Mopeds and cycles, motorbikes and sampans. Since being in Vietnam, my mission seems to have become one to sample every type of transport available. The number of motorbikes on the streets, if you haven’t seen it for yourself, is unimaginable. Initially we struggled to even attempt to cross a road but finally got the hang of it. Step out, keep walking, don’t run and don’t stop or you will confuse everybody. I pondered on the fact that there seemed to be few collisions. However, I have now been personally involved in two in the last two days. Not serious you understand. The first occurred when we were in a taxi which suddenly screeched to a halt to avoid the pedestrians caught like rabbits in the headlights in the middle of the road. Crash! The driver behind rear ended us. Not too much damage fortunately although of course there were no seatbelts.
Today I have been hit full on by two girls riding a push bike. Add to that the fact that the driver of our bus crashed the tailgate onto my arm and the pummelling from the masseur earlier in the week, I have accrued a fair bit of bruising!
Other forms of transport I have sampled include paddling in a sampan along the narrow canals of the Mekong Delta, two overnight trains, a motorbike and a cyclo. On the overnight train to Danang, our party shared carriages with families who spread out their food and slept with their whole family on a narrow sleeper bunk. On one train people slept in cupboard spaces and one old lady was wedged under a sink. The toilets were horrible. Vodka was the only answer.
The motorbike experience was not intentional but seemed like a good idea after downing many happy hour cocktails in a bar called Before N After. At the end of the evening we emerged from the bar only to find two little Vietnamese men hoping to give us a ride home. We gamely slung our legs over the bikes and said Slowly Slowly. No helmets of course. It was a bit of a Marigold Hotel moment and a bit tame really as strangely there was not much traffic on the streets of Hoi An at that o’clock. Of course our co-riders wanted more money than we wanted to give them so there was a bit of a stand off at the end. This afternoon we bartered for a good rate on a couple of cyclos and managed to get back in one piece.
Tonight I may try the snake wine so watch this space. I may just stick to walking…..
