sunnuntai 16. toukokuuta 2010

Motomania

Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as the locals still call the city, is Vietnam's biggest with 8 million people. Its streets are the playground for 4,5 million motorbikes. The motorbike is a big upgrade from the bicycle and it is the source of income for many.

The second time in my life I drove a scooter (an automatic motorcycle) was in Hue in central Vietnam. Now I did it again in Ho Chi Minh City. Driving here is loads of fun. You can't really do much sightseeing while you're driving because the situations change very rapidly and accidents do happen. Very few tourist drive themselves which is why I am an interesting sight for the locals. People shout Hello's and wave at me.

The reason why I again rented a motorbike was for a) it costs 5e per day, b) I can go anywhere and c) I get into some very cool situations. In Hue I was driving a God forsaken road when I hear chanting. I went to a pagoda where they had a ceremony. I started playing with the children and that way came in contact with the monks and the village people. When the ceremony ended I was invited to eat with them. A monk had spent time in France and she was my translator at the pagoda. I was there until sunset. I skipped the mausoleum I was driving towards. I found something better

In Ho Chi Minh I went to a waterpark with only locals and boy did I feel naked in my bikini. Apparently a T-shirt and shorts are the swimsuit here.. But out of curiosity many people came to talk with me and I got to go to all the rides that are meant for two people. I also found huge hall with -10'c where they had ice statues of the Eiffel Tower, Angkor Wat etc. No power saving there. To end a great day I just drove around until the night, found the kissing spot where locals go and ate a frog.

I kind of started to understand why some love riding so much. This was great. The warm breeze, the traffic, the freedom. The best thing is that there are so many people driving around and I get treated so differently when I park the scooter in front of a shop or a food stall. It is an entirely different experience. I almost can say I'm hooked.

4 kommenttia:

  1. Mä en ikinä uskaltaisi ajaa siellä millään vehkeellä (no, mähän en aja autoa edes Turussa)! Kuulostaa kuitenkin todella mielenkiintoiselta, sillä varmasti tuo antaa ihan uusia näkökulmia kaupunkiin.

    PS. Kai siellä käytetään kypäriä?

    VastaaPoista
  2. Mitä Agentti L tekee tuohon aikaa ylhäällä?

    Tämä kyllä kuulosti todella kiinnostavalta ja hauskalta, myönnetään. Mutta myös vaaralliselta! Veikkaus olisi, että kypäriä eivät ainakaan paikalliset paljoa käytä. Ota paljon kuvia!

    VastaaPoista
  3. Låter härligt - keep it up! :)

    XXX

    VastaaPoista
  4. Vietnamissa on itseasiassa sitten vuoden 2007 ollut kyparapakko (toisin kuin esim. Kambodzassa missa olen nyt). Markkinoilla ja liikennevaloissa myydaan kyparia jotka muistuttavat skeittikyparia. En oo vaa yhtaan vakuuttunut niitten laadusta, lisaksi ne tippuu vahan valia maahan ym joten ei niilla ihan sita suojaavaa voimaa ole.

    Skootterilla ajossa on se huono puoli etta silloin ei saa paljoa kuvia otettua. Mutta fotailen aina valilla jotain mutta vahemman kuin arvon kommentaattorini. Nayttelen sitten. Kiva kun kommentoitte tanne!!!

    VastaaPoista