Born To Be Wild

12 Sptember - woke up before most of the resort today - mainly due to my early exit from last night's festivities. Went for a little run up the beach and back - the sand kept on getting blocked by rocks or boats so it wasn;t a very long stint - not many more opportunities until europe though.
wandered up towards the main road and hired a motorbike for the day - the island s pretty small but it's not really small enough to wander on foot. Headed up to one of the waterfalls and after a while found myself on some very treacherous dirt paths and I had a lot of trouble keeping upright. Eventually on a particularly steep and potholed bit of dirt the bike slipped out from under me and slid four or five metres down the slope with me under it. Only scratches and a bruise or two but I'd tired of the adventure and headed back. Another steep slope saw it going over again and then it wouldnm't start. I pushed it along until I came to a pitstop where I was overcharged for petrol and water but iat least I was moving again. The guy at the stop seemed to think of me a plague carrier though - he told me sto stand away from the shop and near the bike. He didn't want to touch anything i'd touched including the keys and the money I paid him with (he took it via a plastic bag). I guess that's how lepers must feel ll the time. I stopped for some luncheon at a streetbar and the barkeep kindly cleansed and disinfected my wounds which was very nice. Kept a very easy pace on the way back to the guesthouse - will probably do a bit more exploring later in the afternoon before heading back to Bangkok tomorrow.