Be diffused with “xích lô” (cyclo)

From a long time ago, Vietnamese people have thought of the cyclo as a familiar means of transportation when going out. No noisy sound from engines, no obscure smoke and no spending too much for commuting. It is just simple and ordinary as its appearance. It is not only close-knit to Vietnamese but also connected strongly with the foreigners as every of them was attracted by this unique means at the first time visiting Vietnam.

Vietnam is becoming more and more modern; however, cyclo still has a stand in the minds of the residents, especially the ladies due to its carefree and gentle manner among the crowded towns and cities. That is why it still survives through the time. Day by day, travellers who come to Vietnam and large cities of Vietnam like Sài Gòn, Đà Nẵng, Nha Trang have fallen in love with the Vietnamese cyclo. They must sit on a cyclo at least once to do a sightseeing tour around Sword Lake or gently penetrates into the ancient town Hội An. They may use it to do a round on the streets, particularly Trần Phú Street, at sunset and then they can take a full view of Vietnam's water and mountains into their eyes, and their minds either.

Having a chance sitting on a cyclo and making way through places to fully enjoy the interested feelings from the journey, almost all tourists feel comfortable and pleasant. Hence, pedicabs now have more important foothold after the days when they were faded away because of taxi and "xe ôm" (motorbike taxi). Besides, one another advantage of going by cyclo is that the riders know clearly about the stores that they can visit and go shopping and also low-price food shops. Many of them have a little knowledge of foreign language to have a short talk with their customers but not explain by "hands and feet" for the guests. Therefore, if you are backpacking tourists and you have no guide, call a cyclo and you can start your trip from any corners of the city. In the cities serving for tourism, you will see that more cyclo are plying to and fro. In Ho Chi Minh City, there are trade unions for cyclo to help such as Chợ Lớn, Chương Dương; in Ha Noi, we have Sans Souci union. Besides, plenty of separate cyclo still go around the streets to take guests. Moreover, it is not difficult to find out that cyclo also emerged in happy days of the couples as an up-to-date model which has created original, cheerful and hearty wedding processions.

And now, when think of Vietnam, the travellers not only remember "áo dài, nón lá" but also miss simple pedicabs together with the faithful and heart-warming riders.