xe om...the ride of your life...

I went on my first xe om drive tonight. They are motorcycle taxis. It was pretty crazy. The driver drove really fast compared to most drivers and I felt, at times like I was in a movie. I know that I have explained how crazy traffic is to some people briefly - but there really are no rules here, I can't even truly put to words what it is like. I was actually driving down the middle of the road tonight with both lanes of traffic jam packed and flying by on either side...it was nuts.

To set the stage a bit it was raining, dark, and I was on the back of the motorcycle driving in rush hour traffic. The idea here is that you just drive, doesn't matter where, on the sidewalk, down the middle of the road, who cares - you just go where you can get through. Anyway, I was going to meet Kim (a friend) for dinner in District 1 (which is a half an hour away). She sent a xe om driver to come get me and I was not really prepared for what I was going to experience - think amusement park ride but in the real world. No seatbelt, no holy shit handles...just me on the back of a motorbike.

First of all, the driver was driving fast and it was raining. All I could think was if we slip we are dead but that isn't even half of the experience. Next, he was talking on the phone. It is against the law to talk on the phone when you are driving in Canada for good reason and this guy was driving a motorcycle with me on the back while chatting on the phone! Picture this, he is on the phone (it is still raining folks) and as we were turning a corner all of the sudden a bike and cart pulls in front of us (not to mention the 500 other motorcycles that were driving around us) I thought for sure we were toast but no. Then there was the magical moment when he decided that the motorbike lane was too slow so he zipped into the 'car' lane - IN BETWEEN A BUS AND A CAR that were driving parallel to one another in ONE FREAKING LANE! ... that was a bit close for my liking (seeing as I find it freaky sometimes when I drive between two trucks on the highway and we all have our own lanes!). I lived through that and was on a bit of an adrenaline high but was also kind of hoping that there weren't too many corners left until we got to our destination. Then we crossed through the traffic again and I was all cool and ready for the going between a bus and a car thing again (not really cool, but pretending I was) and he proceeded to go even further...we were driving down the center line. Full on traffic on both sides! Like playing chicken...seriously...Think Star Wars Folks - I lived it!

Obviously I survived...a little soggy and shell shocked...but I'll do it again.