Getting Around

Much to my parents’ despair, in the first week I arrived in Vietnam, I was presented with a motorbike. Having never actually been on one, and with no lessons given, I took my first ride into town. This was possibly the most terrifying experience of my life. I’m hardly the best of drivers in a car, let alone in a city where there are thousands of bike accidents each year.

For the first two months, everything was fine. I only drive about 30 mph anyway, just so if anything was to happen on my bike, I wouldn't get too hurt. The traffic here does what it wants, and I felt myself starting to drive like a bit of a local. Skipping a red light now and then seems pretty acceptable. I have also often been warned to put all my belongings under my seat, which foolishly I didn't do on every journey. However, you only follow advice like this until it actually happens to you…

Last week, I was driving home from town (about a 15 minute journey) at about 10pm by myself, which was a normal thing for me to do. I was about 5 minutes into my journey, driving across a bridge, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Within a blur of 2 seconds, my bag was ripped off my shoulders, and the two men on the passing motorbike sped off.

It was awful. I screamed a lot of pretty bad words, and then bought my attention back to what was in my bag. Two phones, an iPod, 400,000 dong (about £15) and my bank card, which I soon blocked. I arrived home in floods of tears and was very thankful for my Vietnamese housemates comfort.

I was very lucky that everything could be easily replaced, and that my passport was safely at home. I think the actual incident was the thing that really shook me up. I can’t express how lucky I was that my bag strap was so weak, and it was easily ripped off. If it was stronger I would have been pulled straight off and could have been seriously hurt.

It is safe to say my lesson has been truly learnt, and everything is put securely in my seat storage on every journey. I was so lucky. I have heard of horror stories where people are pulled off their bikes and dragged, just for the sake of a phone or an iPod.

The following day I was then knocked off my bike by a taxi. This was nothing to be honest and happens on a daily basis. It is safe to say I've had a pretty unlucky week, though I know it has made me a tougher lady!