The bikes are used for commuting, for transportation, for fun. Sometimes you can see whole families sitting on a bike, or large amount of cargo being transported with.
The Vietnamese are very creative in fixing the cargo to the bike. I'm always impressed, that nothing happens. The cargo normally is not secured or fixed according to western standards, but obviously it works.
Just a few more impressions of the bikes in Ho Chi Minh City:
The reason why there are so many bikes is pretty simple. Cars are just not affordable for the average Vietnamese. There is a luxury tax of 150% on the net sales price of cars in Vietnam (as well on big motorbikes). So a small car can easily cost up to 50000USD.
So as this is far above my budget, I'm now doing my market research for a motorbike. Today I went to a Piaggio Dealer which is conveniently located directly next to my apartment. Nowadays Piaggio produces as well in Vietnam, in order to lower the prices (no import duties and taxes, when bikes are produced in Vietnam). Nevertheless, Piaggio Scooters are very pricey here. Honda is a bit cheaper and Suzuki and Yamaha are rather cheap.
Honda seems to have a market share of more than 50% here in Vietnam. Especially the Model Wave seems to be quite popular. You get a new one for around 800 USD.
Anyway, Vespas and all other models from Piaggio are just nice. Italians can design. The Japanese have more the pragmatical approach in terms of design. So I was browsing in the shop and talked to the dealer. I asked for a test drive, and they said no problem. So they gave me a Vespa, and one of the sales guys was accompanying me during the test drive. You can imagine that my adrenaline level was rising quite high when I drove out onto the street into the flow of bikes. After a few hundred meters actually you get used to it, and when you go with the flow and be a little bit more focused than it's not a big deal driving in this traffic and after a while actually fun. So, during the next weeks, I will continue to look for bikes and probably get one as well, since I miss my (bigger) motorbike back in Germany. As Vietnam is a bit special in terms of regulations, I will have to get a Vietnamese driving license as an International or European Driving license is not valid here.
I can only recommend to watch the Vietnam Special of Top Gear. There you can see how you obtain a vietnamese driving license. As a foreigner, you only have to do the practical part, no theory.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to a few more test drives and finally having a bike on my own.
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