Going Mobile

the first day i got the scooter

most recent photo (changed the headlight rim to full chrome; got a knock at the front wheel shield from some stupid auto driver)

"I'm going mobile, keep me movin', keep me groovin"

I'm going mobile.. I bought a scooter last May at the beginning of my internship, reason because I need it too much for travelling between hospitals and hostels and college. The auto rickshaw charges just went up another notch that time, from 13 rupees to 15 rupees per Km, which is crazy.. Besides, the reason I'm writing this post so late is because I dun wanna let my parents know bout it at all that I'm driving in India crazy traffic, and partially because I'm busy and lazy. (Anyway, they knew the truth last November but din really scold me, just asked me to be extra careful)

The bike is a vintage Vespa 150 Super.. It is the same age as me (25 yrs old).. Right now, this old vintage bike is extremely rare except in 3rd world countries like India or Vietnam where the citizens are still stuck in the 60's and 70's era.. Being truly 'vintage', it will actually cost a huge sum to get one and restore it with the rare parts. I bought this bike for only Rs9000, and fully refurbished and repainted it for another same amount.. Ppl here say I paid too much for such an old scooter cz I could have got a high powered bike with the same amount.. But I am sentiment about old things and i was willing to spend, plus I had not had a single thought of getting those big bike like most of my friends are riding.. I wanted something special, different, rare, cute, cool.

So far, in the past 9 months or so, my driving experience had been full of ups and downs..
Ups means I love the look of the scooter; the sound of the engine; the way ppl ask bout my bike and admire it; the exceptional convenience it gave me as an intern to travel around hospitals and coming back for lunch; ability to go anywhere i want without needing to fight with auto drivers; feeling the smooth and steady stroll on the roads; the experience of riding my girlfriend around; the fun of exploring places here i'd never been before; the thrill of high speed on road and experience of cool breeze at late night...

Now comes to the downs. As they say, an 'old man' needs lots of fixing.. I'd experienced numerous amount of bike breakdown, not able to kick-start, no light, water clogging the engine, excessive smoke problem, parts getting loose etc, and consequently visited the garage uncountable number of times.. Yes, old is gold, (which means u need a lot of gold to own an old)..

Another thing I always wanted to stress on is the stupidity of the Indian drivers here.. There's not a single second when I'm on the road here that I do not curse the drivers and pedestrians.. I mean, they're freaking dumb and ignorant.. Already everyone knows bout the road condition here. Big holes out of nowhere, non stop digging and patching up of roads, stones and bumps on the side roads, absence of draining system, no pedestrians pavements, no line separating lanes, lack of sign boards and traffic lights, extremely narrow streets, pedestrians crossing the roads however they want... (the list goes on).
Majority of the drivers here are totally bunches of lawless, brainless, selfish, ignorant, rude, impatient ppl..The things that piss me off all the time are the way they dun use their signals before they stop or turn; the way they don't know how to utilize a round-about properly; the way they dun stop or start at the right time at traffic lights; the way they ignores signboards and breaching the rules; the way they like to sneak in every inch of free spaces; the way they horn at everyone; the way ppl here drive counter traffic; the way buses bully the other small vehicles; the way ppl just stop wherever they want in the middle of the road; the way everyone blinding others using only the high beam on roads at night. Driving here in Mangalore is really annoying and stressful.

I love my Vespa despite the troubles this old folk gave me. I hate Indian roads and drivers to the max for the way they drive around me. I'd always wonder how nice it would be if i'm able to drive my Vespa in Malaysia's proper roads?? Till now, i'm still unsure whether i should bring this scooter back to Malaysia, or just sell it to someone who love vintage bikes. There are many foreseeable problems if i bring it back eg customs, taxes, shipment, availability of spare parts back home etc, but the relationship, the bond that we shared in the past months had been quite strong till i'm not willing to part from it.. Right now, I'm still in the midst of dilemma..