July 16th, 2004 | The lowdown by Christie Dang

Moto Madness

After living in New York for three years, I thought that I had lived through every taxi cab adventure. New York cabs have a way of wielding in and out of traffic through the tightest of places, all while breaking and honking at the same time.
But while I thought I had seen it all, I was quickly proven wrong on my first “moto” adventure in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Motos” (motorcycles), the main mode of transportation in the city, take the place of cars, trucks and mini vans. Everyone rides motos and in all types of weather. A family of four can fit on one tightly squeezed moto. Girls in mini skirts and high heels find no problem sitting with their legs crossed as their driver zooms off at no more than a few miles an hour.

Since motos do not have trunks, everything is held in the passenger’s lap or draped from the side of the moto. I’ve seen these tiny motos carry everything from television sets to ladders. When it rains, motos veer off to one side for a poncho pit stop. They take their poncho from under their seat, put it on and drive off again. Motos cross four way intersections at full speed and somehow don’t hit each other - most of the time. Traffic lights seem more like suggestions to stop rather than law. Traffic laws are loosely followed with hundreds of motos driving in both directions on both sides of the street, all while pedestrians stroll through.

“Honda om” is the moto’s version of an unofficial taxi service. Outside restaurants and along any sidewalk in the city, men sit on motos waiting for the opportunity to take anyone for a ride. If you decide to take one out, settle on a price before you go or you may be stuck paying an unnecessarily high price later. They charge significantly less than taxis do but beware, Honda oms are not legitimate services. As of now, there are no official Honda om companies.

The “xich lo”, a low budget form of a carriage ride, is the ever fading mode of transportation. The driver peddles a bicycle which is attached to a seat in front for the passenger. Xich los are slow and offer a relaxing ride through the city for the tourist. The main downfall is that xich los are not permitted on every street, especially the narrow ones. So if there is a certain place you must get to, don’t go by xich lo as there is a chance you won’t be able to get there.

Walking is perhaps the most dangerous way of getting around. While there are crosswalks, moto and cars pay no attention to them. They’ll drive even when people have the right of way. In order to walk across the street, people hold each other by the hand and walk slowly while motos honk and whiz by within inches. Locals advise that when walking across the street, walk slowly, making eye contact with moto drivers so they know to veer around you.