The population of Vietnam is about 92 million, and there are about 42 million motorbikes.
In Saigon, we were very happy to hop on a 4-hr motorbike tour of the city, and after seeing how easily the traffic flowed around each other, never really exceeding a steady 30 km/hr, we've now rented our own bike for 2 weeks in Hanoi (see photos below).
For your amusement, here is the review of the Saigon motorbike tour we wrote for Trip Advisor:
Superb: Not Your Average Tour!
We were intrigued by the idea of a motorcycle tour – but we didn’t quite understand how it would work for our family of three (surely we wouldn't all be expected to ride the same bike?!). Turns out it was fantastic!
We were intrigued by the idea of a motorcycle tour – but we didn’t quite understand how it would work for our family of three (surely we wouldn't all be expected to ride the same bike?!). Turns out it was fantastic!
Three motorbikes arrived with a driver/guide
for each of us – and while it was at first a little disconcerting to watch our
child being driven away with someone we had just met, it was quickly obvious
that this experience was going to be great for all of us!
We chose the night tour (too hot during the day) and it was
an evening of fabulous fun, learning, and feasting.
Guides Sunny, Kien and Harry were exceptional. Each
was knowledgeable, spoke English very well, and, most importantly, they were all enthusiastic and clearly enjoyed their work. Safely mixing in with the
throng of thousands of scooters and other motorcycles on the downtown streets
of Saigon was magical.
The 4-hour tour offers a unique perspective of the city. Not only did we visit landmarks, we sampled popular Vietnamese fare
at three different street venues and even had the opportunity to prepare one of
the dishes ourselves before we ate it.
Another destination was Saigon’s flower market, and armed
with a "cheat sheet" of key bargaining phrases in Vietnamese, we were
given some money and had to negotiate a purchase (a very useful exercise!). We also
spent time at the popular pedestrian mall, asking questions of our guides and
interacting with the locals (primarily to give away the flowers we had acquired,
appreciated by everyone).
We’ve raved to several fellow travelers about our experience, eager to refer more
well-deserved business to Saigon Adventure.
But it seems many foreigners are reluctant to join the traffic chaos on
the back of a motorbike. We can assure
you that at no point did we feel unsafe.
The drivers were very conservative within the flow of traffic, and we
cruised through the streets at a relaxed pace.
Having said that, just being in the middle of it all was very
invigorating and exciting, and we left our night tour with more energy than we
started with.
If you are looking for an experience that goes beyond the ordinary, we highly recommend joining Saigon Adventure on one of their many tours!
***************
And now it's almost three weeks later in Hanoi, and we are independent (and careful) motorbike enthusiasts! Although it is quite a lot less fun when it's raining...
Those bikes must be very fun, judging by your great big smiles :) :)
ReplyDeleteYes, Debbie, lots of fun! We have to drive like the locals, in other words, just keep moving. There are only a few traffic lights in the city that actually stop traffic - most intersections are just a gentle merging of everyone going in their own direction, and every vehicle somehow flows around the others, and the very worst thing to do is stop!
DeleteVern's head must be really big judging by the size of his helmet .....
ReplyDeleteYour site is fantastic. I’ve bookmarked your site in my browser, I hope in future days I’ll get more valuable information from your site vietnam visa on arrival
ReplyDeleteVery awesome!!! When I seek for this I found this website at the top of all blogs in search engine.
ReplyDeletepakej percutian
Your travel to Vietnam will be safe with full security against any injury or ill health when you file your online visa application through Vietnam visa service. For more information visit https://greenvisa.io/
ReplyDelete