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Comment by hermitcrab | Hacker News Reader

Lots of great advice here. But..

>In many parts of the world today motorcycles play the role of cars. That means you can hire a moto-taxi to take you on the back seat, or to summon a moto-taxi with an uber-like app, or to take a motorcycle tour with a guide doing the driving. In areas where motorcycles dominate they will be ten times more efficient than slowly going by car.

I would be extremely wary about this. You are so much more vulnerable on a bike. And you won't even be wearing proper protective equipment. Even if they lend you a helmet, it is unlikely to fit properly and don't know how many times it has been dropped or involved in a crash. Also the most common injuries to motorcyclists are to the legs, and I doubt they will be lending you boots or biking trousers.

No thanks!

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2 years ago when backpacking in East Africa, I went from "there is no way I'm ever doing this" to taking nothing but those moto-taxis ("boda bodas") even for 40 minute inter-city rides with a 12KG backpack on my back. No helmets to speak of. Except maybe in Rwanda.

Part of the learning experience of such travel, is to see firsthand how the locals of these places perceive the risk. How they manage risk in general, and what is the "value of a human life" for them as compared to our western perceptions.

The combination of poor road safety, lack of protective equipment and lesser health care if anything goes wrong does not make it an attractive option for me. Each to their own, I guess.

Context: I used to have a motorbike. I always wore full protective equipment. Full face helmet, leather, gloves and boots. But I realize that is less practical in a hot climate.

There is no "the locals" usually. It sounds a bit condescending, like the article. If people look different than you it doesn't mean they are all the same. People have different life situations. Maybe even in your home country too.

If you go somewhere on a moto taxi in Bangkok all those taxis and fancy SUVs you see are not silly foreigners who are scared of motobikes, they are also locals who manage risk.

Exactly!

I grew up in the US.

I grew up in a family where drunk driving was totally normal. Car wrecks happened with regularity. As a child I road with my parents while they were drunk and actively drinking. I road in the bed of my dads pickup truck while he was speeding on backroads while drunk. I never wore my seatbelt until I started driving. One of our cars growing up didn't even have seats, cuz my dad took them out. My dad would slam on the breaks while driving down the highway and everyone would go flying.

I always wear my seatbelt now. I would never would drive drunk now, or even slightly buzzed. I would never expose children to that sort of environment. My parents are awful people.

As a child my parents drinking/hangover is some of the worst memories but this sounds another level. Respect for not passing it on to kids.

I will never ride a bicycle or motorcycle or scooter in any location without a helmet.

Those that do so are simply stupid. It's 2025. Helmets are such a ridiculously high cost/benefit ratio.

It's like not using a seatbelt, or smoking cigarettes. Totally insane, knowing what we now know.

Doesn't matter if it "isn't done here". TBIs work the same in Bangkok as Boston.

> Part of the learning experience of such travel, is to see firsthand how the locals of these places perceive the risk.

Sorry, but this is a just financial decision by locals and not a philosophical treatise on the value of life. Once people have enough money, they'll opt to take the car-taxi, doubly-so if their child is coming along. It's fun for backpackers and I'm glad it got you out of your comfort zone.

It's not quite that straightforward. Obviously the calculus changes when you can afford alternatives, but all social classes in Bangkok and Jakarta can and do take motosai/ojeks if they're in a hurry and the traffic (for four-wheelers) is completely jammed like it usually is.

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