Moto-Ways

Though more cars are appearing on the streets every day, they are still an exception in Vietnam. The motor scooter is transportation of choice for families, businesses and young ladies looking for kindly foreign uncles to buy them a drink – though I guess that qualifies as a business. Financially a car is out of the reach of the average person. Mind you a good moto don’t come cheap either – Tung, our guide in Sapa, told us his family was going to sell two male water buffalo to help buy him a Japanese moto as a wedding present. And your average male water buffalo goes for a hefty sum.

And in true Vietnamese fashion – remember these are the people who lived right under the Americans, and I do mean under, at Chu Chi – ingenuity rules in carrying family, goods and animals. My friend Linda Smirle (Tunbridge) sent me these pictures and asked if I had seen anything like it during our trip. That and more! I’ve added a few pictures to the ones she sent.

I don’t have any photos of my own showing the incredible balancing acts – Cirque du Soleil could learn from the Vietnamese. I am still uncomfortable taking peoples pictures without their permission. It means I have missed some incredible photo-ops.