Woman Driver

A few weeks ago on a Wednesday morning, Steven suggested that I take the bike because my crazy Wednesday schedule takes me all over the city. I politely declined. I wasn't ready to be out on my own on the streets on Saigon just yet. So that Wednesday, I left the house at 8:15 a.m. to catch the number 6 bus to the top of District 1 and Somerset Apartments where I meet one-on-one with a student for an hour. After our lesson, I walked down the street and around the corner, down Le Duan about three quarters of a mile past the US Consulate to Diamond Plaza for my regular stop at Tours Les Jours for a red bean doughnut (where they always say 'Welcome to Tours Les Jours' when you arrive and 'Thank you for coming to Tours Les Jours' when you leave like a French/Vietnamese version of Moe's Burritos). After my doughnut, I headed out the back door to avoid the xe om drivers vying for fares at the entrance and down the street to the bus stop. I bought a ripe, sliced mango from one of two regular fruit cart ladies at the bus stop and happily munched away on my treats in the blazing heat while I waited for the bus.

When the bus came, I climbed aboard for a 10 minute ride to Vo Thi Sau, where I climbed off and walked the three blocks to SCC. I had lunch with the girls at SCC and spent a few hours working, before heading out around 3:30 to catch another bus down Nguyen Thi Minh Kai back to Somerset where I have my 4:30 lesson with another student. I walked about 6 blocks to catch the bus on Nguyen Thi Minh Kai and then another two blocks to Somerset from the bus stop.

At 5:30, I left Somerset and walked about six blocks to my stop on Nguyen Thi Minh Kai to catch a bus home and then four blocks home, stopping at the bakery to buy bread and the shop to buy water, before arriving home at 6:20.

Walking in the door and slipping my shoes off my feet, aching from all the walking, I told Steven that I might just take the bike next week...

So the following Wednesday, I got up with Steven and accompanied him on his ride to school. He pulled up along the sidewalk and climbed off the bike with his hand on the break so that I could scoot up to the front of the seat and take over. A quick goodbye kiss and I was on my way.

My first though after taking off on my own was that motorbikes don't have seat belts. My second thought was that I should really have a seat belt.

From the sidewalk, the traffic in the streets of Ho Chi Minh appears frighteningly chaotic. Buses, trucks, cars, bicyclists, cyclos, countless motorbikes and the occasional motorbike-pickup-hybrid carrying panes of glass or malfunctioning motorbikes compete for space on two lane roads. Traffic lights are usually observed, but beware the poor pedestrian who find themselves in the middle when the light counts down the last few seconds before the change, as critical mass usually wins out over light color for the last few passing through on a green. Traffic circles equal in number to traffic lights and while they succeed in keeping traffic moving, the pandemonium created by five intersecting streets of traffic intent on getting through the circle to the other side creates mini-traffic-snares that ebb and flow as each successive wave disentangles itself from the mob.

Being a part of the masses gives one a much different perspective. While there is a certain amount of chaos, moto-drivers follow certain rules of the road that keep everything running more or less smoothly, with the occasional fender-bender, usually waved off congenially by both parties. All that said, driving in the city is not for the tentative or faint of heart. If you are too tentative, you find yourself blocking the normal flow of traffic and potentially causing a crash. If you are anxious and unsure of yourself, you can loose your balance and again, find yourself blocking the normal flow of traffic and potentially causing a crash. The secret of driving in the city is to drive with confidence and to following unwritten rules of the road, all designed to keep traffic moving. From riding with xe om drivers and listening to Steven’s running commentary as he navigates his way through traffic, I have picked up the following rules of the road for driving in Ho Chi Minh City:

1. When the light turns green, go, nothing motivates more than 30 impatient horns behind you.
2. When you hear a bus/car/truck horn behind you, get out of the way, fast.
3. Always drive at a constant speed, not so fast that you can’t avoid obstacles that immediately appear in your path, but not so slow as to serve as an obstacle yourself
4. When a pedestrian, taxi, motor bike or other vehicle is crossing, cross behind them to let them continue on their way.
5. At intersections, it is safer to be a part of a mass than flying solo, always try to be a part of a pack when going through an intersection without lights (stop signs do not seem to exist here)
6. When going through traffic circles, head straight for the center and stay close to the middle until you’re ready to exit. When you’re ready to leave the circle, try to find cover behind a larger vehicle or a group of bikes going to same way you are going.
7. Be prepared to stop at all times and to start moving immediately once the obstacle has passed.
8. When the traffic clogs the streets, sidewalks are a viable alternative.
9. If at all possible, try to avoid putting your foot down as you slow down, just putter along in second gear until you can accelerate, thereby avoiding the possibility of losing your balance.
10. When walking your bike through fender to fender traffic, be careful not to run over anyone else’s feet.

Following these rules on my first solo day on the bike, I managed to get to Somerset, over to the gym, back to the school to meet Steven for lunch, over to SCC, back to Somerset and then home, all in one piece. The only gaff I made was to step on some poor woman’s foot when I lost my balance trying to go around a truck at a traffic light. Luckily, she didn’t seem to be too upset.