Observations

I'm in the Mekong Delta and will soon post photos and impressions (I do a pretty good Evel Knievel).

For now, here are some observations from my almost six weeks in Việt Nam...

Some of the things I've seen transported via moto:

  1) A four foot tall, three foot wide tree that was only part of the cargo

  2) Two giant hogs (live and trussed up upside down)

  3) > 20 piglets

  4) A flock of geese

  5) Four adults

  6) Two adults & 3 children

  7) Boxes or stacked 2x height of driver & 3x width of bike

  8) A girl in a very short skirt and 3- to 5-inch heels

       (I've seen literally hundreds of them, mostly in Ho Chi Minh City)

  9) A complete sidewalk kitchen

10) A charcoal fire (like you would see in a brick oven)

11) 20-foot pipe balanced on one shoulder 

12) At least 100 kilos of root vegetables (could've taken 40 more)

13) Four surveyors AND their tripod and other gear

14) At least 80 brooms

15) A three-foot by five-foot sheet of glass 

Rules of the Road based on multiple observation of each (written with tongue firmly in cheek):

 1) Do NOT look for approaching traffic when making a right turn to enter a major road. They must compensate to avoid you.

 2) Might is right.

 3) A two-lane road with a narrow shoulder can usually handle three vehicles across plus two motos.

 4) If your large truck breaks down, it's okay to repair it right there on the road. Everyone will go around you... even on a curve.

 5) Repeatedly flashing your lights at oncoming traffic allows you to use their lane. They MUST move over for you.

 6) It is perfectly acceptable for two moto riders to stop and have a conversation in the moto lane, thereby forcing all other motos to maneuver into faster traffic to go around them.

 7) Construction projects off to the side of a road may use one lane of the road for gravel and dirt storage piles.

 8) It is better to ride the wrong way on a divided highway than to make a u-turn.

 9) My horn is louder, better, longer than yours.

10) If I can balance it on my moto, it's okay to carry it.

11) The only limit to the number of people or things on your moto is your creativity.

12) Texting while riding a moto is encouraged.

13) Passing on a blind curve is approved, especially if you have either huge balls or no common sense (see also 4 above and earlier post "Sand Angels").