Net-ti-quette

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I made a big purchase today…my first motorbike helmet. I kind of feel like it is my first rite of passage. Or maybe I should label my first rite of passage as driving my own motorbike! No, that may need another title…like ‘Dumb Things I Do”. So, for now – my helmet is the first step. I can safely say that I never thought I would own my own motorbike helmet, but then again, I never would have predicted that I would be living in Vietnam.

I chose orange. I felt like it was a color that screamed…” Warning! Caution!” and maybe the other drivers might take pity on me. Plus, the only other color they had was pink, and I’m definitely not a ‘pink’ girl. So orange it is.

I’ve actually started to get used to riding on the back of a motorbike. I imagine that I’m getting a core body workout, as you have to use your abs to keep your balance. Yes, I know this is stretching it, but when you have absolutely no exercise for 2 weeks, you start to get desperate.

Everyday is a new adventure on the motorbike taxi, I get to see the crazy world of Vietnam transportation where you see one thing every day that makes you do a double take. Today I saw a woman riding with her husband on the back of his bike and she was reading a book as if she were sitting on the subway commuting. I found it rather amusing.

I have somehow managed to secure a regular taxi bike ride in the mornings and evenings for 35,000 dong ($2 US) – same price as a subway ride. I have yet to figure out how to wear a skirt though and ride on the taxi bike; which has severely limited my wardrobe choices.

I have discerned that there is a national ‘helmet promotion’ going on here. I saw this billboard the other day; I have no idea what it says, but gauging from the picture, I’m assuming it’s something about kids wearing helmets. See – it’s not that hard to communicate here…as long as there are pictures. I can’t say that the campaign is very effective, though, as the majority of kids who are riding on motorbikes with their parents (and there are many) don’t wear helmets. I can’t quite get my head around how a parent could walk out the door, put on their helmet, and then not put a helmet on their kid. It doesn’t compute.

Even worse, I am more baffled when I see a family on their motorbike. The parents have helmets, and the kid is wearing a mosquito net on his head, covering his face. What?! Yes, a mosquito net. I have no idea what the thinking behind this is, which just brings to light how different our cultures are. I can’t even come up with a humorous explanation for it. Do they think that while going 25 mph on a motorbike, a mosquito will come attack their child? Or do they think the mosquito netting will provide padding or contain the brain splatter? Sorry for that thought…but I’m baffled.

I think I will start my own campaign, “Mosquito nets are for sleeping!”
I’m certainly not ready to turn in my lovely orange helmet for a mosquito net; I’ll leave the mosquito netting in the bedroom.