Asia Travel Log #2: Transportation January 23
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After posting Christmas ~ Hanoi Style many people have asked for more info on my SE Asia trip. Yes, but how’s that relate to real estate and Hawaii, one may wonder? Well, I haven’t been able to come up with a good answer except one advantage of living in Hawaii is the somewhat closer access to new and interesting places you may not have considered otherwise. But I will say this:
“No matter where I go -and I’ve travelled a lot, I always look forward to coming back to Hawaii!”
Anyway, I’m going to break my travel posts up into segments to be more organized and also not to bore anyone too much. So first we’ll start with TRANSPORTATION. And while my inclination is to say US air carriers are inferior – at least from a comfort and service standpoint. My gosh, hats off to Sully the heroic pilot of US Airways who saved all those lives last week! Coincidentally my late father was called Sully (Sullivan is my maiden name) and he was a Phantom pilot too, so his performance hit close to home for me.
Not to beat up on US carriers too badly, I’ll just say JAL (our choice for the first leg of the trip) was super. When we could not get into Bangkok (in the midst of some political difficulties) JAL re-routed us at NO CHARGE! directly on to Hanoi. There was also no charge for baggage or food. And we had a choice of Japanese or American cuisine (neither included soggy chicken parts), complimentary beverages including wine, beer and liquor, and a movie console at every seat with a zillion choices of movies, documentaries, and audio. All important for a long flight!
Once on the ground in Vietnam however, all bets are off as far as a Western concept of transportation. You’ve never seen anything like it. Vietnam is progressing rapidly especially with more cost efficient vehicles from China. Where tuk-tuks and bicycles used to be the norm, motos (motor scooters) have now taken over the roads, at least in the cities. Consider this, Saigon has a population of 9 million, and 80% own motos! It was very common to see entire families sharing one moto. And what a great way to get around as a tourist. Just wave one down, hop on the back and away you go. We never used standard taxis except to and from the airport and then only because we’d booked them before we left home. We travel only with carry-on, making this is very do-able!
Besides the moto and bicycle, either of which serve as merely the frame for anything and everything they may be carrying, there’s all kinds of boat traffic along the many rivers. Vendors transport everything from live poultry (we spotted a guy with about 50 live chickens tied upside down and strung between parallel bamboo poles on the back of his moto), to the ladies who roam the streets with their portable kitchens, setting up virtual restaurants anywhere there may be hungry customers. The various modes of transportation are born of necessity and ingenuity for sure! If you’re game you can get around easily, inexpensively and have a lot of fun.
Aloha, Mike
Mikie Likes It LLC
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