Riding a motorcycle in the rain is scary

Where I dropped the bike, beforehand.

I took the day off from diving to do some much needed shopping in Tagbilaran city with Nigel. He had a motorcycle from his friend, so I rented one for myself for 400 pesos for 6 hours. I’ve never drove a motorcycle before and so needed a quick lesson on the side of the road. At the motorbike rental guy (some guy on the side of the road), it started raining a lot; Nigel and I waited around until it subsided a little. I was a little nervous riding the bike in the rain for 20 kilometers in a foreign country with no protective gear. Filipino drivers are crazy drivers because they don’t pay attention to rules of the road, but they’re very skillful.

The rain subsided and of course I had a hard time starting the bike; not the bikes fault. Once I started moving, and a little wiggle on the road, it was fairly easy going. The hardest part of course was getting used to the controls and the brake. We had to find gas for the bike so Nigel and I stopped at several different side stores. At one of them, I made the error of trying to startup the motorcycle in first gear. After doing a little revving (to get the engine going), the bike flew forward with me still on it and into a wall. It only went a few feet, but it was hard to stop the bike even when it was on the ground; by instinct, I held onto the handle bar grip revving it even more. I cut my hand, knee, and elbow, but not too badly.

I got 2 liters of gas at a nearby convenient store. A girl came out with a one liter Coke bottle with gas in it and poured it into my gas tank. Starting the bike up again, I almost made the same mistake as before; leaving the bike in first gear. A man from across the street came over an pointed out what I was doing wrong. Ah. Though I got more used to riding the bike the journey to Tagbilaran was a scary one. Thoughts in my head kept haunting me. What if I fall at 50 km/hr? What if a car runs into me? Why is Nigel going so fast? With my luck of course while riding, a truck passed me, ran over a puddle, and splashed it all over me. Of course, once we got into the Tagbilaran, my fright didn’t get any better because driving in the city is far worse.

The city of Tabilaran, Bohol.

50 peso haircut. Not bad.

After dodging vans, cars, trucks, and tricycles, Nigel and I made it to the BQ mall. I was impressed by the mall because it was as modern as one in the US. It was small though. Nigel and I walked around and I tried to absorb all my surroundings while he told me all about what’s around. We ate at a Pizza Hut restaurant (99 pesos for a pizza, drink, and soup), went to a pharmacy for my wounds, and got a haircut for 50 pesos. Additionally he showed me the best money changer, the immigration office, and a good bank. In the mall I bought 3 pairs of shorts which I needed. It was a very productive day.

I had to return the bike by 5 pm so we left around 4 pm. Well, I survived one way, just one more way to go. Once we got out of the city, I started to really get more of the feel of the bike. I rather enjoyed it actually and went a little faster than before. I still though had some fear, which I guess you should always have on a motorcycle to keep on your toes.

Photo Booth fun on my Mac with bartender Rain.

Photo Booth fun with Amy.

Back in Alona I went to Coco Vida bar next to Hayahay to check my email on my laptop. Connection was bad so we just played around with Photo Booth and the built-in camera on my laptop (Macbook Pro). Markus, Thomas, and everyone around me, including the bartenders ,were having a blast. Went out to eat dinner with Hamid, Thomas, Amy, Harold, and Markus at the Powder Keg. I heard good things about it and thought it would be good and was disappointed in the amount and quality of food.

Oops bar. All the usual girls were there. I drank lite with only one order of rum and cokes. We played Liar Liar and Genga as usual.

- jason