It’s not that I’m a bike snob — it’s just that I am not very confident riding transportation with only 2 wheels.

But today, I had to try with our nanny driving.  I had to get 7100 Islands package from the post office in District 7.  Not going today meant that the package will be returned to France, so I really had to go.

Why not take a cab?  Because they cost too much nowadays.  A round trip will probably cost me around 200kVND or 10 USD.  It’s so much cheaper to go to the post office in D1 where I can ride the shuttle bus at 30kVND (round trip) and just walk the rest of the way.  Ain’t that weird?  I mean I have to pay more to go to a nearer post office!  Information on what public bus number to take is welcome!

So to save some money, I decided to accept my nanny’s offer to drive me to the post office.  It was not an earth shattering experience because our area is not nearly congested as downtown.  There were some “whoops” moments — but nothing scary!  Thank God!

So what was running through my mind?

• My helmet is too heavy.
• Um, where do I put my hands?  Oooh handle bars between the seats!  Yay!
• Do I put my feet down when we stop?
• Oh now I know why bikers tend to occupy whatever little space they can drive through — because it is so much easier to just move along than to stop and rev up again.
• Making conversation is hard! Yup I can talk to the driver but seriously all I hear from her when she speaks are all garbled.  I wonder why people even bother talking while on the bike.
• My butt hurts.
• I need a bath when I get home.

Was the ride worth it?

Yes sirreeeeeee!

Thanks 7100 Islands!  Check out their site.

7100 Islands is based in France and they’re producing lovely pieces wherein modern meets ethnic.

Oh and thank you for pushing me to ride a bike in Vietnam.  Now, that’s off my bucket list!