It's seems odd that I've been blogging for almost 10 months and I've barely even mentioned Vietnam's most ubiquitous mode of conveyance: the motorbike. Sometimes it seems as if Saigon is not really a city but some kind of vast parking lot and testing ground for the two-wheeled menace. They crowd the streets (of course- but also the sidewalks, the alleys, and every place they can possibly be parked.
For people who are either semi-blind or desperately poor and cannot afford their own motorbike, the motorbike taxis (or 'xe om' or 'hugging bike', referring to the old practice of holding the driver by the waist) It's surprising to see how many of the older ones can speak English...and when they ask you where you're from and hear 'America' they tend to give a thumbs-up and say 'Ah, America very good! Numba one!'.
The reason for this becomes obvious if you talk to them a little. A high proportion of the motorbike drivers used to work for the American forces in VN or at least served in the South Vietnamese Army. After Reunification their employment options were limited and driving a motorbike was practically their only way to make a living.
The only trouble (once you can avoid being overcharged) is the at this point I happen to know my way around Saigon better than most of the drivers, but they won't listen to me either because my Vietnamese is lousy or because I'm a foreigner.
1 comment:
You forgot to mention the other potential hazard: if you don't have your own helmet, you can potentially pick up unwelcome wildlife (i.e., lice) from the helmet the driver provides.
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