Beach day canceled

Actually, my plan for today was to relax at the beach. However, that idea was washed away by the sound of rain hitting my window this morning 😔. So, I had to come up with a spontaneous alternative.

Since the streets were slippery and offered a real challenge in addition to the normal Vietnamese traffic, I decided to rent a scooter 💪🛵 😂. Renting the scooter was very uncomplicated. After telling my landlady that I wanted to rent a scooter, she called the nearest rental place and a minute later, an older lady arrived with a scooter.

ID? - None

Driver's license? - None

Contract? - None

Instructions? - 'this is the key'

Payment? - 120,000 Dong (4.50€) per day in advance

So, there I was with the two-wheeled devil and my immense scooter experience in front of my homestay, and I was immediately given my first task: refueling! I asked my neighbor, who was standing on the street, where I could refuel, and she solved that problem for me. She came back with three water bottles filled with 'I don't know 🤷‍♂️' and poured it into my tank for 2€. Okay, as long as the tank is full 😂. So, I cruised around the area to experience Vietnam as a real road user for the first time and to get to know all the functions of the scooter. The first function was a calm speedometer 😅, actually very calm, because it didn't move 😂. But that didn't matter! The second thing I discovered was the horn. Loud and clear 💪. So, the scooter was ready to go 😎.

You can't imagine how long and intense the rain can be here 😂. After about 2 km, I turned a market stall into a drive-in (something I had seen frequently in the previous days) and was immediately equipped with the plastic poncho, which is typical for this weather 😅🤦‍♂️. Of course, I also managed to put it on in a silly way 🤫. A very stylish poncho, actually 😏! So, I continued the ride, passing by various destinations with a dry t-shirt. After about an hour and more rain, I thought: It's time for some food and a coffee! So, I parked the scooter in front of the nearest restaurant on the sidewalk and went in. After about 90 minutes, a seafood hot pot, and three coffees, I came out again. And guess what? The scooter was gone 😳😳😳!

It was an extremely uncool feeling 😅. No hands, no chocolate - No contract, no insurance 🤔! I panicked and ran through the nearby streets. Four streets away, I noticed a huge pile of scooters. Thank God, I had taken a photo of the license plate before parking. After checking the first 100 scooters, I found mine 😁. Found it 😍! But then a fisherman from a nearby boat approached me and wanted 10,000 Dong (0.5€) to collect my scooter. He told me that the Old Town is closed to any motorized vehicles in the afternoon and everything will be towed by the police. But as a good person, he takes care of it much cheaper in advance 😇. Phew... The situation was resolved and the ride continued! If he only knew what I would have given him 😂...

The next destination was the beach. At least I had to see it 🏖️. It was really a shame about the weather 😔! It would have been so nice to spend a few relaxing days here 😏! But due to the incessant rain, I was really drenched (I actually got dryer stepping out of a bathtub 😂...).

Since the weather doesn't seem to be improving here, I booked a flight to Saigon for tomorrow afternoon 😎.

PS: According to the Google information I collected later, it is not advisable to recreate the above situation. Driving without a license and documents can lead to fines and loss of insurance. However, it's only around 50€ 🤭... According to the information provided by my hostess, when asked if you can also drive back from the Old Town drunk, she simply said: 'Be just careful for yourself, but no one will control you... There is no police. Maybe you have to use your money.'

The legal situation, however, might be different 🤷‍♂️😂.

According to other forums, if you are injured after an accident, you should give extra money to the ambulance driver so they turn on the siren and you get to the hospital quickly 🤭😂...