Speak to anyone who’s taken a lengthy holiday to South East Asia and you would find that heaps of them have experience renting a motorbike or scooter, or at least, knows someone who has.
Apart from the convenience of not needing to arrange to catch a ride share or a bus every time you wish to venture a few Km’s from your room, most of the time its enormous fun having the freedom to explore the back blocks of the town or region you’re visiting.
Some of my favorite memories are riding the boondocks in Northern Thailand or taking the 60 Km round trip to Kuang Si waterfall in Laos. Even scooting the crowded streets of Seminyak in Bali has been an absolute hoot.
Naturally enough, for every yin, there is a yang. Riding a scooter in another country can be extremely dangerous, both to your physical well being, and that of your bank account.
Risk
Most foreigners who rent scooters in S E Asia, I’d estimate 80%, do not have a motorbike license back home and/or do not have an international driving permit. You need to have both to legally ride in most countries.
It’s vital to understand, also, that unless you have both a full motorcycle license from back home AND an international driving permit, you are not covered by your travel insurance for any damage or medical costs associated with an accident. Even if licensed, some insurance policies require that you specify that you will be riding a scooter/motorbike while you’re overseas.
If you were unlicensed and unfortunate enough to have an accident while riding your scooter, expect to be found to be at fault by local law enforcement officers, regardless of who was actually at fault. If the police turn up you will likely be charged with an offence to boot, though some places will offer you the opportunity to pay an “on the spot fine”.
At the very least, expect to pay for all of the damage costs for your scooter, and the expensive Toyota Prado you hit.
I won’t go into too many gory details of the motorbike crashes I’ve seen over the years, many of them involving foreigners. Let me just tell you about one time I had to take a very sick person (not a motorbike accident) to a hospital in Saigon.
On helping said person into the large hospital I can genuinely say that I was shocked at how many banged up people were there as a result of motorbike/scooter accidents. It’s a grim scene so best not let that be you be you.
The best advice
There’s much I could say to you about riding in S E Asia and I want to neither encourage or discourage you from doing what many others do every day. Up until this point I’ve done it countless times
My best advice to you is to ride conservatively. Look at what the locals ride and the speed with which they ride. Do not get a fast Japanese bullet bike for the rickety roads you’ll likely encounter. Wear a helmet. Here’s the story of an Australian woman who didn’t.
Generally, in S E Asia small gives way to big. So let that truck or car go before you. Often the road rules in these counties seem to be more like rough guidelines, be prepared to give way to anyone that wants to push past you. Never get a local pissed off.
So, you've decided to rent
Sometimes when you rent a scooter you will be asked to leave your passport as a bond against damage to the bike. I’ve done this many times without incident but it pays to take a good look at the bike before you take the keys
In particular look for obvious damage, this is more important if the scooter is almost new. The older the bike, the less the owner will chase you for minor repairs.
Next thing to check the electrical starter works perfectly. You don’t want to be stuck 30Km from town with a bike that won’t start. Even if it has a kick starter, many won’t know how to use it.
If it’s been a long while since you’ve ridden a scooter it’s a good idea to go for a cruise on a long quite street to get used to the controls.
On the spot fines...
From time to time in certain countries local officials will be well aware that the majority of foreigners are unlicensed and will utilize this fact to supplement their income.
What usually happens is that you are pulled over for a “random” inspection. They will ask you for your license and if you cannot produce one you will likely be presented with 2 options.
Before I will discuss those options, I will point out that at the time you are pulled over and fail to produce a license you are entirely at fault and need to understand that is the truth of the matter.
Knowing that fact, the officials will likely give you the choice between potentially fronting a judge for unlicensed driving OR paying an “on the spot fine”.
Obviously, I need to be careful what I say here, but a guy I met in a bar once told me he thought it better to take the fine.
He said the trick is not to have large amounts of cash on you but make sure you have a little. Hopefully this will be enough to make the problem, not so much of a problem.
It had worked for him several times.