We hurried out of out hotel early this morning to catch a sleeper bus to the historical city Hué. We were picked up at the hotel in a van that had a video console playing Jason Donovan songs instead of a rear view mirror. The driver was cool and took us to the place where the bud picked up in town. We shoveled down some noodles on the side of the road and the bus was due to arrive when Bernie suddenly remembered that the hotel had not returned our passports. In a flash, a moped was readied and a helmet (reminiscent of the police helmet I was given as a 5 year old boy!) and off we sped through Danang. We completed the 8km journey at incredible speed, thanks to the skill and experience of the moped rider. What made it all the more exciting / life threatening was the fact that it was Monday morning rush hour in Vietnam's fifth most populous city! I have enjoyed the death defying thrill of sky diving, bungee jumping etc. However, with both of those activities you know that there are many safety regulations in place. Speeding around the city (often on the wrong side of the road) where the only rule is that greater size and horn volume provide marginal dominance over others, we obviously benefited (slightly) from my extra mass on the 125cc torpedo... I will freely admit that I closed my eyes several times as we hurtled around a roundabout on which dozens of vehicles of many different speeds were already circulating. I challenge Google and other developers of autonomous vehicles to enable so many people to pass through so quickly! It was incredible to be a part of, but I'm only saying that now that I'm on the (delayed because of us) bus, with passports in my pocket and knee caps intact!
We now have a leisurely four hours in these cool recliner seats to watch the world go by and give thanks to the moped rider that provided me with the most exciting thrill of the adventure to date... Health and safety wouldn't allow it in most parts of the world, but you could make some serious money selling that kind of rush!
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