It’s a long weekend over here (again <g>) and a busy one at that. Even before I had come over to Sri Lanka, I’d been planning to get a motorcycle when I got here since I just can’t drive a car over here – at least I don’t think so, not after driving in the US for four years. The drivers here are crazy since they don’t seem to obey any road rules and sometimes even rules of common sense :p Anyway, I bought a bike almost as soon as I got here but that was in Kurunegala – it was a reconditioned Suzuki and it was not yet registered. Since I had to do the registration myself and the bike was in Kurunegala while I was mostly in Colombo, the bike just stayed there and nothing got done for a month or two. One my cousins (who’d helped me in the getting the bike in the first place …) said that he’d be able to sell it and I agreed to it since I was having second thoughts about buying a reconditioned bike. He gave me the money even though he hadn’t sold the bike and I went ahead and purchased another from Colombo, this time a Bajaj – Indian make -, since the bike was brand new and the dealer promised to get it registered.
Of course, the registration process took about three weeks and even when that got done, which was sometime last week or the end of the week before, I ran into problems getting the bike back from them. They had the bike at one place while the papers were at another and for some weird reason, seemed to be having a lot of problems getting the two together. I’d gone over on Tuesday to try and get the bike but had just been given the run around – customer service here is mostly non-existent 🙁 I was really mad, black guarded them soundly and then came back after they promised to “definitely” have things ready for me on Friday. I called them again on Thursday and was told that everything would be there on Friday. Friday morning I had to rush over to Kurunegala since my parents needed something done but rushed back by the next bus since I wanted to get the bike but what did I find when I went over to the dealership? They told me that the bike wasn’t there! They hadn’t brought the bike over from the other place even after all their promises and I was ready to bust a blood vessel. The salesman who talked to me was a different one and he seemed to be more obliging and he talked to his manager, made some calls and got the bike included in a delivery that was coming over from their warehouse. Of course, I still had to wait there for three or four hours while the bike got there, then go through the paperwork and I finally had my bike 🙂
It is good to have a bike back though I am really scared by the idiots on the roads even now since they don’t seem to have any concept of the fact that there are others on the roads besides themselves. Ah well … at least I’m mobile now (or more mobile than being on foot <vbg>) and I enjoy the feel of having the wind in my face … Of course, it’s been raining pretty much the whole day since I got the bike and so I can’t always go out much – ah well, that’s how it is I guess 🙂
I’ve done the motorcycle thing before, so I can relate. Once, after seeing a serious motorcycle accident – I had to ride my scooter 10 miles into town, needless to say that was a nervous ride for me. If ya don’t have one, get a GOOD helmet Fahim! I found that a good sturdy rainsuit was also a valuable asset, to have. I put the suit in a waterproof bag, and strapped it to the back of the cycle. Then, when I needed it – it was always with me. Be careful, there are lotsa people who think alot of you Fahim.
Isn’t it still safer driving a car rather than a motorbike ..no matter how dangerous ppl are on the road?
yeah, what warewolf said. Be careful out there!
The reason that I feel safer on a motorbike is the fact that they use one-lane roads like two lane roads – basically by driving with scant inches to spare between vehicles. Having gotten used to driving in wide lanes in the US, that’s a bit too close for my comfort since I can’t gauge the distances that finely :p So I’d much rather be on a motorbike where I can actually figure out the space between vehicles – plus, what with all the traffic jams they have over here, it’s much easier to get through the traffic on a motor bike 🙂