Motorbike Culture

Fazila and I are big fans of the British TV car show "Top Gear" and a while ago they filmed an episode in Viet Nam, so we had some idea what to look for along the roads. The show's hosts were challenged to ride motorbikes on the varied and twisting roads from south to north, along the coast, through the cities and over the mountains, and as with all their challenges, havoc (and fun) ensues. As we've traveled, we've seen things that remind us of that show but I don't think that prepared us for what we would experience (even from inside a bus).

On the roads, there seems to be general rules that they are following and yet there is also a sense of every man for himself out there. Everyone has somewhere to go and they are going to get there! Getting out of the way is up to you!
What's fun to watch for are the goods being transported on the backs of the bikes. We've seen entire families (2 parents, 2 kids), computer monitors (five at a time), cartons of eggs, crates of beer, panes of glass, lumber, chickens and even small pigs. It's odd and fun for us, but hey, it works for them.

Hen gap lai!

Maureen