Yup! He sure did. Xen is getting crazier and crazier as he gets older.

http://www.pattayacity.com/pattaya/maipang.html

The chick that is on the motorcyle is actually the owner. She married an English dude, they had a kid and are now separated.

I went and talked to her before I decided to rent. She seemed honest so I decided to take the chance. She was also NOT on Beach Road which I thought was important.

She is located behind the Big C on Second Road. She also didn't require keeping my passport and only took down my visa number and passport number.

I got the insurance and the bike rental was only 130 baht per day. She said replacement value is 18000 baht, but with insurance it is only 9000 so I can live with that it is does get stolen. Although, the bike is quite old and no one would want it either. So hopefully she is indeed honest and won't steal it back just to collect a free 9000 baht.

Guess we'll see. She was hot when she was younger and when she does herself up. Her name is Tookea.

Well I got a ticket last night from one of the boys in brown. I was heading down Soi 16 to park my bike close to Walking Street and got a 400 baht ticket for going in the wrong direction on a one way street.

I almost half believe the ticket was somehwat legit. He did ACTUALLY write something down on a piece of paper and wanted me to leave my bike and hire a motorcycle taxi to go to the Soi 9 Police Station to pay the fine.

I asked if I could just give the money to the motor driver and he said ok and then I went on my way. The motorcycle taxi driver then took the ticket and my 400 baht to the station for me.

Just for future reference, when going towards Walking Street from Soi Pratamnak, you actually have to go on Soi Marine Plaza and then make a right onto Soi 16.

Check out the map here:

http://www.bahtbus.com/map/map-walkingstreet.php

Good times. Thank goodness he didn't ask to see my passport. It was back at the hotel...

Xen

They will hold your passport, Thai DL, OR the motobike for you to pay the fine.

I too got hit by the BIB. I was headed down Soi 3 toward the beach and the guy flagged me down, along with about TEN Thai's riding their bikes the wrong way too. I thought it was funny he gave them tickets for driving the wrong way, but NOT for having 4 people on the bike.

Anyways, "pay 400 + 40 for the motobike driver. Yeah, OK, whatever. Still, one of the cheapest tickets I've ever had and cleared in just a few minutes!!

Now, if you were DM, you'd have gotten out of paying for it, but you'd have to give the guy your phone number...

E

I usually always rent motorbikes from this same Indian lady and her husband that works on Beach rd, near the Walking street entrance...in the parking lot area. She always manages to get me NEW motorbikes (1000 yamaha), but the problem is...the bike usually does not have license plates on them. I have been stopped by the Pattaya police on about (3) occasions.

It's funny...on the first incident, it scared me because I didn't know what was going on. The Pattaya police were sitting at their normal stakeout at the intersection of 2nd road and I just turned off Beach road, turning away from the entrance of Walking street. I had my favorite classroom BG on the back and the police rides right on the side of my bike and turns it off the bike and takes the key out...then he signals with his hand for me to roll the bike to the side of the road. (I didn't see him coming and it scared me!)

After reading some of the comments from the members, I fully cooperated with him and didn't want to act like a jerk! BUT...my BG starts to argue with him in Thai and they go back and forth a few minutes....at the same time, I trying to tell her to SHUT UP and be quiet. But what was funny...is the police gives her some type of ticket and gives me back the keys to the bike and let's us go! After we got back to her apartment, I asked why did she argue with him and she told me that she was pleading with him to let us go because she was HUNGRY and wanted to get home and that she would pay the ticket later! (Go figure!)

On another occasion they were doing random stops on all the BIG motorbikes (allegedly)...right on Beach Road in front of the Soi 9 police station and of course, I didn't have license plates AGAIN! I park the bike at the police station, give them my IL drivers license and pay the fine...and then they returned my DL. My brother recd a ticket because he didn't have his DL on him, but had his passport. (We were changing hotels at the time and he needed it to register.) The problem was...the officer did not explain this to him right away and my brother got upset and starting to get loud with him. (He firmly believed he was being harassed as a tourist) I had to tell him to calm down and explain to him that he is not in the states and things are handled a little different here. (Yes..he was a newbie) After realizing that he did not want to spend any time in Pattaya jail...he calmed down! The police officer remained calm during the whole incident!

On a third incident....I saw the police officer on the Second Road intersection with his ticket book in hand and I was hoping the light was going to change, but it didn't. He was looking right at me and then the light turned RED. DAMM! Yes...he gave me the traditional wave of the hand to pull the bike to the side of the road. Before he arrived, I knew the routine, so I parked the bike, got off of it and handed him my DL, copy of passport and keys to the bike. I completed all of this immediately before he approaches me. He replies in a joking way...."Oh...I see you know why I stopped you!".

Oddly...he give me back the keys to the bike and the copy of the passport, but holds on to my IL drivers license. He then gives me the ticket and tells me to go to the police station to pay fine and they will return my DL. He was real cool about it...he advised me that I should go back to the owner of the bike and make sure I have them reimburse me for the ticket. He stated that this is real common and the owners rather make money from the bikes...while waiting to obtain the plates...etc.

I know you may be asking why did I keep driving motorbikes w/o plates....right? These incidents happened over a year and half on different holidays. I knew the consequences but I accepted them. I LOVE riding the big motorbikes in Pattaya during the beautiful 80 degrees nights...with different BGs.(To me...this is Priceless and only adds to the paradise vacation!) Although the BGs appear to ride on the small taxi motorbikes without hesitation....they feel very intimidated on the BIG bikes. It's funny...almost all the BGs I rode on the bikes...feel it necessary to advise me that they are scared and to ride SLOWLY! After they realize I am a very experience rider, they really enjoy the bikes and love to ride with me.

Trust me guys...I know the risks involved, but I can't resist it! (I seen quite a few motorcycle accidents in Thailand and the states) But... You only live once....and when it's my time to go, then it's my time to go. But in the mean time...I am going to enjoy myself.

But back to the subject at hand....what I was really trying to communicate to everyone is that you should always be polite to the police in Pattaya ( or any other foreign country). It is not worth the hassle and it's just a 10 or 15 US dollar fine. You would pay a lot more in the states. Anyways....the lady I rent the bikes from, always reimburses me for the tickets. She buys these bikes NEW and it takes a few days to obtain plates. She DID advise me to take a bike that had plates, but I insisted on taking the new ones.

All this rambling got me thinking how I miss Pattaya! I am going to Rio in two weeks and probably will not make it to Thailand for another 3-4 months. I will be posting my trips reports of my past trip in July and Nov of 04 (better late than ever) of my Thailand adventures in the next couple of days. I have some very interesting pictures and stories to tell you guys of adventures I had in Bangkok and Pattaya!

I think I'll stick to the baht-mobile and walking.

My last trip to Pattaya I rented a moto for a month. It was BRAND new (230km on the odo) and FAST!! At the bottom of the storage space under the seat was the registration information.

I also have been riding bikes like this in Pattaya for quite some time, but always seem to get pulled over for something OTHER then no license plate (usually going wrong way, 3 girls on the bike with me, etc).

BTW, I saw a guy riding down the street wearing shorts, flipflops and a helmet ONLY. He had an open beer in the holder built into his motobike and was talking on the phone. He actually had the balls to LOOK SURPRISED!! I just rode by and laughed. For those that are unsure of his nationality he also had a lot of tattoos...

E

Priew100,

Nice posting, thanks.

I don't even have a MDL and had never riden before I came to Pattaya. It is quite a welcome to motorcycle riding, but it is still really fun and a great way to get around Pattaya.

Porker,

C'mon. You are one crazy mofo. I would not have pegged YOU as a play it safe baht bus type of guy.

Xen, you need also remember that I'M CHEAP! A 400 baht fine might mean I don't eat that day!