You have heard us talk about the millions of motorbikes in this city; the lack of our normal North American controlled driving; the intersections where the motorbikes outnumber cars by 10 or 20 to one.
What follows are the positives and negatives of life in a city dominated by motorbikes.
Negative: motorbikes can't seat as many people as cars. Positive: people in Ho Chi Minh believe you can seat four comfortably and five if one is an infant.
Negative: the probably 5 million motorbikes make every street an adventure. Positive: due to the amount of motorbikes, cars and trucks, most of the time no one is going very fast.
Negative: many manoeuvres (like cutting in front of a taxi or darting into traffic flow from a side alley) are made with no evident warning. Positive: this happens so often that drivers are normally prepared for such daring (stupidity?).
Negative: there are many accidents - four friends in four separate accidents in just the past two months; Positive: most accidents result in sore muscles, bad scrapes and bruises, not broken bones. Normally both drivers are able to drive away.
Negative: walking on sidewalks is often almost impossible due to parked motorbikes. Positive: most stores, restaurants or sidewalk entrepreneurs charge only 15 to 25 cents for parking your bike.
Negative: motorbike taxis can be dangerous. Positive: they are called xem om (hug vehicles) because often you hug the driver when you are a passenger. (Truth is that no one hugs motor taxi drivers, except their family members. Instead you hang onto the bike, or put your hand on his shoulder.)
Negative: the loaned helmet from the motorbike taxi may contain lice. Positive: the charge is only half the price of an enclosed taxi.
Negative: you can't carry as much on a motorbike as you can in a car or a truck. Positive: many motorbike operators don't believe in any limitation. Notice the package squeezed between his legs. And this is just an average load!
I just came from a visit to New York City. Traffic there is quite boring compared to HCMC!!
What follows are the positives and negatives of life in a city dominated by motorbikes.
Negative: motorbikes can't seat as many people as cars. Positive: people in Ho Chi Minh believe you can seat four comfortably and five if one is an infant.
Negative: the probably 5 million motorbikes make every street an adventure. Positive: due to the amount of motorbikes, cars and trucks, most of the time no one is going very fast.
Negative: many manoeuvres (like cutting in front of a taxi or darting into traffic flow from a side alley) are made with no evident warning. Positive: this happens so often that drivers are normally prepared for such daring (stupidity?).
Negative: there are many accidents - four friends in four separate accidents in just the past two months; Positive: most accidents result in sore muscles, bad scrapes and bruises, not broken bones. Normally both drivers are able to drive away.
Negative: walking on sidewalks is often almost impossible due to parked motorbikes. Positive: most stores, restaurants or sidewalk entrepreneurs charge only 15 to 25 cents for parking your bike.
Negative: motorbike taxis can be dangerous. Positive: they are called xem om (hug vehicles) because often you hug the driver when you are a passenger. (Truth is that no one hugs motor taxi drivers, except their family members. Instead you hang onto the bike, or put your hand on his shoulder.)
Negative: the loaned helmet from the motorbike taxi may contain lice. Positive: the charge is only half the price of an enclosed taxi.Negative: you can't carry as much on a motorbike as you can in a car or a truck. Positive: many motorbike operators don't believe in any limitation. Notice the package squeezed between his legs. And this is just an average load!
I just came from a visit to New York City. Traffic there is quite boring compared to HCMC!!
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