motorbike madness

felt like i'd been a bit self-absorbed lately so heres some comments on stuff other than me! i will remember vietnam for being beautiful - the women especially look amazing in their cone hats and long silk dresses, slits up either side with matching trousers underneath.

i couldn't really capture the motorbike madness on camera but i have never seen so many before in my life. i didn't see any accidents in vietnam and haven't looked up the statistics but i'm guessing its not good. its a bit like the bicycle situation in mozambique multiplied a lot of times and motorised - people just carry everything on their motorbikes. i saw a guy turn up at the patisserie i was enjoying having breakfast at with an oven strapped to the back of his bike full of new pastries. crazy.

the modes of transport i've experienced lately have been pretty varied.. overnight trains can be great i reckon - i travelled nearly the length of vietnam on their 'reunification express' train and saw so many beautiful rice fields and industrious people out at all hours working in them. the dinners included in your ticket price are not so great as the view though and i confess i wasn't game enough to tuck in. in fact i didn't manage to tackle vietnamese cuisine all that well save for a few spring rolls.. too much seafood going on for me.

but back to the transport, in ho chi minh city (saigon) i used a taxi, a motorbike and a cyclo (three wheeled bicycle - one at the back with a high up seat and two at the front holding a chair for the passenger), none of which felt exactly safe amongst the ridiculous amount of traffic, all of which cost about the same. taxi and cyclo took around the same amount of time but the motorbike one the race easily as they just nip in and out the whole time. i couldn't say i noticed particularly, but the pollution in the cities must be bad as most people wear face masks.

i sometimes get asked what i think of, say, the vietnamese people compared to the laos.. and i have to say, embarrassingly, that as a tourist i have no real idea. you can't miss making some observations if you travel overland in a place, a lot is there staring you in the face, like the poverty. but to get below the surface i think i would have had to move out of my nice hotel and interact a bit more outside of the tourist circle.. which i didn't do...

the one observation that has shocked me a little is the high number of older white men here with thai girlfriends - that i've met travelling the area or in thailand. it just strikes me as a bad plan - a major language barrier that no-one seems to bother too much about getting past, a big age gap, a financial inequality, in fact just inequality all round. not sure what these relationships can be based on past sex and money which just doesn't sit well with me.

not exactly connected, but i've been told that the sex trade in general is an observation i would also be shocked by, but as a woman i just don't see it. a guy i had breakfast with in hoi-an explained that all the guys who hassle me asking if i want a motorbike taxi anywhere hassle him asking if he wants a woman.. not a nice thought that a town full of tailors must also have been full of prostitutes that i was blind to.

but no regrets, its been great to be on holiday for a while and no doubt india will be a different experience. certainly the life of a traveller suits me just fine - loads of time to use as you like, lots of sitting in cafes people-watching, lots of sampling treats on the basis you keep thinking they will run out soon (but they never do, they just change!), lots of meeting strangers and chatting over meals and journeys, lots of small challenges to avoid being ripped off or to find the best options, loads and loads of new sights, sounds, tastes and experiences. i really don't mind the lack of structure to my days or the lack of work to stimulate my brain. i am over-stimulated enough by what i see and i love the spontaneity of making my own plans each day.

i make it to my last country on this journey tomorrow. i've made it this far with near perfect health (save one fungal infection!), all my possessions still intact - no theft or loss so far, a few new friends, many great memories and even enough money as everything is so cheap. can't say fairer than that. definitely got to do this again!!