Riding motorbike home for Tet

Quynh, who was allowed to go home early for Tet, joined a group of fellow countrymen riding motorbikes from Binh Phuoc to Gia Lai to find someone to share the car with, taking turns driving along the way. Having never ridden a motorbike more than 100 km and having a 5-year-old child, she still decided to set off on January 19. "The child has not been vaccinated, I am afraid that I could catch the virus from others by taking the bus," Quynh explained. With advice from people in the group who have a lot of experience driving long distances, Quynh maintained the motorbike, prepared enough belongings, food, and water.

After going 1/3 of the way, Quynh's daughter suddenly complained of being tired. When she stopped the car, she saw her daughter shivering and complaining of being cold, her forehead burning hot. The whole group of more than 20 people pulled over to the side of the road to wait.

"Worried about my child and afraid of bothering everyone because of the long journey, I asked my friend to take me to the hospital and told me to go home first," she said. Some people split up and ran away, some chose to stay and wait, but Quynh said she would leave her child at the hospital for observation. The journey home that she and her child thought would only take one night ended up lasting three days.

After leaving the hospital, only the mother and child were left, so Quynh drove "like a cow on the road, only daring to keep the speed at 30km/h", but her weak driving skills and her unfamiliarity with driving on the highway made the female worker stagger and fall flat on her face. Both mother and child had bleeding arms and legs. "Luckily we made it home," she said.

In early December, Le Van Vui, 28 years old, joined the group "Motorcyclists returning home", gathering nearly a dozen young people to ride 1,200 km from Ho Chi Minh City to Nghe An when he heard that a fellow countryman on the same bus had F0 and had to be quarantined for 21 days. Fearing a similar situation, the young man working as a mechanic in Binh Tan district chose to return home by motorbike. "Living a year of Covid-19 has made me so scared, I don't want to get into any more trouble related to it," he said. In previous years, he only left Saigon after the 20th of the lunar calendar, but this year he returned nearly a month earlier because he just needed to reunite.

On a long journey, in addition to gasoline, the group brought repair tools in case the vehicle broke down. When setting off, each vehicle was loaded with instant noodles, dry food, and water because everyone agreed not to stop at any shops along the way to avoid the risk of Covid-19 infection. During the two-night, three-day journey, Vui's group had to stop along the way nearly ten times. During sunny days, they temporarily parked their vehicles on street corners, and in the evening, they stopped under bridges or closed porches of houses to take out food to eat.

Mr. Vui's group rested on the way back to their hometown, early January 2022. Photo provided by the character

Le Van Vui is one of nearly 2,000 members of the "Motorcyclists Returning Home" group on social media created by Nguyen Van Linh in Anh Son, Nghe An. With the outbreak of Covid-19, he guessed that many people wanted to ride motorbikes back to their hometowns, so he created the group to share experiences and support each other. "Many people return alone, so they have companions, and those without motorbikes have fellow countrymen who can give them a ride," said Linh, a freelancer in Bac Ninh City.

Since the beginning of the 12th lunar month, interactions in the group with members from all over the Northern, Central and Southern provinces have become more active. On average, nearly a dozen people post news every day about wanting to form a repatriation association. "Small groups have about a dozen people, large groups can have up to a hundred people," Linh said.

According to a survey by reporters, more than 20 days before the Lunar New Year, domestic air tickets for Tet are still quite abundant, many domestic routes have the cheapest ticket prices in the past 3 years. Even on the golden route Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi, round-trip tickets on peak days are only 2.5 million VND, more than half the usual price. Train tickets for Tet this year are also less sought after. A representative of Mien Dong bus station (Ho Chi Minh City) estimated that the number of passengers returning home by bus this year has decreased by more than 40% compared to last year. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport said that some inter-provincial bus stations have sold less than 20% of the tickets.

Huynh Hoai Han, captain of the SOS Thap Muoi rescue team, who specializes in repairing motorbikes for people returning home via N2 road in Thap Muoi district (Dong Thap), said that the number of people returning home on motorbikes during Tet this year has doubled compared to last year. He expects that the number of people returning home will increase even more in the next few days, so the team will divide into shifts to support people 24/7.

It is not known whether riding a motorbike back home on the eve of Tet will help people avoid getting sick, but the danger is clear. Not only did Quynh and her children have an accident, but even healthy young men like Vui were exhausted from sitting on the motorbike for the entire 1,200 km journey, not eating enough, and being exposed to wind and rain. Vui said that when he passed Hai Van Pass when it was dark, he was exhausted and his stomach was rumbling with worry. Going down the pass, the whole group called out to each other to stay closer together and hold the brakes firmly.

Arriving in Quang Tri, a car ran over a nail along the way, causing a flat tire. Because we were waiting for each other, the group returned later than planned. "When we arrived at the quarantine area in my home province, I lay down for a whole day because I was so exhausted," Vui said.

A baby sleeps on a motorbike after his parents drove him for two days from Binh Duong to Da Nang. Photo: Nguyen Dong

Just arriving home last night (January 22), Nguyen Ngoc Minh Duc, 26 years old, said he lost an amount of money equal to a car ticket because he rode his motorbike from Thu Dau Mot, Binh Duong to his hometown in Dak Lak. Riding alone through a curve on Bridge 14 (bordering Dak Lak - Dak Nong), he was caught by the traffic police for speeding and fined 300,000 VND. Arriving at E Kar town, he continued to lose 400,000 VND because he drove over 50km/h. Minh Duc posted on a group for Dak Lak people riding motorbikes home, with more than 90,000 members, to tell his story and found out that dozens of "backpackers" were in the same situation.

The administrator of the group "Motorcyclists returning home" Nguyen Van Linh often reminds members to maintain their vehicles to avoid breakdowns along the way, bring gasoline and food, wear raincoats to keep their bodies warm, wear helmets with visors and maintain a steady speed.

According to Linh, unless absolutely necessary, people with poor health should not ride motorbikes back to their hometowns. Depending on the distance, on average, every four hours, you should find a place to stop for 10-15 minutes to wait for the group, solve personal problems and let both the vehicle and the person rest. If there is someone in the group who knows the way, you should take a shortcut. Otherwise, you should take the main road, equipped with Google maps to avoid getting lost.

"Those who travel long distances must be physically fit and alert enough to handle obstacles. Both people in the car must have a driver's license to take turns driving," Linh concluded.

On January 16, he and more than a dozen fellow countrymen gathered at a gas station near the Bac Ninh City highway to ride motorbikes back to their hometown. The young man from the western Nghe An province borrowed a house in the forest for the group to quarantine, both airy and ensuring the safety of those around them.

Mr. Le Van Vui has also completed his quarantine at the Commune People's Committee, and is relieved to be with his family during the spring. The minor injuries on Ms. Quynh and her child have healed. She said she will temporarily relax her mind for the spring days, and will consider how to return to work after Tet.

According to VnExpress