Beware of motorbike rental scams in Thailand, warns Debbie Ding

Bare hands gripped on the handles of the chopper, long legs astride its leather seat, Debbie Ding—owner of Debbie School of Defensive Driving—uses her foot to flick up the side stand. She fires the ignition switch and revvs the engine. “Let’s go for a ride,” she says, handling the weight of the bike with ease.

Left foot on the rest, I lift myself up and swing my right leg over the back seat. I wrap myself against her and shout over the roar of the engine, “I’m ready!”

“Okay, let’s go!” hollers Debbie, and we are off, the wind blowing in my face.  

We whizz out of the city into the country past orchards and farm houses and stop under a banyan tree beside a disused mining pool, its water shimmering under the sun. Debbie holds the bike up and kills its engine. “Off you get.” I climb down from the chopper and she flicks its side stand down.  She gets down and we lean against the chopper to admire the views. Clouds are reflected on the water’s surface and birds and insects are hovering about the reeds.  “Be careful of scams when you’re renting a bike on your Hatyai trip,” she says, flicking a gaze to me.

I pinch my brows in surprise. “Who told you about my Hatyai trip?” A gust of cool air washes over my face and tousles my hair.

“Mummy Lulu.” Debbie’s eyes follow the zig-zag darts of a massive dragon fly nearby. “Said you’re going with Hussein, Wati and Jessica.”

“Riding a bike’s better than moving about in a tuk-tuk.”

“But first check that nothing's wrong with the bike you intend to rent. Also, take photographs of the bike from all angles, especially of scratches, dents, anything broken and even bald tyres. If you don’t, when you return the bike, you'll be accused of having damaged the bike and be forced to pay compensation for so-called repairs.” Debbie’s red lips draw back to reveal perfect white teeth.  “You have an international driving licence and a national motorbike licence?” 

“Of course.”

“What about your friend?”

I purse my lips. “Not sure.”

“A shady motorbike hire company will allow you to rent a bike even if you don't have these two documents. But, once you ride off on the motorbike, they will tip a cop by mobile phone to nab you!” Debbie flashes a grin. “The under-table money you pay will be shared between the cop and the hire company!”

I raise my eyebrows. “Gee, a double-cross. Thanks for the tip.” I jerk my head sideways. “Come, let’s go back.”

/end