Trekking around Asia

[wincen]

I kinda jumped the gun and took off on my extended vacation / mini retirement... whatever you want to call it. I was too stressed from my old job and I had a desire to see a bit more of the world.

I didn't even market my muse.... it'll have to wait until I come back home. I've saved up some money from working so I'll work on the muse when I return. Worst case scenario I just get another job and work on my muse some more.

In the meantime if people are interested you can see my blog as I trek around Asia:

http://vagabondvince.blogspot.com

I love it... hope everyone can enjoy their mini retirements too!

[kamakiri]

Very cool pictures.

One piece of advice. Those scooter rental places are interested in renting you a scooter and getting your money. They insure their own scooters, so if you break one it doesn't cost anything. If on the other hand you run into something or someone, and do damage, you have a huge chance of NOT being covered by insurance. Do not take the bike shop's word that your license is valid for driving a scooter. It is a very small chance, but you really don't want to spend any time in jail for driving with an uninsured vehicle, or in the worst case time in jail for doing bodily injury. A $5,000 repair bill will also put a big damper on your travels.

I have seen too many people come to Japan and make that mistake. The old, "But the bike shop said it was OK." excuse doesn't work. The bike shop is out to make money, not keep you in compliance with the local laws. You might even be able to get an insurance company to say maybe, but at the end of the day, they are all hurting and will deny any and every claim they can, and you don't have the resources to fight it.