Vietnam meets Top Gear - we three kings of mopeds are..

In Vietnam, the traffic moves round you, not you round the traffic. Crossing the road is a truly unique experience and you never forget your first time. Jeremy Clarkson and the team, pictured below filming for an upcoming Christmas special take a somewhat unique "blinkered" approach putting their trust in the Vietnamese motorcyclists - please note that no fruit was harmed during this road crossing.

Of course on all of our trips to Vietnam, safety is of paramount importance and earlier this year motorcycle helmets became mandatory. James "Captain Slow" May below can be seen to be taking this to a new level - but of course they cannot account for the rainy season. The colander that Captain Slow wears will at least keep his hair out of his eyes, and can be useful when draining the spuds for dinner……. but no good for eating Vietnamese Pho!

The Top Gear team has recently come in for some stick from the press for their trip to the Deep South in the USA and for comments about lorry drivers. In Vietnam they have been "modding up" their mopeds in bright colours - below you can see James May, set for the high seas on his way to Ha long Bay, the question I have is will he set sail in that boat, or is Hamster the only member of the team who will fit?!

Some say he is scared of ducks and that if set alight, he'd burn for a thousand days. Some say his ears have a paisley lining, and that he’s been banned from the Chelsea Flower Show for eating the exhibits..

.....all we know is, he's called the Stig and he has a Vietnamese cousin – who we call “Dien Dien Mat Mat”…

One of the highlights of any trip to Vietnam is a visit to Ha Long Bay, where tourists usually travel onboard boats called "Junks". Of course, this is the Top Gear team off on one of their challenges and they have to rise to the opportunity of sailing round some of the 300 islands that make up Ha Long Bay. Do they sink or swim, we will have to watch and see…

Below it is good to see Clarkson has not only got his transport for land and sea covered but also has thrown in a few bed heads for good measure, obviously taking the "junk" theme to a different level.

All of this frolicking about comes at price, as Clarkson gets introduced a little too closely to the streets of Ho Chi Minh City.

I am sure with all the thrills and the spills it will be a comical show, tune in on Sunday 28th December at 8pm to see the team on fine form and find out what makes Vietnam a fun place to be! It has already got me thinking for my next trip, though I think I will be painting my moped Harvey Nash red!

December 8, 2008 04:17 PM | Permalink