Transportation in Vietnam
1. Motorbike (xe om)
Motorbikes = the best kind of transportation there is! After watching the crazy motorbike traffic of Hanoi for many days, we finally got on our own xe om's (motorbike taxi) and decided it's the most exhilarating way to get around. Even when they break down. Or you have to carry your 18 kilo backpack on you. Or a bus passing you in the opposite direction sprays a wave of water on you from a lake-like puddle. Or your driver gets separated from Em's and slightly lost. It's all in the name of the game. I love it.
A note on intersections: Most intersections don't have any lights, and if they do, they only have small red ones hidden away in the curbside foliage. It makes figuring out traffic patterns difficult, until you realize there is no pattern and everyone just zips by wherever they can. I can only assume there are no green lights because motorbikes in Vietnam don't need any encouragement to 'go'. Like I said: exhilarating.
Note: The driver has stopped for an errand and I have stolen the seat of power (but I don't actually know how to drive one yet).
2. Being a pedestrian
This is almost as fun as riding motorbikes. Many tourists hate the traffic and curse the lack of crosswalks or other such pedestrian-friendly inventions. I disagree wholeheartedly with this - from my experience the traffic is incredibly courteous to pedestrians if you just obey the one rule of "keep the pace steady and keep walking!" We now confidently cross all streets Moses-style, the streams of motorbikes parting around us.
3. Trains
Although not as luxurious as Malaysia sleeper trains, the Vietnam rail system has served us well. With four sleeper rides and one 10 hour daytrip, we are now pro's and have learned that:
1) booking your ticket through your guesthouse practically doubles the cost and we should have walked our lazy bums down to the station instead.
2) soft sleepers are only for naive tourists; the hard sleepers are just as comfortable plus you get two extra roommates in your bunk!
And 3) you will most likely wake up to these roommates sitting on the edge of your bed as if cozying up to a sleeping stranger is the most natural thing in the world.
We'd heard that the Vietnamese don't believe in privacy but it was still quite a shock to find two old guys in suits hanging out on our mattresses.
4. Boats
Boat #1: We took a tour of the Mekong Delta in a private two seater (we're DONE with organized group tours). Our driver was a woman, for once, and a very lovely person. The boat was a small wooden thing with a funny motor whose propeller was on a pole, serving as both propagation and rudder (when our hotel man had drawn us a picture of the boat beforehand with a huge oar like thing sticking out the back, I had assumed he was just a terrible artist). The tour itself was an 8 hour trip starting at sunrise, visiting a couple floating markets, many meandering canals, and a garden. The experience was relaxing, refreshing, and a good taste of the delta.
Boat #2: Tour of the Mekong Delta part 2, i.e. transfer to the border to cross into Cambodia. This was actually a combination of two boat trips, the first of which was on a large, comfortable vessel with cushions on the seats and enough room to lie down and read thriller novels (have we mentioned Lee Child's books yet? We have three.) The second was on a small, thin boat with wooden seats, a low wood ceiling (definitely caused some collisions and swearing for the taller tourists), and a precarious lilt to one side. After "2" hours (i.e. 3 and a half) we got out off rubbing our backsides and ready to leave the world of water behind for some good old buses (more on Cambodian transit later).
5. Local minibus
All I need to say is the drivers are crazy, the passengers are piled in everywhere and anywhere (one guy actually stood in the trunk, and Em was treated to a half hour ride on a plastic stool we thought was going to be our card table), but at least the roads are good. Call it negative foreshadowing for Cambodia!
6. Tourist minibus
Ah, the tourist minibus. Picture 14 westerners, average age and waistsize over 35, cramming into seats built for small-boned Asians... The guide in the front saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we must now say goodbye to [insert last sightseeing attraction]..." (and pausing, waiting for a chorus of "goodbye!")... Stopping every hour at a local attraction, translated as tourist-packed rest stop or 'authentic handicraft' centre. But the image I will always remember is the minibus doorway filled with the bum of a New Zealand woman, her body head hanging out as she yelled "Victoria!... Hold on, we're missing my friend... Victoriaaaaa!" (Probably this is just funny to me and Em... but hellishly funny it is.)
Motorbikes = the best kind of transportation there is! After watching the crazy motorbike traffic of Hanoi for many days, we finally got on our own xe om's (motorbike taxi) and decided it's the most exhilarating way to get around. Even when they break down. Or you have to carry your 18 kilo backpack on you. Or a bus passing you in the opposite direction sprays a wave of water on you from a lake-like puddle. Or your driver gets separated from Em's and slightly lost. It's all in the name of the game. I love it.
A note on intersections: Most intersections don't have any lights, and if they do, they only have small red ones hidden away in the curbside foliage. It makes figuring out traffic patterns difficult, until you realize there is no pattern and everyone just zips by wherever they can. I can only assume there are no green lights because motorbikes in Vietnam don't need any encouragement to 'go'. Like I said: exhilarating.
Note: The driver has stopped for an errand and I have stolen the seat of power (but I don't actually know how to drive one yet).
2. Being a pedestrian
This is almost as fun as riding motorbikes. Many tourists hate the traffic and curse the lack of crosswalks or other such pedestrian-friendly inventions. I disagree wholeheartedly with this - from my experience the traffic is incredibly courteous to pedestrians if you just obey the one rule of "keep the pace steady and keep walking!" We now confidently cross all streets Moses-style, the streams of motorbikes parting around us.
3. Trains
Although not as luxurious as Malaysia sleeper trains, the Vietnam rail system has served us well. With four sleeper rides and one 10 hour daytrip, we are now pro's and have learned that:
1) booking your ticket through your guesthouse practically doubles the cost and we should have walked our lazy bums down to the station instead.
2) soft sleepers are only for naive tourists; the hard sleepers are just as comfortable plus you get two extra roommates in your bunk!
And 3) you will most likely wake up to these roommates sitting on the edge of your bed as if cozying up to a sleeping stranger is the most natural thing in the world.
We'd heard that the Vietnamese don't believe in privacy but it was still quite a shock to find two old guys in suits hanging out on our mattresses.
4. Boats
Boat #1: We took a tour of the Mekong Delta in a private two seater (we're DONE with organized group tours). Our driver was a woman, for once, and a very lovely person. The boat was a small wooden thing with a funny motor whose propeller was on a pole, serving as both propagation and rudder (when our hotel man had drawn us a picture of the boat beforehand with a huge oar like thing sticking out the back, I had assumed he was just a terrible artist). The tour itself was an 8 hour trip starting at sunrise, visiting a couple floating markets, many meandering canals, and a garden. The experience was relaxing, refreshing, and a good taste of the delta.
Boat #2: Tour of the Mekong Delta part 2, i.e. transfer to the border to cross into Cambodia. This was actually a combination of two boat trips, the first of which was on a large, comfortable vessel with cushions on the seats and enough room to lie down and read thriller novels (have we mentioned Lee Child's books yet? We have three.) The second was on a small, thin boat with wooden seats, a low wood ceiling (definitely caused some collisions and swearing for the taller tourists), and a precarious lilt to one side. After "2" hours (i.e. 3 and a half) we got out off rubbing our backsides and ready to leave the world of water behind for some good old buses (more on Cambodian transit later).
5. Local minibus
All I need to say is the drivers are crazy, the passengers are piled in everywhere and anywhere (one guy actually stood in the trunk, and Em was treated to a half hour ride on a plastic stool we thought was going to be our card table), but at least the roads are good. Call it negative foreshadowing for Cambodia!
6. Tourist minibus
Ah, the tourist minibus. Picture 14 westerners, average age and waistsize over 35, cramming into seats built for small-boned Asians... The guide in the front saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we must now say goodbye to [insert last sightseeing attraction]..." (and pausing, waiting for a chorus of "goodbye!")... Stopping every hour at a local attraction, translated as tourist-packed rest stop or 'authentic handicraft' centre. But the image I will always remember is the minibus doorway filled with the bum of a New Zealand woman, her body head hanging out as she yelled "Victoria!... Hold on, we're missing my friend... Victoriaaaaa!" (Probably this is just funny to me and Em... but hellishly funny it is.)
posted by alyss at 7:49 AM
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