Well, I have been to Rome (full of pick pockets) and Bangkok and I much prefer Bangkok. However, I have a confession to make. At 8 months of age, Jaidan had his first motorcycle taxi ride.
Warp backwards about 28 years when Jaime was born. In Canada you can not take your new born home from the hospital without first presenting your CSA approved car seat. You must install it with the baby facing backwards in a seat without an air bag or you can be stopped and fined by the police. Not only that, you are considered a bad parent.
Warp back 60 years and yours truly is in the back seat of a car without seat belts bouncing all over the place. If we misbehaved (too much whining or noise), Dad would loop one arm over the seat and cuff us ... without straying over the middle line on the road (I think). Were my Mom and Dad bad parents? I think not. They were a product of a different place and a different time.
Am I bad parent? The jury is still out on that one. However, I, like 90% of Thais, do not own a car or truck never mind a car seat.
Just putting 3 live human beings on a motorcycle in Canada will get you a ticket. Without helmets with an 8 month old ... you are probably also getting reported to the Children's Aid Society and charged with negligence. Not to worry ... there is no CAS in Thailand and my personal record for viewing humans on a 125 cc motorcycle is a family of 7 in Cambodia. Mom, Pop, 8 year old standing in front holding a 2 year old. A 5 year old holding a new born and mom holding its twin (I am guessing). No helmets of course but big smiles for the camera as I took multiple shots. That pic is on my previous blog if you don't believe me. I would love to be present if a police officer in Canada made that stop.
Did I feel some guilt about taking Jaidan on the motorcycle taxi? A little bit but not too much.
Jaidan will have the best of both worlds ... the developed world, due to his Canadian Citizenship and passport ... the developing world due to his Thai citizenship and passport. He has already been exposed to more germs and allergens than a typically Canadian child gets exposed to in their first 10 years of life. Do you know that peanut allergies are almost unheard of in Thailand? I think the sterile environment we raise our kids in prevents them from developing resistance to the various allergens and bugs that are out there. I even know some wacky females who carry wet wipes around in their purses to clean off door knobs before using them in certain places. Like Songkran, you can run but you can't hide :-)
So, Jaidan will take the same risks that Thai babies get exposed to but he will also benefit from a farang life style. I think it will all equal out in the end. No guilt imposed by the politically leaning left of the world that presume to know better than the common folk.
TTYL
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