(with apologies to Steppenwolf)
Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yesterday I walked to the ferry terminal to check times for hydrofoils back to Saigon. Afterwards, I noticed a structure I wanted a closer look at a ways down the seawall and after that, I noticed a few restaurants and things like that farther down, so I continued strolling. I noticed that the area was a place for foreigners and expats, so I wasn’t all that interested (due to the fact that those types of places generally charge higher than necessary prices for food and drinks) and started to leave. Then I noticed a sign:
Motorbike Hire
and went in to find out how much.
80,000 D for 24 hours.
€ 3.40!
It was already early afternoon, so I told the girl that I’d be back the following day to rent one.
That was today.
I got there a 10:00. She asked me if I wanted an automatic or manual and informed me that the price for the former was 70,000 D more than for the latter. I took a few minutes and thought about it. Considering that I hadn’t ridden since my accident on 9 February 1989 (only because opportunity and desire hadn’t presented themselves at the same time) and that I had to get used to how people drive/ride here, I splashed out the extra money (€ 3) for the automatic (I figured that it was more important to concentrate on those things than changing gears).
The girl took my info and then took me to the bike. It wasn’t 100% what I wanted, but it was definitely better than the prissy one that they had (the style that one finds in Germany) and she lifted the seat to show me where the gas tank was and also the storage area under the seat. The then gave me the key and left. I raised the stand and backed the bike out, but nothing happened when I pressed the start button. I did it again and with the same result. Noticing that I was having trouble, one of the waiters came over and motioned for me to squeeze the rear brake lever while I pushed the button, and it roared sputtered to life. I turned the throttle and was off!
I figured that I’d start with remembering what I knew about motorcycling and headed down the beach road instead of into town and traffic.
What fun!
One of the mirrors was missing its glass, the other was completely useless and the speedometer didn’t work (the odometer did), but I was having a blast.
I spent four hours exploring the peninsula. I rode through quite a few different towns, stopped at several temples, churches and other sights, observed real life in Thailand and also remembered why I used to love motorcycling.
People nowadays trap themselves in their cars – something I’m also guilty of when using a school car. Windows up, air conditioning and radio on and the world goes away. There’s nothing like being on a vehicle with nothing around you except whatever is happening outside. Not to mention millions of miles of sky about you.
After my journey around the peninsula and stops, I felt braver so I headed from the beach inland towards the city to give city traffic a shot. Before some of you (especially those who have watched my Saigon traffic YouTube video) think I should be committed, I want to make it clear that I am not in a city like Saigon. I’m staying at the beach end of Vung Tau, which has 240,000 inhabitants in 13 districts – so it’s spread out and there’s no distinct ‘downtown’ section.
Driving is on the right in Vietnam, and that’s where the rules end. Actually, it’s only a rule on paper. In practice, it’s a suggestion.
And sometimes the Vietnamese actually follow the suggestion.
Private cars are a rarity here, two wheels is the way to go. And the Vietnamese do! They zip around each other, around trucks and buses, ride on sidewalks, ride the wrong direction in the opposite lanes, etc, all while beeping their horns. Horns here server two purposes:
1. A warning when entering blind areas (or not bothering to stop for red lights)
2. To say, ‘HERE I COME! GET OUT OF MY WAY!’
(more the latter than the former)
Another thing I noticed today was that Vietnamese don’t look when pulling out, they just beep their horn and pull out into traffic.
It’s chaos.
I did okay for the first day. The roundabouts were a bit tricky at first, but I made it around them without too much discomfort to other motorists or myself. Once I got over the fear factor and also the intimidation part I found the roundabouts to actually be quite interesting. People beep their horns, but also try to anticipate what others are going to do and adjust their route accordingly.
It was a bit milder than the Steppenwolf song.
• I wasn’t on a Harley
• it wasn’t even black
• there certainly wasn’t a highway to head out on.
But it sure was fun!
My steed:
Posted by: J
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