Tuesday, March 24, 2015

We have 2 motorbike accidents in one day

Phuong and I were involved in two motorbike accidents this past Tuesday. I was the driver, and of course, Phuong was the passenger. I am pleased to report neither of us were seriously injured and that neither accident was my fault. Both incidents occurred at traffic lights.
The first one happened after our morning tennis. We were going to get our post-match coffee to celebrate my courageous and hard-fought victory. We were stopping at a red light when a man with a woman on the back shot past me and tried to cut me off so he could be ahead of me rather than alongside of me at the light. Since there was only about a foot of space between my bike and some teenager's bike in front of me, the man's bike hit my front tire. The woman's unattractive legs took the brunt of the bump, and she glared at me. I told her in flawless, snarky English that her driver caused the little mishap, and that the White Monkey was innocent until proven guilty. She thought for a moment and seemed to agree, hitting the driver on the back. He laughed and shrugged at me. Off we went.
The second accident was more serious and could have been worse. A few hours later we were going to the supermarket. We were stopped at a red light and we were first in line. The light turned green, I started to go, and then some douchebag comes out of nowhere on the right and hits us. It's really weird because there was no reason for him to be heading in this direction. I suspect he was drunk -- after all, it was almost noon. Anyway, he knocked my bike over on top of me. Phuong brilliantly and instinctively rolled on the road and avoided any injury. I banged up my left arm and left knee (oh god, I hope my tennis game is OK) and my left mirror was knocked off. Very minor stuff. And the offending driver never stopped. He looked back at us on the ground and drove off. No one made a move to stop him as he got away.  I'm told that's not done in Vietnam. In fact, the other bike riders acted pissed off that we were in their way and slowing down traffic as we got up off the ground. The attitude here seems to be (and the locals tell me this): Take care of yourself and screw the other guy. I see it on the bikes, in the stores, in coffee shop lines, everywhere. This country has been through a lot, so I sort of understand, even though everyone tells me: You don't understand. Honestly, the accidents didn't bother me as much as the people's attitudes about them. But I'm just a white monkey.
Phuong and I love our morning tennis, but the guys who play after us come while we're still on the court make a spectacle of themselves. They try to talk with Phuong during our matches. One guy circles the court while we're playing, swinging his arms like he's swinging a racket. Others talk really loud. Some eat and talk with their mouths full. After one of our matches, I put my open tea on a sink next to the court because there was nowhere else to put it. Immediately, one of the guys goes to the sink and starts spitting his mucous-filled saliva next to my tea. Shockingly, I left the tea there. Actually, some of the guys are wonderful so it's no big deal. But when I'm distracted, my tennis game slips. It's not good to begin with, so the commotion makes matters even worse. Whatever.
One more piece of cheerful news. It's 95 degrees every day, so my heat rash/souvenir has returned. I prepared this time, however, and brought medicine from the U.S.
Phuong and I are very happy together ... well, I'm very happy, and we're planning a trip to Hong Kong next month. School is OK, so other than psychotic motorbike drivers, of which there are many, and wacko tennis players, of which there are a few, life is wonderful. I can thank Phuong for that.

1 comment:

  1. Lesson learned. Don't be first in line at red lights! Greetings from Chicago, USA.

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