Driving Around the World

On our many driving adventures of Thailand I have noticed the many differences between our country and Thailand, like for one they drive on the other side of the street.  So crossing the street has been a bit tricky to remember which direction to look first when stepping onto the street.  Even though we have been here for a month it is still my normal reaction to look left at a crosswalk, instead of right.  I have also noticed that driving on country roads it is much more common to pass all the farm work trucks rather than a tractor.  The farm trucks are pretty cool though, most are dump trucks with a matching trailer and they get painted up with all kinds of cool geometric patterns or flowers to carry dirt and other materials.  Mopeds and motor bikes are extremely common on the road, city or country side alike.  Their compact size makes for easy transportation around the buses and cars because they are allowed to ride the line and cut to the front of traffic at lights.  Yet on the long country roads they ride in the shoulder, which made it hard for them when we drove into a rain storm and many of them had to pull over because they were driving though deep puddles while being splashed on. Some tried to brave the storm with ponchos but after a while it was no match for the amount of rain we drove through.  

The rain we drove through from Chiang Mai flooded the curve and blurred the picture

On the roads further away from the cities many of the road signs for town directions do not have English translations on them unless it is specifying a resort.  At least when we drive through the city we can follow along with the English under the Thai exit ramps and mileage postings.  We learned from a waiter one night that many rural areas are not taught English in school, so they do not get a chance to practice it and there is no need for it on their signs.  As for city traffic, it is worse than in the US, people make extra lanes, so a three lane highway becomes four without any problem but they still barely move. Police sometimes cut through traffic on motor bikes to stand at the bottom of highway exit ramps to allow the traffic to leave the highway easier, but they make me nervous with how close they are to the cars.  

One of the many military bases we drove past

The ornate portraits of the King seen while driving in Bangkok towards the Grand Palace

Almost all big tour buses get decorated with the Michelin man

Almost every street sign is beautifully decorated based on the region it is in, like this one was in Old City of Chiang Mai