The Diary of Anne Ku

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT IN THAILAND

14 May 2000 Sunday another fine, dry day in Rhodes

The last time I drove a motorcycle - I scalded my leg. The scar is a reminder that I should never drive or ride a motorcycle again. I was recovering from a bad cold, thus dizzy from the antibiotics. My mother was also recovering from the same cold. With my mother and her backpack behind me, I was careful enough to drive slowly. This was Phuket, Thailand.

The engine stalled suddenly. Mom got off the bike. I looked at her and asked, "Why did you get off?" She replied, "So that you can start the motorcycle again." I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Come on! I've been riding this for a few days now. I can start the engine with you on it!"

That was a mistake. In first gear, the bike went under us. We fell on the bike. I scalded my calf on the hot exhaust pipe. My mom burned her ankle.

While we were lying on the ground wondering what happened, the villagers and their chickens came flying out. Pointing here and there, they rushed to apply aloe vera on our skins. I just stared at them in a daze. What was all the commotion about? Then I saw the red flesh beneath my skin. I figured that we could get one of the villagers to take me on his bike, the other to take my mom on my rented bike. Then they could return on theirs. Once we left the village, we got to the hospital fairly quickly on the highway. My mother then said to me,"Thank goodness for that accident. We would have had a major one if we had gotten on the highway!"