King of the Road Read online

Boy.” and turned to go.

  “Boy what’s wrong… what did they say?”

  “They say that I am your boyfriend.”

  “Please stay Boy… this means a lot to me and I think that they are only joking.”

  Reluctantly Boy stopped. Again he asked the biker standing next to the Phantom, “You are Steve?”

  Steve nodded.

  “This is Sombat. He wants to tell you that he has a Phantom bike also. Sombat says that only great men ride Phantom bikes.”

  All of the other bikers broke out laughing. Steve turned to them.

  “And what’s wrong with that? You lot and your over-powered piddling machines!”

  Boy added “Sombat would like to have a …” he struggled for the correct word – “ Competition with you and wants to know if you would like a race around the ring-road to see who is most fast.”

  Now he had not just Steve’s but all of the biker’s rapt attention. Steve considered for a second or two.

  “Sure… how and when… we are new to town and not sure where everything is.”

  Boy translated for Sombat who thought for a moment and then asked Boy to translate for him.

  “Sombat says that if you have time now – he will take you on his bike and show you where the ring-road goes. Then he will meet you at 12 o’clock, after police disappear, where - he show you.”

  Steve looked at the other bikers and they all nodded and told Steve it sounded like a great idea and lots of fun.

  Steve said “Okay – where is Sombat’s bike?"

  Sombat went out into the road with Boy following him.

  “Sombat.. I’m so not sure about all of this. I know that you race around the ring-road every evening with your ‘cowboy’ friends –but you know the road here and how we drive. This Farang may only have been in Thailand for a week or so. Maybe is even riding a rented bike. This could be very dangerous”

  “Boy you are starting to sound like an old woman. Don’t worry everything will be fine!”

  Sombat wheeled his bike back into the car park. Steve climbed on.

  “Okay lads… I’ll see you later at that bar that we saw across the road.”

  Steve climbed onto the back of the Phantom and Sombat drove off heading towards the super-highway.

  After showing Steve the circuit that they were to race around and their starting position, he returned home. His Mum was waiting for him.

  “Sombat – where have you been all afternoon? I have been all alone at the noodle stall with just Noi’s gossip to keep me company.”

  “Oh Mum – sorry but I had a few things to do with my motorbike and met some farang bikers.”

  “Sombat - Noi tells me that a policeman was looking for you – something about riding aound the ring-road late at night.”

  “Don’t worry Mum, just a little fun.”

  “Well lets hope that ‘your little fun’ doesn’t lead to ‘The Monkey House’ in the old city. The police in that jail don’t have my sense of humour!”

  Sombat laughed. “Don’t worry Mum – I’ll be fine.”

  When Steve returned the bikers were waiting for him in the bar.

  “Hey Steve want a beer?... how did it go?”

  Steve shook his head. “Nah, I’m fine. That Sombats not a bad lad. I’m going to tighten the chain on the Phantom and check a few things so I’ll see you all down here at elelven thirty. Okay?”

  “Sure – we’ll be here!”

  Sombat and a few of his friends with their bikes were waiting at five minutes to twelve at the junction that the airport road made with the super highway.

  This was the starting point that all of the local bikers used for their race. He heard motorbikes in the distance and saw the biker group approaching with Steve leading the way.

  They stopped in front of Sombat and he waved his hand and smiled.

  Sombat and Steve moved their bikes forward several metres in front of the other Bikers and looked at each other. Steve raised his thumb.

  Sombat nodded – he could remember the English numbers to count down from 5. Both of them put their bikes in first gear as Sombat counted down “Five, Four. Three, Two, One….”

  Steve was first away with a roar from the exhaust of his bike and Sombat in close pursuit and the Farang and Thai bikers following some way behind.

  Both Steve and Sombat raced up though the six gears as they rode down the road towards the airport. There was little traffic and they were both soon pushing their bikes to a top speed of 135 KPH.

  The road junction at Airport Plaza came and went and they both ‘jumped’ the consecutive red lights to turn right onto the Klong Road past the Old City. They were forced to slow as the songtieow and tuk-tuk traffic became more dense at Suandork junction where many of the teaching hospitals were.

  At the hospital they both again jumped the red light and turned left to go back up to the super highway – the final stretch and about 10 kilometres of excellent dual carriageway.

  Throttles wide open they neck to neck. No traffic lights – just a series of underpasses.

  Sombat looked across at Steve, in the inside track. His face was pulled back into a hideous grin by the force of the wind, but he looked over and nodded.

  Sombat turned his attention back to to the road and saw that a large articulated truck, with two trailers, was pulling onto the highway ahead of them.

  If you had tried to explain the concept of braking and stopping distance vs speed to Sombat he would simply have not understood the formula.

  Although Sombat had no comprehension of braking and stopping distances – he did realize that an accident was in the making and that a collision was inevitable He considered his options – if he immediately veered right he might just clear the cab of the truck.

  Maybe, but that would leave Steve on the inside to take the full impact.

  Boys’s last comments about the danger and Farang’s lack of experience of driving in Thai conditions came back to him.

  He made a decision.

  He lifted his left leg, connected with the petrol tank of Steve’s Phantom and kicked.

  Steve and the bike went tumbling off of the road, skidded but came to dusty heap well short of the truck’s trailers.

  Sombat applied the brakes but to no avail. He was holding the Buddha image on the chain around his neck when he slammed into the trailer of the articulated truck.

  Surprisingly, the petrol tank did not rupture or the fuel ignite

  His Thai friends drove up and gathered around the tangle of body and bike. Blood seeped onto the road tarmac.

  One of the Thais checked for Sombat’s pulse. There were a few beats then nothing.

  The Farang bikers rushed to the spot where Steve and his bike had finished up. The bike was completely wrecked but Steve, apart from cuts and bruises and an apparent broken arm was still conscious.

  They helped him to his feet and hurried on to the truck and Sombat.

  There were tears in the Thai’s eyes when he told them that Sombat was dead. Everyone looked at Steve.

  Much much later, Num one of the Thai bikers and friend to Sombat broke the news to Boy.

  Boy was devestated and thought back to Sombat’s and his conversation earlier that afternoon. He recalled one of his Englsh lessons in which the topic of Kings and royalty was discussed.

  What was that perculiar expression that was sometimes used after a sovereign died?

  ‘The King is dead – long live the King’.