My First Motorbike Ride

Today I went on my first motorbike ride in HCMC. If you know anything about Saigon, you know that it is notorious for its motorbikes. My new friend Dzung, a Vietnamese teacher at BCIS, offered to help me find a clothes hanger for drying our clothes. As a family of six,  we have a lot of clothes that is washed and needs to dry - so after hanging our clothes around our apartment for the last two weeks it was time to make it right.  In Vietnam, people do not own electric clothes dryers like we do in North America, actually they are not even very common in Europe - I think the quick clothes dry method is a North American thing.

It had rained in the afternoon, so I was happy when it stopped,  because I was a little nervous riding the motorbike and everyone knows that when it rains, the roads are extra slippery...  We actually witnessed a wipeout right in front of the school our first week here.  It's not that they drive fast. ...it's just really slippery.

I borrowed a helmet from one of my colleagues,  because wearing a helmet is mandatory for anyone over the age of 10. Under the age of 10...no helmet required...Huh???? Yeah,  parents ride with their kids and babies on motorbikes. They are dropping  them off at school every day...without helmets...

Going shopping after school with Dzung.

We bought the clothes hanging rack, hangers, and some other household items at the market.  It started to rain again, so we decided to head home. Dzung pulled out her rain poncho and draped it over us. Its actually really cool...when it rains,  all the motorbikes pull over and everyone starts putting on ponchos.  Some ponchos actually have holes for two heads - for the driver and passenger...cool, right?!  Only problem is,  that sometimes you will see more than two people riding a motorbike.  I'm not sure what the record is,  but I have seen at least 4.

This is the clothes dryer that we bought. How did we get it home? I was holding it on the motorbike, in true Viet style! It was disassembled, but still pretty big. 

You would not believe what the Vietnamese are capable of carrying on their motorbikes.  I will start a photo collection.  But I have seen some pretty crazy things already ranging from trees to machinery.  Really crazy stuff...but normal here. 

It is one thing to be able to transport virtually anything on a motorbike, it is another thing to be able to navigate the traffic. The biggest vehicle on the road has the right of way... there is a distinct hierarchy. If you are a pedestrian you are at the bottom of the totem pole and you need to watch out,  but most importantly, you have to be predictable. Motorbikes on the otherhand are very unpredictable. They swerve around cars and trucks and all traffic just seems to merge around pedestrians...but you must be predictable with your next step...they need to know where you are going if they are to go around you. 

Ok...who has the right of way??? This is mild compared to the "busy" parts of town. ;-) Can you imagine rush hour???