Vietnam’s Love Affair With the Motorbike
Each Country has its own unique modern characteristics, and Vietnam can be symbolized by the motorbike. Motorbikes are everywhere, and ‘motorbike’ jams are common occurrences in cities like Hanoi, and HCMC (Saigon).
A short ride through downtown Hanoi, the city of lakes, is not only an adventure but a journey into the love affair Vietnamese have with the motorbike. Used as a daily mode of transport, its bike heaven for anyone who loves riding on two wheels, instead of driving on four wheels.
Hanoi’s streets can be narrow, and bikes are the best way to get around. They can weave around clogged intersections, maneuver through small spaces, cut corners and basically get you where you want to be quicker than the car.
Motorbikes are also used to transport a wide range of things, from vegetables from the night market, to boxes of merchandise for the local store. Sometimes these bikes seem overloaded- as they somehow head into a sea of bikes, irritating some, whilst astonishing others with the loads they carry.
To everyone in Vietnam, the motorbike is a symbol of freedom. It not only gets you to A to B, but can carry your family to a get together, or kill the boredom of a mundane day by hitting the colorful Cafes in the center of Hanoi. And if you get really itchy feet, take you out of town to Ha long bay.
Along with the motorbike comes fashion. Scooters are the elite on Vietnam’s roads, shiny examples of power and beauty, whilst the Honda, the king of the road for many Vietnamese who value its steady performance.
Old kids on the block include revamped Minsk’s, refurbished four stroke bikes left over from the Soviet era- a favorite for foreign visitors, and some expats who like touring outside the busy Hanoi streets. Whilst the new kids on the block, are amazing cheap Chinese Bikes, with a dodgy reputation, but exceptionally low price.
There is also a minor fashion industry growing with the local love affair with the bike. Helmets, which some say are unsafe, sold on the side of busy streets, and in local stores.
But they bring a much needed income to vendors, who earn a good living selling stylish helmets to Hanoi’s growing motorbike owners.
The country’s love affair with the motorbike is set to grow, as the fortune of ordinary people grows with the economy. And if there is any symbol of the resurgence of Vietnam, it lays with the bikes- which have made life much easier and fun for a growing population of modern Vietnamese.
