The Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 2
Getting to know your bike buttons
Start from the Beginning – Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1
There is a motorbike in my living room. Don’t worry, I put it there on purpose, I didn’t drive through a wall or anything. It’s just sitting there, paid for, looking at me as if it were a piece of furniture. It’s kind of like the baby that was raised by the pack of wild dogs and then starts taking on traits of the wild dogs. Maybe if I keep the motorbike sitting there long enough it will start to think it’s a coffee table or a couch.
I have completed step one – I now have rented a motorbike. Cross it off the list…wooohooo!
Ok – great…now what?
Mr. Linh delivered the bike to me today and all he asked for was 1.2 million Dong and a copy of my passport – oh and my signature on a contract that I was unable to read as it was in Vietnamese. Hopefully I didn’t sign away my first born child…then again…that might not be too bad consider I have no desire to be a mother.
Motorbike parking in my living room
He kindly showed me the various buttons, compartments and features of the bike while it was sitting in my living room. He never asked me to drive it nor did he ask me if I had a license. He’s a very trusting man…then again there was that contract….
He made sure I knew how to start it, in fact we practiced that a few times as it sat in my living room. My living room now smells a bit like a garage. He also showed me the horn, one of the most important features of a motorbike in Asia.
I figure that having the motorbike stare at me every day as I eat my yogurt and drink my coffee will be inspiration enough to get my ass on it. Heck – maybe I will sit on it and drink my coffee and eat my yogurt. Most people around here use it as a chair/table anyway.
In all honesty, I do have a plan – and it doesn’t involve me putting on my bikini, greasing up, laying on the bike in a seductive way and having someone take pictures. Oh – if I were only 15 years younger… My plan is to take the bike out and practice when the streets aren’t so crazy crowded. This means late at night and potentially on the weekend. So – guess what I’m doing this weekend?!
In the meantime, I will practice staring it in my living room while drinking my coffee.
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Filed Under: Ho Chi Minh City
Good on ya, Sherry! This is very exciting – can’t wait to see pictures of you, your bike and the road!
Haha, love the picture…that is soooo SE Asian!
Running around on the scooters is one of my favorite things there…
Be careful, read rule #48 on here http://www.vagabondinglife.com/rules-of-vagabonding/
Cheers,
Greg
I love it! Can’t wait to see it out of your living room and on the road. (And don’t forget a first aid kit!)
Sherry! So glad you’re doing this! I know they’re totally different places, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt more free that when I was riding helmetless around Bali in a sun dress and thongs (the ones on my feet!). Good luck with it and be safe!
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