In SE Asia, people just ignore road rules, and do whatever they want. If you want to turn left, and wait until the traffic lights turn yellow then red, people just continue crossing the intersection, making it impossible to turn left. I found that I can accelerate quicker than most cars and motorbikes for the first little bit when a the traffic lights turn green. So I decided to turn left real quick, before the traffic coming the other direction moved very much. One day, someone on a motor bike coming the opposite direction, also decided to take off quickly. He saw me, and slowed down. But I learnt it was a bad idea.
Sometimes you just have to go to the next street. It is impossible to turn left in some places.
We all make mistakes, but the smart people learn from them.
You have to adapt your riding style in a place like this. You cannot ride like in a place where people obey the road rules. But that was one failed attempt at adapting.