Page 1 of 1

Ride Report from Vietnam

Unread postPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:18 pm
by Broz
I hope you gents are doing well. I promised Bob I would get a report up from our trip to Vietnam. We spent 3 weeks there back In Jan-Feb. We were there for Tet (New Years). This is a huge holiday for the Asians. My wife left Vietnam in 1975 when she was 8 years old, and had not been back since. Her dad worked for the American Embassy as a translator and liaison for the U.S. Army, as a result he was able to get 14 members of his immediate family out. That is an amazing story in itself.
I thought you motorcycle guys would get a kick out of some of these images and I'm going to add some other noteworthy pics.
These pictures don't do the traffic justice. I wish I could upload the videos from my iPhone without all the hassle. So I took some screen shots of the videos to give you an idea what it looks like. I bet if you went to YouTube and searched for crazy scooter traffic in Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City as they call it now) or Hanoi. It is the biggest cluster F*#k you have ever seen. Saigon has population of over 19 million and it seems like they all have scooters and go out during rush hour. I grew up in the DC area, have been to New York City during rush hour and those towns don't compare in the slightest to this mess. The amazing thing is there are no accidents. At least I didn't witness any. There are no rules, looks like you can pretty much drive however you want, wrong side of the road, sidewalks doesn't matter. And in more amazement there is no road rage. One of our drivers spoke English, I told him I was shocked no one gets pissed off or goes crazy like in the USA. He just said, "No one gets mad because everyone does it." i.e drive like an idiot. Despite that they will do everything to avoid a collision. Now keep in mind these are crowded roads and people are driving slow but they do not have banged up bumpers like you would see in NY City or Washington DC. In talking with Kim's (my wife) Uncle who lives in Hoi An, Vietnam they do not have insurance. He doesn't own a car but when I asked about car insurance it was a foreign concept. I don't know why some of the pics are getting turned sideways. Feel free to fix them Bob.....boy I wish I could just drag and drop pics into the message....this is a pain to load one at a time.
Feel free to hit me up with an questions.
Vn Ford F150.jpg
Vietnamese Ford F-150
Vn Ford F150.jpg (65.79 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

car seat.jpg
no helmets very common. Walked by a school at let out and saw at least 50 like this and some w 2-3 kids
car seat.jpg (129.8 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

side saddle.jpg
very typical, sorry I didn't get the mini skirt side saddle
side saddle.jpg (139.29 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

VN Minivan.jpg
this is the Vietnamese Mini van
VN Minivan.jpg (400.53 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

VN telecom.jpg
this is there typical telephone pole should be vertical
VN telecom.jpg (168.59 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

big load.PNG
big load.PNG (353.5 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

Hoi An home_shop courtyard.jpg
this is across the street from Kim's grandmas shop/ home...typical in the ancient city of Hoi An
Hoi An home_shop courtyard.jpg (80.5 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

Grandmas shop.jpg
Kim's grandmothers store front with house in the back
Grandmas shop.jpg (116.67 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

hoi an street.jpg
ancient section of Hoi An
hoi an street.jpg (110.8 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

streets of Hoi An.jpg
typical days crowd in the ancient section of Hoi An. This is 15-16th century village and people come from all over the world. It is one of the top 10 tourist attractions.
streets of Hoi An.jpg (138.9 KiB) Viewed 9490 times

Re: Ride Report from Vietnam

Unread postPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:41 pm
by Broz
More Pics....was afraid one little hick-up and I would loose all my work.
15th century bridge.jpg
this bridge is in Hoi An just a block or two from Grandma's shop. It was built in the 15th century by the Japanese
15th century bridge.jpg (89.02 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

Bikes in Kitchen.jpg
this is how you keep your bikes. everyone rolls them inside before going to bed
Bikes in Kitchen.jpg (626.24 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

Ho CHi Min City.PNG
screen shot of video...crazy traffic
Ho CHi Min City.PNG (354.1 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

custom suit.jpg
Hoi An is like the capital of tailoring. How about a custom suit? One lady told me they make "English Quality Suit but better $125"
custom suit.jpg (107.35 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

Meekong Delta region.PNG
This was a little creak near Mekong Delta
Meekong Delta region.PNG (350.23 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

Phu Quoc Vn.jpg
This is a resort island off southern tip of VN called Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc Vn.jpg (113.74 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

Halong Bay.jpg
You MUST Google Images from Halong Bay It was the most beautiful place and our favorite part of the trip.
Halong Bay.jpg (69.12 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

Kim.jpg
Kim in the traditional Ao Dai "Long Dress"
Kim.jpg (125.77 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

Pano Halong bay.jpg
panoramic of Ha Long bay We did a 2 day 1 night boat cruise.
Pano Halong bay.jpg (42.06 KiB) Viewed 9488 times

Re: Ride Report from Vietnam

Unread postPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:08 pm
by LeeDavis
Great report and thanks for taking the time to do it. I had the same experience observing traffic in China. Nobody had cars before the 70's but now the roads are packed and there are no rules. As best I could figure, the 1st car to any spot has the right of way.

Re: Ride Report from Vietnam

Unread postPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:16 pm
by Bob
Ha Long Bay looks very cool--I'd like to see that some day. You get so wrapped up in your own little world and never dream places like this exist. Thanks for posting! <thumb>

Re: Ride Report from Vietnam

Unread postPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:24 pm
by Bob
Heres the pics that were sideways-->>

Re: Ride Report from Vietnam

Unread postPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:21 pm
by Buddhistbiker
Wow, amazing stuff. I saw similar in Taiwan and was told the larger vehicle had right of way.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Re: Ride Report from Vietnam

Unread postPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 4:08 pm
by Brick
Beautiful photos and family. Thank you for sharing!
When I was in SEA 68-69 the USAF told us that basically the largest vehicle has the right of way. AND if we hired a taxi and he had an accident WE we responsible for that damages. After all we hired them. [FLUSHED FACE]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Ride Report from Vietnam

Unread postPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 9:52 am
by NC-Canuck
Looks like a great trip. Would love to see more pics of the cruise you did. That area is on my bucket list to visit.

Thanks for sharing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro