Taking a xe om in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is big. It's really huge! The whole area has about 10 million people, and this means that sometimes you have to go a very long distance. Lots of people have their own motorbikes, and they use these to get from place to place. But I don't have a motorbike, and I don't want to get one. In Tra Vinh, I get around on my bike, which I really love. But most people don't ride bikes in HCMC. The traffic is just too heavy, the distances too far, the pollution too bad, the temperature too hot.

So, usually when I am here, I walk. For distances of just a few kilometers, this is OK. Walking let's me see the city. I get to know the streets, businesses, sights, and sounds better. One day I walked from Ben Thanh market almost all the way to the airport. That was not a pleasant walk: too long, hard, and tiring, but I'm glad I did it. Once.

Today, I bought a lot of books and did not want to carry 10 kilos of things from the bookstore to my hotel. So I found a xe om. Xe om is a Vietnamese word, and the meaning is a little bit cute and funny. Xe means "car, vehicle" and om means "to hug". This is what people call a motorcycle taxi. There is a motorcycle, one driver, and you! You just tell the driver where you want to go, agree on a price, put on your helmet, jump on, and go. The helmet is required. Drivers won't take you anywhere if you are not wearing a helmet. But don't worry if you forgot yours. They always have an extra helmet for their customers. One problem for me is that the helmets are always too small, but I this problem by bringing my own helmet. It is big and red and very well.

Sometimes, it is a little scary to take a xe om, especially during the evening rush hour. The rush hour is the time before and after work when the streets are filled with traffic. On Friday evenings, the traffic is really heavy, and taking a xe om then is both exciting and frightening. But today, it was Sunday afternoon, the traffic wasn't too heavy, and the ride was simple and not scary.