On Thursday evenings I now take a xe om, a motorbike taxi, to An Phu to play Mahjong at 5:30 pm. I used to teach in the An Phu Campus on a Thursday however this year my timetable has been changed.
Background information
Motorbike taxis are about half the price of a normal conventional taxi. In heavy traffic from around 5 - 5:30pm xe oms are much quicker from point A to B than a conventional taxi. The traffic builds up. From about 4:30 pm the roads are sea of motorbike helmets and bikes. Even on the back of a bike it took us two changes of the traffic lights to move the 100 m up the road through the intersection traveling in double lanes. On the main arterial roads, the road is divided into 2 parts, separated by a low concrete wall as a barrier arm. Bikes, by law, travel in the right lane and cars etc on the left lane, as you can see from this old pic of the Saigon Bridge, which I have to travel over to An Phu.
As there are so many bikes on the road the ingenious motorcyclist, of which there are also thousands upon thousands, will zip up onto the pavement and ride 5 meters down the footpath before immersing into the traffic, just to get a little further along the road, that little bit quicker. On the road to An Phu the ingenious motorbike person may also zip into the left hand side of the road, the car lane, keeping well over to the right when there are few cars and when the right hand side is really clogged with bikes eg last night at 5:30 pm. Every evening on all the main intersections where there are lights stand 4 policemen.
One changes the signals and the other lucky man stands in the middle of the road waving his baton. encouraging the traffic to move along. Sometimes he has to help guide and direct a car across the flow of the traffic by stopping the flow of motorbikes. After an interval the two "on duty" swap with the other two and stand on the street corner, before swapping again. see previous post. The police also stand at lights and on corners and leap onto the road and wave their long batton at some offending motorist who is supposed to pull over and answer the claim. Police in Vietnam are said to be very corrupt and except small fines as COD. Around TET festival the police apparently pull over lots of bikes.
So to continue the blog post.
I am on my way to Mahjong, in the traffic on the little xe om with the driver who usually works out of our apartment block. The traffic is heavy so as we enter the divided path way, bikes to the right cars to the left, he moves across and zaps into the left lane. About 2 seconds further on a motorbike cuts in front of us. Neither we nor they are going very fast, however our bike clips the back of theirs. No one comes off, no one is hurt. A bit of their rear light casing rolls onto the ground. Now I know why I see so much casing lying on the ground. My driver is busy saying sorry sorry to me and them. All they can say is police police, as ahead of us are the police pulling over people, especially those like us who ride in the wrong lane. About 50 meters away were the police standing at the lights on the intersection, pointing at and catching would be offenders, especially those in the bike lane. Quickly both bike drivers turn their bikes around, and we all ride against the opposing traffic, of which there was only a few bikes. As we pass each one my driver is calling out police police, warning others. We reach the dividing wall and scuttle around into the right lane and head for the lights, melding in with the traffic. I thought as we proceed cautiously to the lights, we must be somewhat of a target. I'm tall and Western, although my hair/ head is covered with my helmet. As we cross the intersection the police move out and wave their baton. Sadly a driver two motorbikes over is pointed at and must go to the curb. We hurry on, the Mahjong table awaits. A little further down the road, the road divides again, bikes to the right, cars to the left as we go over the Saigon Bridge. Guess what, my driver takes the left and melds into the crowd again, one of hundreds in the wrong lane. Up and over the bridge we go cruising along at all of 25 k. I reflected as we moved along what would be the chances of being caught again on the other side on the bridge be?. Very very small. I think the ethos of the drivers are, if there is a space take it, and in this country it really is about personal space or the lack there of.
I wasn't shaken by the events, speed wasn't an issue. This was one of those adventures that sounds exciting and scarey. An anecdote that's good to describe and blog about. A glimpse into life in Vietnam, I wouldn't have been fined I'm a passenger. Has it put me off riding on a xe om? No. I am cautious. I only ride to Mahjong with the same driver and I never ride at night. I always get on the bike and say "go slow". Maybe proceed with care should be my next Vietnamese phrase.
Background information
Motorbike taxis are about half the price of a normal conventional taxi. In heavy traffic from around 5 - 5:30pm xe oms are much quicker from point A to B than a conventional taxi. The traffic builds up. From about 4:30 pm the roads are sea of motorbike helmets and bikes. Even on the back of a bike it took us two changes of the traffic lights to move the 100 m up the road through the intersection traveling in double lanes. On the main arterial roads, the road is divided into 2 parts, separated by a low concrete wall as a barrier arm. Bikes, by law, travel in the right lane and cars etc on the left lane, as you can see from this old pic of the Saigon Bridge, which I have to travel over to An Phu.
One changes the signals and the other lucky man stands in the middle of the road waving his baton. encouraging the traffic to move along. Sometimes he has to help guide and direct a car across the flow of the traffic by stopping the flow of motorbikes. After an interval the two "on duty" swap with the other two and stand on the street corner, before swapping again. see previous post. The police also stand at lights and on corners and leap onto the road and wave their long batton at some offending motorist who is supposed to pull over and answer the claim. Police in Vietnam are said to be very corrupt and except small fines as COD. Around TET festival the police apparently pull over lots of bikes.
So to continue the blog post.
I am on my way to Mahjong, in the traffic on the little xe om with the driver who usually works out of our apartment block. The traffic is heavy so as we enter the divided path way, bikes to the right cars to the left, he moves across and zaps into the left lane. About 2 seconds further on a motorbike cuts in front of us. Neither we nor they are going very fast, however our bike clips the back of theirs. No one comes off, no one is hurt. A bit of their rear light casing rolls onto the ground. Now I know why I see so much casing lying on the ground. My driver is busy saying sorry sorry to me and them. All they can say is police police, as ahead of us are the police pulling over people, especially those like us who ride in the wrong lane. About 50 meters away were the police standing at the lights on the intersection, pointing at and catching would be offenders, especially those in the bike lane. Quickly both bike drivers turn their bikes around, and we all ride against the opposing traffic, of which there was only a few bikes. As we pass each one my driver is calling out police police, warning others. We reach the dividing wall and scuttle around into the right lane and head for the lights, melding in with the traffic. I thought as we proceed cautiously to the lights, we must be somewhat of a target. I'm tall and Western, although my hair/ head is covered with my helmet. As we cross the intersection the police move out and wave their baton. Sadly a driver two motorbikes over is pointed at and must go to the curb. We hurry on, the Mahjong table awaits. A little further down the road, the road divides again, bikes to the right, cars to the left as we go over the Saigon Bridge. Guess what, my driver takes the left and melds into the crowd again, one of hundreds in the wrong lane. Up and over the bridge we go cruising along at all of 25 k. I reflected as we moved along what would be the chances of being caught again on the other side on the bridge be?. Very very small. I think the ethos of the drivers are, if there is a space take it, and in this country it really is about personal space or the lack there of.
I wasn't shaken by the events, speed wasn't an issue. This was one of those adventures that sounds exciting and scarey. An anecdote that's good to describe and blog about. A glimpse into life in Vietnam, I wouldn't have been fined I'm a passenger. Has it put me off riding on a xe om? No. I am cautious. I only ride to Mahjong with the same driver and I never ride at night. I always get on the bike and say "go slow". Maybe proceed with care should be my next Vietnamese phrase.
1 comment:
Aha Mr T. The steady even speed of traffic is its saving grace. Time to adjust and slow or stop. The closeness of so many bikes to each other is breathtaking and heartwarming. Why can't NZ motorists cooperate to such a high degree?
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