I am back from Koh Samui with a “nice” souvenir! Accident injuries on my right hand and leg. In fact the knee and foot was swelling that I had to immediately see my family doctor for an injection the moment I touched down at KL.

Look at the Mrs. She could still smile while in pain! Thank God she managed to escape with minor injuries.

What happened?

We rented a scooter to tour the island. We were going up to the viewing peak on our scooter at Baan Chang which is on top of a highland. Half way through the scooter could not carry us up so I decided to turn back. As we descended a very steep slope the momentum got stronger and that’s when I felt the rear brake was not working. The hot weather didn’t help as it caused the brake to overheat quickly and the tyre was losing traction. I had to rely on the front brake and I think you could imagine what happen when you apply front brake as you descend a steep hill.

The accident happened so quickly. The Mrs was able to jump off and only suffer with minor injuries and scratches here and there. I was dragged with the scooter for about two metres and when it stop, part of the scooter’s body was on my leg. I managed to push it away and crawled to the roadside while calling out for the Mrs to make sure she’s ok. Luckily during the incident there was no other vehicles passing by.

Thanks to our friends Jerfree (Ibanez), Alfonso (Antuskibang) and Ivy (Veemau) who ran quickly to our rescue. After regaining composure, we searched for the nearest clinic for medical attention. Since Jerfree was riding a big bike, I asked the Mrs to ride with him as I cautiously descend the hill on the scooter.Finding a medical clinic was a challenge in Koh Samui. There are more dental and animal clinics compared to medical clinics. Sometimes when you managed t0 locate a medical clinic, you’re only disappointed to find out either it is closed or only opens from 5pm onwards. There are more pharmacies than clinics in Samui. Hospitals are located at Chaweng and Nathon which are quite far from where we were at the time.

We were lucky to find Dr. Prajak Medical Clinic at Ban Huathanon which is about 5km away and it was opened.

Although the medical assistants at the counter were not so proficient in English, they understood our situation and quickly alerted Dr. Prajak. We didn’t wait long to see the doctor.

After making sure there are no fractured bones or broken joints, Dr. Prajak treated our wounds. I asked for an injection to prevent swelling but the doctor said it is not necessary at the moment. He gave me two types of pain killers to ease the pain.

After the accident, I returned the scooter and rented an easyrider which is more stable and safer to ride.

On the next day also, we visited Dr. Prajak again to clean the wound and change the dressing and for further check-up.

My knee suffered deeper wounds. It also took longer time to heal because of movement. On our last day, our Fireflyz flight from Samui to Penang was delayed for four hours and that didn’t help my knee at all. When we reached Penang airport I had to rushed from the arrival hall passed the immigration counter and to the departure section before AirAsia’s check-in counter to KL closed. That hurts the knee so much that by the time our plane touched down at LCCT Terminal at midnight, my right knee and foot were swollen. Immediately that night I rushed to our family clinic for medical attention. Our doctor gave both myself and the Mrs a shot each to reduce the swelling.

Having working in an organisation that are very stringent with health and safety rules, HSSE aspect was complied when renting the bike and throughout the trip but as the saying goes, “shit happens!”. In this case the brake failed. Here’s some more pics from Alfonso’s BubbleShare:

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