The Bikes of Vietnam
I’ve no idea how he managed to stay upright! © A. Harrison
Bikes are ubiquitous throughout Vietnam, the streets filled with motorbikes. Crossing the road in Saigon (for the romantic) or Ho Chi Minh ( for the post-modernist) can be a daunting affair. A sea of bikes rushes towards you, complemented by an equal swell in the opposite direction. Remarkably, I saw a lot of near misses but no accidents. My advice: follow the nearest old lady as she crosses the road. She’s been doing this forever, and enters the fray with no fear.
Even negotiating the footpath can be difficult, as all these bikes need to park somewhere.
I love the saw for cutting the ice © A. Harrison
It didn’t take long for the competition to start. What would we see on a bike today? Piles of garlic — no worries. The balance of these riders is incredible, though the rear tyre looks a little dubious.
Blocks of ice were another. With the temperature well in the thirties, I did wonder how large these blocks of ice were when he began, and whether they’d be ice cubes by the time he reached his destination.
Family outings are another affair. Six on a bike was the most I ever saw. At least in Hoi An, this chaos is confined to the outskirts of the town, not the old city.
Here the bikes are old-fashioned push-bikes. They are bikes for everyday use. No one wears in lycra, and everyone peddles to their own time and tune. Remarkably, everyone seems to be able to find their bike among the hundreds of similar bicycles parked by the roadside.
One way to get a bike across the water © A. Harrison
Push bikes aren’t confined to the town; I've seen them in rice paddies and on boats crossing the river. (For this short ferry ride across the Mekong, I never notice until later looking through my photographs that the bike is a pink ladies’ bike.) They’re on the main roads, weaving in and out of traffic in much the same way their motorised cousins do, or else pottering along dirt roads.
Up near Hoi An, the road signs are a delight, straight from a French black and white movie. With so many tourists hiring bikes for the day up here, they are also a welcome encouragement in the heat and humidity. Not far to go. Cocktails await.
Then, when their time is ended, they can always be used for decoration – as in this cafe in Hoi An.
A beautiful old bike used for decoration © A. Harrison
Enjoy my writing? Please subscribe here to follow my blog. Or perhaps you’d like to buy me a coffee? (Or a pony?)
If you like my photos please click either here or on the link in my header to buy (or simply browse) my photos. Or else, please click here to buy either my poetry or novel ebooks. I even have a YouTube channel. Thank you!
Some of my other blogs you may enjoy:
Bikes are everywhere in Vietnam, from pushbikes ambling along a river to a sea of motor bikes bearing down as you try to cross the road.