What?!?!? No helmets?!?!?

We find what we think is a fairly cheap taxi that takes us to our hotel. And as we are driven out into the streets of Chiang Mai, our eyes are 'blasted' wide open with the unbelievable sites. Masses of motorcycles wizzing by... Hang on... No helmets... What?!?!? Do these people not value their heads? Surely the traffic isn't 'that' safe that accidents aren't a possibility?? Alicia and I are just 'blown' away. We get our first site of the Thai icon, the 'Tuk Tuk' in all it's glory and starting guessing whether there's a lawn mower under the bonnet and whether it's a 2 or 4 stroke. Looking out the windows of our taxi we see lots of people line the streets and many stalls selling fresh foods and wares. Such a busy place and the part that makes a lasting impression on us... Thai people are soooo polite. There is no road rage, no incessant honking of horns, no flipping the bird. Just politeness and respect for others using the road. We saw this same politeness at the airport when a monk was assisted by a complete (Thai) stranger by holding his luggage as adjusted his robes. This culture is such a world away from what we know and I'm loving it. Surely the world would be a better place if we stopped being so selfish and self centred and had some respect for others. The taxi pulls in to our accommodation and we breath a sigh of relief. After approx 13 hours of traveling and waiting to travel it's time to unload our bags and take off our shoes.