Safety First

I think there is one think that both Celine and I dread most about living in Hanoi and that is the prospect of getting the "phone call". I talked to Celine briefly about meeting for lunch and 15 minutes later I received another call from a girl telling me Celine had been in an accident. It is a heart wrenching feeling. I was reassured at first that Celine was OK but when I talked to her a few minutes later she couldn't remember where she was. What's worse, I didn't really know where she was and she couldn't explain.

Luckily, someone saw the accident and took her back to the school where she worked. I was able to find my way there where Celine was resting. A women was riding very fast when Celine was approaching the end of a lane way, coming right towards her, causing Celine to fall. She hit her head, the impact evident on the white helmet above, and grazed her arm and leg. The helmet was a godsend and it could have been so much worse but we realised quickly we needed better protection. The majority of helmets in Hanoi are terrible. You can buy them on the side of the road from about $2. It is the law to wear them, so there is a market and the Vietnamese generally opt for the cheap option.

We found a company with international accreditation for helmets, exporting globally. We bought two helmets for about $60 which really doesn't break the bank. As far as we know there really aren't much better helmets you can get. For anyone living in Hanoi I strongly recommend investing in a good helmet. They don't cost much and can save you serious harm.

Celine is feeling much better know, that morning still very blurry. She is back on the bike, with her new helmet, taking extra precautions. You can control what you can do on the bike but the problem is you can't control others. Her cuts are slowly healing; not helped by the fact that I keep (accidentally) bumping them. Sorry!