It's Sunday again... And it's time for another Beautiful Sunday and Sublime Sunday. This week, I'm sharing something which I did last Sunday however, due to a hectic week, I've decided to only share it now. It sure is something out of the box, something different, something wild and something odd.
Since being in Vietnam, I am without my wheels unless I go about taking Grab Car or Grab Bike or what the locals call it as Go Viet. It can be challenging because there are places that I sometimes would like to visit or go but not having any wheels makes it tough. I've tried walking around the city as far and as long as I can. With the heat, sun and rain, there's only so many miles I can go. So, I had the interest of getting myself a bicycle so that I could roam around the city. It was much cheaper than going on motorbikes and much easier too. Though, there were several concerns on my mind.
1 - Roads in Saigon weren't very properly paved for bicycles, to be honest, it wasn't suitable for any vehicles. Too many pot holes and the roads aren't actually bicycle-friendly.
2 - With the bicycles, motorbikes and all four-wheeled vehicles using the same paths, it can be very dangerous for me.
3 - I realised I may not know how to cycle on these streets.
I was still very determined about buying a bicycle; after doing much online research and even asking my fellow colleagues, I finally made up my mind to check out the store Martini 107. Many had recommended this store as it's been around for many years and have very good credentials from the locals. One could even do their ordering from their website and they will deliver so long it's within 10 km radius. I wanted to be sure that I was comfortable with the bicycle before I made the order, so off I went to their store in District Three.
Located at 107, Vo Thi Sau in District 3; Martini 107 wasn't very far from my apartment. They had two stores; split in between by a small road which they used for bicycle test riding - gotta say it was pretty smart of them. Displays of bicycles were placed inside and outside of the stores. There were both the manual, automatic and even battery operated bicycles. Prices range from VND2,650,000/USD114.05/MYR486.15 (manual bicycle) to VND10,650,000/USD458.36/MYR1,953.79 (battery operated). I was only thinking of getting something affordable and with a basket for easy carrying of items from my shopping.
I found the ones I was eyeing to buy. Simple, light and economical; like the ones I've seen on the roads of Saigon. Thankfully, there was one sales girl who could speak a bit of English and she explained to me about the features of the bicycle such as brakes, installed locks and etc. I even asked her about delivery and payment; so you could imagine just how serious I was about buying the bicycle. I was even planning to buy it there and then and cycle it for my next appointment. And yet somehow, there was this constant calling at my ear asking me to test the bicycle first. Just to ease my conscious, I asked if I could take it out to test ride. That was indeed a wise decision - I realised I could hardly balance myself on the road. I wasn't sure if it was fear or that I've completely forgotten how to ride a bicycle. It occurred to me that if I wasn't confident to ride the bicycle in this enclosed, no traffic road how will I be able to manage the real roads and traffic in Saigon.
Sadly, I decline my spontaneous shopaholic intentions and said thank you to the sales girl. It was rather disappointing because I was so looking forward to owning one. I saw several others - adults & children testing the bikes; both manual and battery operated. I did somehow wish it was me celebrating as well. Lesson learnt, sometimes wanting something so bad doesn't necessary mean that it can be yours. Guess, I'm stuck to ordering Grab Car or Grab Bike or trusting my own two feet to move around the city.
I laughed at myself when I left the store. @bitrocker2020 was going to love this story just as much as I did. He probably would be laughing when I tell him what happen - which he did by the way. He knows me so well that he convinced me from the very beginning that getting a bicycle was a bad idea. But, since I was so stubborn and not willing to give up the idea, I went ahead to check out the store. I knew deep down that I needed to see and test the bicycle myself to ease my curiosity. If not, this whole idea will constantly be at the back of my mind and I wouldn't let it rest no matter how big of a box I lock it up and threw it underground into the ocean.
Finally, this is over and I can move on to something else... I wonder what would that be next 🤔
#SublimeSunday is inspired by @c0ff33a while #BeautifulSunday is initiated by @ace108. Both of whom share similar wonderful thoughts of how Sundays should be for all of us.
