Comments on: Moto Culture: How to Be an Easy Rider in Southeast Asia

By: Chris Mitchell

Chris Mitchell — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:29:25 +0000

Serendipitiously (is that a word?), Don Morgan just wrote a 4 part series on motorbiking in Vietnam for beginners on Travelhappy - how to deal with Vietnamese traffic, what to look for when renting a bike, and easy routes to start out on.

By: Uncle Drew

Uncle Drew — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:21:42 +0000

Thanks, everyone, for the nice feedback. Much appreciated!

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Sun, 04 May 2008 01:17:55 +0000

Wonderfully written. I’ve never experienced the “moto culture” but am excited too. This short explanatory piece not only gave me an idea of what to expect but managed to draw me into the story as well. Loved it!

By: Hal

Hal — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:34:04 +0000

I love the descriptive writing of this story! It really takes me back.

One day, I was riding my bicycle in Phnom Penh (coming back from the Killing Fields, actually), when I stopped at a red light. The light turned green, and I started to pedal forward into the intersection. I glanced to my right down the cross street for an instant, and then looked back in front of me just in time to see my front tire hitting the back of some guy’s moto! He was making a right turn right in front of me and didn’t quite make it. Needless to say, my bike and I went rather gracelessly sailing through the air, but no permanent damage was done (except to my pride).

I realized then that the saving grace of Phnom Penh traffic, and the reason why even more people don’t get seriously hurt in accidents, is that there are so many vehicles that everyone’s forced to go slow. And it’s a lot easier to survive a crash at 5mph than at 50.

Anyway, just thought I’d share my moto experience with you. I really enjoyed the piece.

By: Lamas, motos, markets and ’some weird looking red curry’ « Oz Traveller

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:24:32 +0000

[...] the need for a change of trousers. Drew Leifheit, determined not to be out-done, takes to the motos of Phnom Penh where ‘most [drivers] come to a stop if it means avoiding an accident’. [...]

By: OasisNick

OasisNick — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:01:27 +0000

“some sort of rotting matter that crawls up your nasal passages”, ha ha….quality article Drew, thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

You bottled the essence of this great city really well!