multi faceted problem, right? No one has it. I'd love to be able to Yeah, absolutely. This is what's wrong, blah, blah. Come on. Yes, it's a multi faceted issue. No one knows the real fit.
Mike Somerville
Here's the thing that I actually kind of like over here about the fact that like you and I can come over here like or anyone from the Western world, let's say for sake of argument America, you come over here and you see that stuff that's wrong with it. Like this kid's too young. You shouldn't be doing this. There's holes in the street and they don't have cones, you know, but honestly, I look a lot at a lot of it and I think to myself, you know all it's doing is promoting like accountability. Yeah, like have you know have some personal accountability don't don't step in the goddamn hole don't sue me after you've stepped in it open your
Dana Blouin
eyes that's not litigious society like the US right? There's actually a piece of the road missing on the soy that goes to so so ping me. He said Gao 29 Okay. There's like just a piece of the road missing. Okay, it's like it's one cone now. So what happened was I guess like one of those grates the drainage grates fell through oh my god it's such a huge hole. Yeah, and they put a stick in it like a big fight like a two by four sticking out people see it and wrap like red tape around the Yeah, but it's like hanging open it's red tape.
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, how do you say red but I mean, it's like dang so not my dad
Dana Blouin
not my like hanging into the road a little bit. But like you easily clip it.
Mike Somerville
smack your head. How did you do that? Well, I was avoiding the hole Yeah,
Dana Blouin
I didn't fall in the hole.
Mike Somerville
They do they don't do well actually on sukumvit if there's a problem I see him doing maintenance middle of night by the following morning next
Dana Blouin
you can get there pretty good about it for the most part and that you always see them working on the roads here doing something like this one's been a couple weeks and I haven't gotten around to it. There's like some Facebook book like Facebook's huge and finally Oh, there's number one city right there's some Facebook group if you post like a public works issue in Bangkok. Like it gets shared like a million times and the next day there'll be fixing it it's the group Do you remember when they swapped out the telecom cabinet and also there was some girl put a video online of like all these rats living in the bottom one was this is you know that so we're pasta pizza.
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So and underneath is a
Dana Blouin
telecom closet right there
Mike Somerville
okay, on the corner right between Allah and dunkin donuts? It looks like a phone phone. Okay,
Dana Blouin
yeah, it's like right on the corner near closer to the the actual intersection Okay, some girl posted a video cuz there's all decrepit and popped open there's like 10 rats living in the bottom? Yeah, that group reshare that video The next day the fucking cabinet was replaced
Mike Somerville
that's pretty good. Yeah so to be said for accountability. They're locked on the door right
Dana Blouin
fucking brand new. Yeah, no, no wobbly doors. Very nice. Yeah, so I mean, this social media has kind of created that thing in Thailand ensure that it's very positive. I mean,
Mike Somerville
I think again, you know, it's like there's all these like, governmental bodies right to say look, these are the these are the regulations that you need to do. But I mean, you know, public embarrassment is a pretty big motivator it is and
Dana Blouin
like if you're in charge of like telecom for I don't know whose cabinet it was but if you're in charge of telecom for the city, and you've got a fucking rat infested. Now look, they're probably coming in through the conduit. So yeah, maybe no way to really check. Right? Yeah.
Mike Somerville
Like, when I worked in Telecom, like I saw rats scurrying through underground conduit always eaten through I mean, that's the that's the bitch of it. Right? Is it like the animals come in? They eat through like, crap, I
Dana Blouin
gotta pull the ship. It's like fiber. And you gotta
Mike Somerville
Yeah, cleave another 70 strands of it, you know? Yeah.
Dana Blouin
So cool. Actually, cause the worst of the can short it like in the middle. And
Mike Somerville
yes, I used to get that from the CO x I had in my house in Mexico, the the mice, they would love eating through and once they got through the brain, they never got through the center conductor. Yeah, but the braid goes and then you get interference.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, so that was just like motherfuckers if they eat to the hard line, right once they get through the there's no braid and hardliners just saw. Yeah, but they can start shorting it out. Yeah. And so you know, especially wintertime if you're if you can't replace the hard line or construction can't come out to this. You You're running rG 11. Right? Yeah. attenuation or rG? 58 rG. Yeah. All right. So 11 is the thick I think and 58 small. Okay, so the thicker but it's still home drop call. Yeah. For long home run Right, right. Right right from the pole to your house. Yeah. So but you I probably ran thousands 10s of thousands of feet of fucking temporary cables with that that are still proper metal
Unknown Speaker
probably still out there. 16 years damper I
Dana Blouin
read I remember once it's like a 300 foot run I, I had to splice out a piece of bat 500 is like the smallest cable you see that in the city?
Mike Somerville
gauge. The higher the number, the smaller the diameter, right?
Dana Blouin
It's like half an inch. Okay, Lisa? Oh, okay. Like 500 i think i think it's what it was if I remember. But I remember I was in that would go bad all the time. That was like the oldest cable in the network. Okay, they didn't really use that like six and a quarter was really the biggest replaced at the minute with that. So a piece of 500 went bad in those middle of winter, right, and you have to submit it for construction. And so I replaced it with rG 11. Right. And it just and I had rG 11 on my truck that matches your cable on it so I could at least secure it and put a drip loop in okay. And so basically ran from a tap to a an active device to a repeater. Okay, this piece of rG 11 cut it in didn't even latch I just zip tied in a few spots. Because the idea is that, you know, construction splits. And like you don't want them to have to like rip the other layouts temporary Yeah, so they'll realash a new piece out. And so I throw that up in like two years later on back and wait for an outage in my fuckin rG 11 had gone bad after two winters. like of course is that outage? Yes. I said I had submitted it in job security. And it was put in a contractors queue and just never done.
Mike Somerville
never bothered.
Dana Blouin
But so the other thing is like once you replace a run like that, especially right before and active, then you have to rebalance everything.
Mike Somerville
So how much of that replacing was due to like, as you know, relative to the topic today, automotive like in other words, a car hits a pole. And you how many times would you have to go out
Dana Blouin
in New England, right? We have wooden poles Yeah, most of America has wooden poles. Yeah. So older for sure. Yeah. Well, at least on the East Coast, unless you go underground. So I guess in the Midwest, they might have the concrete ones like they have here. But here you hit the concrete pole. You're not you're not snapping that pole.
Mike Somerville
No, absolutely steel
Dana Blouin
reinforced concrete on the ground. Your cars getting towed? Yeah, right. It's just it's just a car thing. Yeah. They just come in tow in like we've all seen the cable the aerial cable here is
Mike Somerville
it's crazy interesting. So that's something that's definitely Bangkok's. That's a whole episode is absolutely an episode. Let's make sure we touch on everything you want to talk about about automotive driving motorcycles, motorcycles, because what was just crazy when you first got out here when you first saw something like I'm trying to think of like what was first crazy for me,
Dana Blouin
the craziest thing driving wise for me was always the the absolute lack of respect for red lights.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, that that's true, because that's a big you run a red light back home, you're looking at like three, four or $500. Yeah, if you don't frickin die,
Dana Blouin
no one even stops it. Look, look. Okay, good. Good. What's
Mike Somerville
more of a recommend? It's kind of like a yield sign. Yeah. It's like, you know, what, if you can't really see anybody, then it really doesn't apply to you. Yeah. You know, I thought for me, I mean, what I thought one of the greatest things was the, the weight. I mean, the way people might like people don't honk here. No, they merge. There's no honking. But what's crazy is I mean, there's like a line of cars like and they're just the cruiser and obviously, you know, they're in traffic, they want to be in front, they want to go right, they don't want to just sit there and some guy will come up from a side street and he just like kind of looks around. And he slowly inches out there and all the cars stop. Yeah, no one beeps now and I've been in the things where it's like that guy just like cut us off is what I'm thinking right? Yeah, I'm like that's it that that's a middle finger waiting to happen back in Boston
Dana Blouin
as a fistfight. Big time
Mike Somerville
guys gonna get out his tire iron. He's like, Ah, this is my road, right? I mean, he someone's getting shot. Absolutely throw his Dunkin Donuts all over the guy. And I'm just like, I'm just like, but it's it's almost more cordial here.
Dana Blouin
Ya know? So in some ways, yes. And you're right. There's no honking like, I've probably heard someone talk once or twice, but it's like an emergency situation when Yeah,
Mike Somerville
exactly. When you hear it? It's like, Oh, wait, I'm gonna pay attention. Yeah, whereas you hear it homie? Like a fucking asshole. Yeah, just drink more buddy. Yeah, go home.
Dana Blouin
No one's coming outside. Yeah, we don't care. And if your car
Mike Somerville
alarm goes off, shut that friggin thing off. In fact, I hope someone steals the car.
Dana Blouin
I don't even think people have car alarms that go off like that.
Mike Somerville
If they do I mean, what do you do? Do you run outside? No, you don't call the cops? Oh, you're like God, I can't wait till someone just friggin steals that card shuts that goddamn alarm off.
Dana Blouin
Yes. So you know what caught me like when I first got here. It was scary as fuck. In the US, right? You're driving in someone wants to turn in some way you flash your lights? Yeah. So let them go here right yeah, right here.
Mike Somerville
Hear the flashlight I'm going
Dana Blouin
yeah, he flashy lights like get out of my fucking way. You're gonna die and I found that out the hard way that I like to take a right hand turn so obviously here right yes traffic gets here and there's a car coming on just flashing his lights like crazy. And I'm like
Mike Somerville
this guy ever he's flashing his lights. Wait, he's coming at me pretty quick.
Dana Blouin
It's too late. I gotta cross two lanes so I did go cuz I couldn't see past the guy. Okay, he was driving a truck lucky and so but he just left Yeah, I got that it's my friend. I'm like someone hailing the flashlight was he telling you to go Yeah, like no no, you flash your lights to like stay put I'm not stopped I have the right away. Yeah. And so that that was like I could have just straight up die. Yeah, no, because you're always being cordial. Yeah, it's been nice to me this ties are great. It was nighttime right? So it's like ah
Mike Somerville
like well no wonder he's using his lights it's dark out.
Dana Blouin
Yes ami to see here if they flash your lights like don't fucking move.
Mike Somerville
That's the equivalent of the honking in Vietnam. You cruise down the street if you want the right away you honk if you Hawk first you essentially have the right away. Correct. And I watched that I thought okay, it's kind of annoying noise pollution that sort of thing. If they were doing it on your street here that would be like a meat fight. Goddamn podcast, guys. But it's it's kind of efficient.
Dana Blouin
So I saw a video from Vietnam. That was amazing. This guy was crossing the street. Yes. And Jose Minh city just Yep. And everyone just goes around. And he just walks like parting the Red Sea is like
Mike Somerville
no. And here's the thing. I think a million scooters, it's similar here. In other words, like to cross the street you basically just look around. Yeah, you know, and you and you go, now the cars will go at effectively the same rate. Yeah, if you stop in there, like what the hell are you doing? Right? To the point where if I'm walking across the street and a car stops, I'm like, dude, I'm expecting you to go like and then I look to like the back of the car. Like that's where I'm gonna you make eye contact with somebody. They're like, Oh, he's gonna walk in front of me. Yeah. Where's their I mean Hoshi man, totally. You just I had you just watch. I mean, in front of buses. These things are gonna go 30 kilometers an hour and not stop.
Dana Blouin
It seems to me that in Vietnam, there's less cars and Thailand probably has a shitload
Mike Somerville
of motorbikes. Yeah,
Dana Blouin
like 10 times more. Uh,
Mike Somerville
yeah. Then cars. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. No, there's motorbikes friggin everywhere. Yeah. And arguably, it's like Thailand was about 10 years ago. No one had money for cars. So
Dana Blouin
here's the thing I think in Thailand, like your average motorcycle driver, pretty fuckin skill even for like, just some random has to be did well, even driving since they were 10. Yeah. And like he will upcountry and I'm sure when you're down on the islands, you see this as well. five year olds. Jump on the bike. Totally store. Oh, no. no shoes. I have a six pack for the PIP. First dad. Yeah, absolutely. The back of the bike. Come back.
Mike Somerville
Yeah. Well, they have it under one arm actually, here. They don't even buy six packs. I just buy the big cat bigger. Yeah, the giant one. Yeah, the bottle or whatever. Yeah. And then but you know, I mean, again, they're cruising along on their phone on the phone. But again, it's like, it's like I've never done something on my phone. I
Dana Blouin
like with the phone jammed into their helmet. So they can talk. It's like the hand for that helmet. And they basically, it's an open face helmet. They just fucking slide the phone in. Yeah. Like this. It's like like this. And then around talking on the phone driving, I can barely hear myself with a helmet on let alone someone I can't. I can't even hear on the phone. Normally, I have to wear headphones. So like, my hearing is so bad that I can't just put the phone in my ear and listen, like in
Mike Somerville
the house when you talk when you're talking about real? Yeah. Interesting.
Dana Blouin
The way it sounds, the wavelength, whatever it is the quality. I can't pick it up. I can't make it out. It's
Mike Somerville
your headphones, like cranked up right now. So you
Dana Blouin
like with the headphones on with the cups on?
Mike Somerville
Oh, yeah. Because there's no interference, but
Dana Blouin
like any ambient noise, and I'm done.
Mike Somerville
I'm trying to think about all the other things like a lot. You know, it's fun. So I took the motorbike training class in Southern California in San Diego, so that I could get the MMI license, so I could then get the international driving permanent triple A that allowed me to ride motorcycles. Okay, so I did this whole thing. And I was actually really great. I was psyched that I took this this class. I figured Yeah, I kind of know, I learned some great things like look ahead, where to turn how the cup of the wheel right allows you to but it was it was a great, great class. 50% probably more than that didn't pass it. Wow. And a bunch of people are like, Well, why are you here? And of course, you know, I get well, I want to learn how to ride motorbikes, so I can get my motorcycle endorsement. So when I go to Bangkok, they're like, dude, who the hell would I pick? You think I'm driving on a friggin freeway in California and
Dana Blouin
a motorbike? You're delusional. They can lane split in California, right?
Mike Somerville
Yes, you can. But that's not necessarily safe. You know, but
Dana Blouin
I think it's we can lane split here too. I think it's much safer than not.
Mike Somerville
Well, again, it historically it's there because of the old air cooled bikes, right? You had to be moving so that it would cool down so you wouldn't just sit there so I get that. But as far as I'm concerned, the way that you drive in California, if you have a car, you are infinitely more important than everybody else. Yeah. And you're not paying attention to motorbikes. So if I'm on a motorbike and I'm like cruising down and I think any car is ever gonna see me that's what we learned. You're invisible. Yeah, isn't driving a motorbike, you're invisible.
Dana Blouin
It's the same here though. It really is.
Mike Somerville
So we do that. And I was like, this is this is great. I like totally know how to drive this motorbike. But coming over here, I was just like, you know what this is? I'm gonna have to figure this out. You learn Congress staring and everything. Yeah, like, you push, right, you push to the left to like, back to the right.
Dana Blouin
You know, it works a little different if you have a step through. Yeah, a bike responds differently. For
Mike Somerville
sure. I mean, again, it's like an I mean, you're not like, you know, leaning into it like a ninja.
Dana Blouin
But I've seen people lean over, like my hobbies, not all the way with the step, click, but like, like our friends, we can bank a turn on step through.
Unknown Speaker
But But isn't the side hitting the ground?
Dana Blouin
But but you can like when you kind of start to step through, it doesn't for me, at least it doesn't respond the same as like, if you have an underbone or a full size bike or that bike you have
Mike Somerville
Yeah, right. I mean, if you Yeah, if you put right Sure.
Dana Blouin
And I think it's just because of the way like your legs are wrapped around it.
Mike Somerville
The tires are designed differently, or they have less cup to it than your like
Dana Blouin
performance bug. No, I wouldn't call my bike but also my bike has small wheels right so it's Yeah, well they came from the via
Mike Somerville
like yank them off the Chevy You're like my friggin ex girlfriend busted the window I'm taking the goddamn wheels a little bit bigger than the veil I'm not know so I have like a ms x in the USA called a Grom grommet right and but it's a nice little bike to sit on. Oh yeah. operate easy to control for speed transmission. Super easy to control. That's what I took my test on actually the Grom Yeah, so we're sitting there right and everyone and so there were people that showed up at that thing. Why? You know, I tell them why I'm taking it. Why are you taking it? Well, I already bought a Harley. I'm like you already spent me a 25 $35,000 easy for a bike easy, but don't have a clue how to ride it. And they come to this house again at home. Precisely. Well, there's delivered Harley Davidson Are you kidding me? You give me money I am showing up at your house with this thing. And was it Roadmaster Is that what it called? No no roadking brokenness rocking and in that way up right i mean 1200 1800 cc ridiculous engines right here cool. Yeah, pretty Yeah. Giant radiator underneath the front. It remote start other shit anyway. So they buy these things self auto autopilot and that's why big speakers areas to begin a video that. So they they come and they learn how to so what do they do? They look over and they find like a really big bike, right? Especially the guys because they're like, Oh, yeah, testosterone all day long. So I'm looking around and I see this Grom and I've never seen one of those before in my life. And I thought, okay, I look at the course and I'm thinking okay, so like part of our test. We're going to be going through these cones at like, maybe six kilometers an hour. Yeah. I'm like, I'm taking that one right there. couple guys give me shit laugh at me. I aced that test. Yeah, I knew exactly how to turn and I learned a lot better on it. Whereas these guys, they're like they're putting their foot down. If you put your foot down during the test you fail. Yeah. And you know and I'm sitting there like just bank I mean, I'm going like no like slipping the clutch you know, and also
Dana Blouin
the Grom has a huge Gary's Oh speed big I never took it out of first
Mike Somerville
first gear dude. And the beauty of it was is all you had to do is let a little bit off the off the accelerator. Hmm. I mean, rarely did I need to use the brakes, but it's super low speed when I would slip that clutch. I mean, dude, I could literally be going one kilometer an hour and take these turns and everything and I learned so that was that was awesome. Yeah.
Dana Blouin
Grom is a great bike. Great city. But what
Mike Somerville
plus what was it like a couple thousand bucks.
Dana Blouin
In the UAE in Thailand. It's like, just over 1000
Mike Somerville
thousand US dollars. Yeah. In the US. Is it more? It's like three grand. That's interesting. They're
Dana Blouin
made here.
Mike Somerville
Oh, the Honda's Yeah. Wow. Do they make all hundred modem like they make clicks here? Yeah, all those things just be like 500 bucks.
Dana Blouin
Like all the all the scooters are made here. Oh, that's genius. Yeah, it's smart to design here to
Mike Somerville
really design the Grom here.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. NSX was designed here.
Mike Somerville
What's the next version up from the Grom? Like, what is the what's a call here again?
Dana Blouin
NSX 125 125 Okay,
Mike Somerville
so there is there like a 175 or 150
Dana Blouin
now that the after that you're jumping into like a CBR 150. Okay, so it's a slightly bigger engine but like a full size bike, but
Mike Somerville
that's where the frame they like have it painted a different color?
Dana Blouin
Well, that no, it's like the the 150s like a big bike. It looks like a racing bike. Okay, yeah.
Mike Somerville
But it's only 150 cc What's that? Because I mean that in the US you talk about you know, like, I don't know, displacement of the engine how big my brake calipers are that sort of thing you know, when a motorbike and if someone says like, yeah, I have like a like a 650 or like an 850 in the US. You're like, okay, whatever over here. What do you think biggest bike? never ride
Dana Blouin
for me 125 is great song. Yeah, for the city.
Mike Somerville
Right? He said that back home. They're like, yeah, sorry, buddy.
Dana Blouin
Whatever. Yeah, I got that fucking points. horsepower copy
Mike Somerville
if you haven't seen our live stream go back to the live chat in about two hours. This guy is talking asparagus penis so you're gonna want to get some data on that export only Where are we how are we How are we doing on this topic? Just
Dana Blouin
we're pretty good but let's talk about the size real quick because the size is key because you can buy one there's a bigger range of smaller bikes here oh
Mike Somerville
big time. Yeah.
Dana Blouin
Right in the US like how many scooters Do you really see there might be a couple that Honda sell one because they
Mike Somerville
won't sell them
Dana Blouin
you can get like some Chinese company Yes. Are like 200 cc rosters like yeah, and but here like this probably 20 models of Honda. Oh, yeah. 20, Yamaha, Suzuki, right. Yeah, Suzuki makes like the 150 cc like the rater that I had come in. They make some 100. Like usually 100 the smallest 110
Mike Somerville
Yeah, anything? Well, but again, you got to tell the average Thai guy is like, what? 60 kilos? Maybe maybe? My backpack weighs you know,
Dana Blouin
Gracie weighs 125 cc for the city. Perfect. It's a great bike. Yeah. And you can take it like you can't take on the highway, obviously. But you can take it on the on the surface roads outside the city.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, if you're going on the on the railroad, that'd be bad.
Dana Blouin
So the problem is like most of them don't have a big enough really fuel capacity to get if you really want to go outside the city. Yeah, you know, you're
Mike Somerville
uncomfortable. Well, no. So here's like, the NSX is super confusing for a longer trip. I've been on cliques because I rent those when I go to the islands everything, man, I'll tell you what, after like 3040 minutes.
Dana Blouin
So the step through the clicks a step. Yeah. The step throughs aren't as comfortable right.
Mike Somerville
I really wish my legs were like around the gas tank. I think yeah, that that part I missed to
Dana Blouin
me like the NSX the the handle wave? I know you don't like the centrifugal clutch. Yeah, but that underbone style. Great for like just going well, maybe I'll
Mike Somerville
run an NSX Yeah, it might be more expensive. That's the thing with the clicks. I mean, they're right now especially because I coded it 150 baht a day.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. Have you ever seen maybe the 250 Yeah,
Mike Somerville
right. You get regular price
Dana Blouin
or replica even get like as in triple clutch like a wave. Honda wave will probably be the same as the click.
Mike Somerville
Maybe just try it. Yeah, and
Dana Blouin
just but it's like you're still like on it. Like you're not around the gas tank. But you're you're on the body. The gas is still under the seat. Yeah,
Mike Somerville
yeah, for sure. That's true.
Dana Blouin
It's also the something to click is driven on the rear wheel. It's like a direct drive. Yeah. Whereas the NSX the wave the cob. They're all chained chain drive.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, I do like direct drive. Because in a rental bike on a rental. Yeah, because they're not gonna I mean, what what is it? Is it half an inch every What? 30 miles. Something. I mean, it stretches significantly. You go two months without reading when
Dana Blouin
you first get it? Yes. Yeah,
Mike Somerville
yeah. And the tensioning on that. Yeah. I mean, that's the last thing I'd want. I'm cruising up some Hill. You know? Yeah, that would just be Hey, take care of it. No, no, it's a rental though.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, those guys. Oh, yeah. Yeah, no, I mean, you're direct. But if you only if you're gonna rent it for a day or two. Yeah, it's like, zipper. Copenhagen. No real hills. Right.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, there are. Yeah. Which is weird. Because he had to remember like a couple of pine. Yeah. coping on top and on. About 30% of the island is in forest. Okay, like, I would just not assert there's not a circumference road. Oh, yeah, it goes up about probably to the north. So that's probably about 50% of the way and then there's nothing and there's a middle road and then of course there's the beach all the way it's sort of the South southwest southeast corner that's where they have the full moon parties. Right so it's kind of like designed to get people in an area where you'd want to go so if you want to like chill out like I did bungalows you got the West Coast or you go on the far east coast there's huge resorts if you want to ecstasy cocaine drink and on the way down Go straight South grab some a
Dana Blouin
you know get to go
Mike Somerville
yeah solid at 711 pretty much yeah, I mean that dick
Dana Blouin
pills Yeah. Good to go dick pills and exit st ecstasy in St. Dick pills. Yeah,
Mike Somerville
and it's great great calm little kids driving on the wrong side of the road it's a cop best combo big time combo
Dana Blouin
try try try one of the underbone bikes and I might change my I think like if you're gonna go outside the city Yeah, I think it's a great way to get around in the city obviously train nothing beats a BTS
Mike Somerville
love the BTS and MRT What a great combo not be in it. As far as transfer. I mean, and here's the other thing too. I mean, in the last seven years since I've been here, they've added easily 10 more stops Yeah. So I mean, and the plan they have now right up to Don young dumb young, dumb, young, young, young, young young. redline. Yeah, right. I mean, you
Dana Blouin
look at you go all the way to the future Park ranks it? Well, because
Mike Somerville
now I mean, if you dread it, you're taking like a cab. I would take a taxi there. It looks like every single stop is like done. Like I don't know why they're not running trains yet. I think they haven't completed the track. Oh, all right, because they have the overhead electrical. They have everything underneath, you know the stranger. So okay, so, so yeah, mildly important. Yeah. important safety tip. Would you say we throw the tracks in? Yeah, no, no, I mean, he used RG six. Yeah, just zip tie it in. Yeah. Good to go. What's the big deal over the grease? What's the worst thing that could happen? Is it gonna be the same scale is the BTS
Dana Blouin
it's a BTS property right? No, it's MRT proper. Oh it is. Yeah, so that extensions MRT also, this thing all the extensions are MRT
Mike Somerville
Okay, so like purple yellow, because they're doing that one, right? That one that's going to go out by Oh God, what's the mall down? Basically, if you get on sukumvit one on one all the way to the end. You end up at the mega. No, no, no, it's it's right next to the what is the night market called over there? Like rock? Something like that? It's got like old antique cars a lot Raphi? Yeah, right. But there's the mall in front of that. I think it begins with an S. model. C con square. Okay, so you never heard of it? No. Okay. David took me over there actually. Oh, so here's a question for you. Alright, nevermind. I was gonna ask you where I Where should I buy a laptop?
Dana Blouin
Apple star?
Mike Somerville
Yeah. If I don't want a Mac product, which I? To be fair, I've used these things for years. I love them. But the ROI the cost is it's two X.
Dana Blouin
Call your boy at a Adele. I should
Mike Somerville
I should double click on Steven Roberts. Yeah, he could probably give me a smoking deal on it. No, he sells data center products. He sells products that cost at least half a million bucks.
Dana Blouin
So once you get that DELL LAPTOP, feel free some credit.
Mike Somerville
Listen, Mike, you spent all 1100 dollars with us. This means a lot to us. Let me let me text Michael.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, I got I got a I got 200 I got $2 million worth of data center for you. Yeah, I mean, credit. Let me
Mike Somerville
give you some credits, provided you buy these laptops. That's where Dell has really decreased in quality. I was buying about a million bucks worth of data center every couple years. Yeah. And when Dell bought EMC and rolled that in and everything the technical support on my million dollar infrastructure was very similar to what I got for my thousand dollar laptop one 800 Dell, I'm like, this is offensive.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, for sure. That doesn't work for me. I would say if you're gonna buy a non Mac probably go to Power BI just because it's like really just because it's like a reputable spot. work.
Mike Somerville
And with no expectation of return policy, right?
Dana Blouin
Yeah. If it is, well, there's no return policy in time.
Mike Somerville
Yeah.
Dana Blouin
Um, yeah. So you could I think Lenovo, you can buy direct through here. Okay. Um, Lenovo has shot
Mike Somerville
like, I mean, on the website, and they ship it to Yeah, okay. The power bioship like three hours here in Bangkok, right? Yeah, yeah, that's pretty sweet.
Dana Blouin
But I get Bolin. If you go on limnos website or wherever you can like configure it. Oh, that's fair. Yeah, add an extra Chinese spyware. You know,
Mike Somerville
why wouldn't I mean that all I do is just go to like, just just add some Huawei stuff. Yeah, all you got to do is just add some Huawei well, Huawei, Lenovo Huawei in a huge way, dude. I mean, I'm all about that. Tony. Huge would love Huawei
Dana Blouin
is all about the wall. Huawei in a huge way. Yeah, giant. They should sponsor is sarms Productions.
Mike Somerville
I can't imagine if all of a sudden the BTS and MRT like weren't running. It'd be crazy. I mean, because when I first came here, the ties we're not taking the BTS.
Dana Blouin
So I'll tell you when the BTS breaks down. It's a shit show.
Mike Somerville
Yeah. Because here's the thing. I mean, especially in the morning, there are times like I get on at Punta Wicky. Yeah. And I come up if by the time I get to on it in the morning, if it's after, like, 730 in the morning, the people getting on, there'll be a line and there is at least three people that are waiting for the next train. They couldn't get on mine. And so I mean, you lose one train.
Dana Blouin
I've been on the airport Rail Link when it gets stuck. And I was close to like, let me pop the doors. I'll just walk on and then just pick up and start going. How long
Mike Somerville
though was waiting?
Dana Blouin
30 seconds just like 15 minutes. 20 minutes.
Mike Somerville
Jesus. I mean, hopefully the AC was still electricity.
Dana Blouin
That's why I was like, the power quit. Yeah.
Mike Somerville
Oh, that's a big concern.
Dana Blouin
So I'm gonna pop this motherfucker. It was nighttime. So it wasn't horrible. Yeah, like, I pop this motherfucker and walk home.
Mike Somerville
We could probably fucking fix it might just give me some tools
Dana Blouin
that give me fuckin zip that three phase up above the Yeah. What's the worst thing?
Mike Somerville
Is it 480 here that they use for the trains? I don't know. I think it's 480 back in San Diego. But they have this like aerial cable. Yeah, when they run this power. Yeah. Yeah. That's true.
Dana Blouin
It's a friction Connect. Well, no, they have third wheel third rail here.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, the flap thing on the side. But man, I'll tell you in other cities that I mean, I know that like hochiminh City is trying to put that in. Yeah. But like you said, there's so many friggin motorbikes everywhere. I don't I think it would be a big behavioral change.
Dana Blouin
If, if you're living in Bangkok and you're living somewhere where you need to drive. Yeah, you're doing it wrong. Absolutely. Like you could easily live like you're paying what 12,000 baht, your place over on that 400 bucks. Yeah, for your place over on a one on one one on one.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, by true digital partner.
Dana Blouin
You can walk to the train.
Mike Somerville
Absolutely very easily even when it's raining. I'm just like, Yeah, well, I'll walk under the awning and then you get on the skywalk and then I'm covered basically the whole time. Good to go. Yeah, less than 15 minutes.
Dana Blouin
If you're if you're living somewhere where you need to drive I know people will like oh, I want to move further out. I'll buy a car like fuck is wrong with
Mike Somerville
I'm gonna save a whole 2000 baht a month on my rent and then buy this 280,000 baht.
Dana Blouin
That's a beater little like a tiny car, forget about it. But you know,
Mike Somerville
if you're gonna be like, like, I mean, again, I'm living where I'm living. I don't necessarily Love Actually, I do love Bangkok. But I mean, I don't necessarily love big cities. I'm a beach guy. I love that. But from Bangkok, I can get to any beach I want, which is the main reason I got a place to stay here. I can come back to amazing airports that you know, non COVID I can get anywhere I want to go. But like, I'm doing that and I can understand why people would have a car there because they would want to get out of Bangkok. Like I do want to rent a car and like cruise all the way down the coast. road trip and rent a car precisely with like every like, maybe two years old. Yeah. without holding the liability of ownership. Absolutely. I mean, yeah, you get insurance. Yeah, but it's not ridiculous. Like it is. Yeah, exactly. And you know, full coverage and, and it's just and it's so and once you get on the road outside of Bangkok,
Dana Blouin
it's still crazy as fuck, but it's not as bad as you think. Oh, yeah.
Dana Blouin
Have you ever taken one of those vans? He okay, but that guy
Mike Somerville
is a jackass driver. Those things suck because of the driver.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, but like cuz you take a big motherfuckers around you so the big buses, especially if you take that in the con is the con the con carrier. It's um, like this bus line. Okay, fucking they have two drivers they have little bus hostesses what,
Mike Somerville
where's this hostesses? Yeah, do they have like, you know, like boost Yes or
Dana Blouin
no? Like? They're like little like chicks from Nissan. Like we'll walk around. They're like, you want to drink? Do you want some snacks?
Mike Somerville
Yes, I do. I'd like a mess.
Dana Blouin
They've got like first class bus line. Where's the where's this available to get it from moccia to
Mike Somerville
see I've only done mo CIT. I get off and I walked down
Dana Blouin
to those buses. I didn't know much it to me. Yeah, the car Nyan the cornea.
Mike Somerville
Like it was a knock air.
Dana Blouin
No, no lights in the con is different things. Company. Okay. But literally like you'll have first class bosses. We'll do a whole thing. Maybe? Clearly. We need to take a bus trip and we'll like livestream or something. I'm on it. I don't know. You gotta be quiet right? Because it's like be like a little private area. couldn't read the whole bus.
Mike Somerville
No, you can't do like 5000 bottles. We got this
Dana Blouin
May I maybe I mean if the first class like 1000 baht for the seat. Okay, but how far so? time like Chiang Mai non something like that. That'd be awesome. So but yeah, it's like reclining doesn't recline all the way but it's like okay. 80% Yeah,
Mike Somerville
so you can effectively fall asleep if you're tired. Oh, just the bus ride to Chiang Mai was eight hours. Yeah, but you can think that the overnight train you get the private sleeper. I totally want to do that. Here's Mike How tall are you? You're my head right I'm six one yes I'm six two so basically the same and what you're really yeah, okay, I sleep like arms over my so I need something that nicely almost seven feet
Dana Blouin
you can't go overhead but I would like that. Okay, at least like stretch out
Mike Somerville
well maybe I do diagonal
Dana Blouin
is single size bed. But you could you I've done it very comfortably you like it didn't the motion of the train is perfect. Must be cool.
Mike Somerville
Yeah. Must be like sleeping a boat.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, that'd be great is fun.
Mike Somerville
Is it like are people appropriate or some jackass leave his line thing on so online? It's like
Dana Blouin
get the private room. It's like 500 bought a ticket. Oh, so you did
Mike Somerville
the room? Yeah, not just because I've seen how they like bring the top down person room. Okay,
Dana Blouin
right. And so like, I think
Mike Somerville
Yeah, so thousand baht for the whole room. Yeah.
Dana Blouin
It might be a little it was it was more than flying to Shanghai. Yeah, indeed. But you pay for the experience. Yeah, it's kind of cool. So you can do the the semi shared where it's like four people like bunk beds. Yeah, yeah. It's still bunk beds in the two person room
Mike Somerville
right but your private but your private walk and
Dana Blouin
lock your door? You have your own bathroom? No, you have to use the bath like your car has a bath. Okay, that's fine. Um, but the semi privates for people that have like a new Japanese train and my new mods, it's
Mike Somerville
new new. See? God's love pot,
Dana Blouin
but I like the private suite like this jump on the back.
Mike Somerville
Well, if it's not but yeah, if it's only a couple thousand baht
Dana Blouin
in the experience, it's less than 1500.
Mike Somerville
Okay, it's it's complete. So it's like you and Jeb. Like I would go with Gracie, we get
Dana Blouin
okay. Actually, if the four of us went we could get like the two next to each other and the open the door up. It'd be pretty sweet. So you can kind of bullshit talk back and forth.
Mike Somerville
Gracie would love that. Yeah. Yeah. Cuz Jim's English is excellent. Yes. So that would be great for Gracie because she I mean, she's, you know, pretty self conscious about her English, right? And because it's not perfect, but because she's Filipino. Yeah, she's only she's Filipino.
Dana Blouin
She speaks like she's from like New York.
Mike Somerville
She's only speaking English as long as you and I. Yeah, yeah. It's not regularly.
Dana Blouin
Yeah. So that's why we import Filipino nurses to the US and now they're importing teachers from the Philippines. Isn't
Mike Somerville
that crazy? Dude, I mean, so hospitals, airports every airport if you ever like oh my god, I just really want to speak Tagalog just go into a friggin airport. Yeah,
Dana Blouin
yeah, Singapore airport. pretty much everywhere in the US I saw this documentary about a school in Montana okay they're importing teachers from the Philippines and they get like these two two year visas okay to teach really they go back really is they get like four years total hmm but they'll like the school board and half their teachers from the Philippines because people are just not
Mike Somerville
because because the salaries
Dana Blouin
suck what is a rural school a middle of Montana, right? They're probably paying like $20,000 a year yeah to live in a place that is expensive due to logistics issues. Yeah,
Mike Somerville
exactly. Like oh yeah, I got a great deal but I got to spend 300 bucks on gas like
Dana Blouin
I was like, I wouldn't mind to go like be a teacher in the middle of nowhere, but like, I don't want to do it for $20,000 a year.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, look, here's the thing. I mean, you and I like various cities and a lot of people be like, Oh my god, I can't believe you live in San Diego. There's all this friggin sand everywhere way too many tour I mean everyone all the sand and beach cheese is gorgeous sun so humid it pissed me off my main you know,
Dana Blouin
but a lot of Mexican food Yeah.
Mike Somerville
People who clean your car for $8 that doesn't happen in New England. Remember how much like getting your car was 150
Dana Blouin
bucks for full detail
Mike Somerville
and I go to San Diego full detail $15
Dana Blouin
Yeah, but there's no salt like
Mike Somerville
yeah oh yeah, yeah, they're not like
Dana Blouin
spread but I'm saying like in New England like you they they can charge because you need to do and Yes. Don't rush your car it's not gonna rot away.
Mike Somerville
No, not at all.
Dana Blouin
Yeah, that's Yeah, so me for the salt air I don't know. Oh, that's a beautiful car that you have to contend with
Mike Somerville
it but again, no newer cars don't rust even in New England. Yeah, my parents have like
Dana Blouin
the salt they're still using salt
Mike Somerville
they are you know, they still put that NASS and salt on the roads that sort of thing a
Dana Blouin
little slurry mix kills
Mike Somerville
all the babies you know but no, baby shouldn't be out anyway. Exactly. Come on. They don't have rights yet.
Dana Blouin
as well. They shouldn't
Mike Somerville
Oh my god.
Dana Blouin
I think with that let's wrap this holy
Mike Somerville
before we get down on baby right? babies can
Dana Blouin
ride cars. Alright guys, be sure to subscribe iTunes Google Play Spotify stitcher tune in anywhere you find podcasts. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. We're gonna be I think we're gonna try to do weekly live stream. Yeah, we're and get out there do some live stream action. We just did one before we recorded this episode. So we'll probably release this next week. So last week, we did a live stream. Definitely check it out. And anyway, if you guys have questions, we have a phone number.
Mike Somerville
Yeah, just call 877 Wow, dude 877-969-3833 in the US. We'll have to get an international phone call from like Australia.
Dana Blouin
We will decide I saw some stuff online where people can leave comments to the computer so you think yeah,
Mike Somerville
there's a key Gina keyboard for the comments online.
Dana Blouin
You can record audio. Oh, there you go. Good.
Mike Somerville
Cuz it'd be great to be able to play him back. Yeah, this jackass wants to know about lady boys in Thailand. Yeah, shocker. Shocking to discuss that's totally inappropriate.
Dana Blouin
Anyway, but if you get caught
Mike Somerville
Yeah, so cause or Bangkok.
Dana Blouin
Bangkok strange, calm
Mike Somerville
Bangkok strange@gmail.com gmail.com.
Dana Blouin
And don't forget to check out our shop shop at shop dot Bangkok. Bangkok stranger calm.
Mike Somerville
We got mugs. We got face face masks t shirts, too. We should be doing the show totally decked out. We got to get some brand caulk.
Dana Blouin
sreen we got Bangkok strange condoms. No, not yet too soon.
Mike Somerville
But today, but you know how to use a condom twice now. Yeah.
Dana Blouin
Well, you took flip it, flip it inside out and check the fuck out of it.
Unknown Speaker
And with that,
Dana Blouin
until next time, stay strain Chase.