Obsessive about booking tickets and being crammed into Tet buses, many people ride motorbikes 300km back to their hometowns

Afraid of cramming, “traveling” 300km back home to celebrate Tet

One month before Tet last year, Nguyen Dat (28 years old) bought a sleeper bus ticket from Hanoi to Nghe An. Hearing that the price had doubled and the additional cost of transporting the car, he decided to gather a group of friends to ride his motorbike back to his hometown.

“Every year, booking Tet bus tickets to return home is like a battle,” Dat sighed, calculating the distance from Hanoi to Yen Thanh district (Nghe An) nearly 300km.

Dat’s group of 6 people were all men, traveling on three motorbikes for convenience in changing drivers. On the evening of the 27th of Tet, the whole group gathered at someone’s house to have a New Year’s Eve meal together, then arrange things and find a suitable route.

They prepare compact luggage, full-face helmets, gloves, and hand and leg protection.

The next morning, the group departed from Nuoc Ngam Bus Station around 8:00 a.m., starting the journey, with a total estimated time of 7-8 hours (including rest time). First stop in Tam Diep city (Ninh Binh province), refuel in Thanh Hoa following traveling 100km.

Arriving at the end of Thanh Hoa, the group found a place to rest along the road, then headed all the way back to Nghe An.

“On the way, we saw trains going back and forth so we were very excited to go home,” Dat said.

Ngoc Thao rode a motorbike 100km back to her hometown for Tet last year (Photo: Provided by the character).

Haunted by the scene of being crammed into a passenger bus every time she returns home to celebrate Tet, Ngoc Thao (24 years old, Cau Giay district, Hanoi) decided to “ride” a motorbike to Hai Phong. The 100km distance was expected to take 3 hours, but Thao took 5 hours due to… getting lost.

Traveling alone, the girl drove and sang to calm herself. Thao moves slowly because the distance often has accidents, many dangerous vehicles such as trucks, container trucks…

“I got lost and had to turn back another 10km, looking for vehicles with license plates 15 and 16 to follow, afraid of going to the wrong province,” she recalled, saying this was both an experience and a challenge for herself.

For three consecutive Tet holidays, Le Han (28 years old, Hoang Mai district, Hanoi) rode a motorbike alone to Thanh Hoa. Although her parents objected, she explained that her experience of “traveling” to the Northern provinces helped her practice her motorbike riding skills.

In addition, Tet ticket prices have increased rapidly, not to mention the cost of bringing a motorbike home with a single ticket, costing from 500,000 to 600,000 VND.

“Riding a motorbike back home helps me be proactive in my work, organize my time and save money,” Han said.

She started at 7:00 a.m. on the 29th of Tet, stopping every 50km to rest for 10 minutes. To ensure safety, she moved slowly, especially through the Thuong Tin area where accidents often occur, along National Highway 1A. Arriving home, the girl breathed a sigh of relief.

For three consecutive years, Le Han rode a motorbike from Hanoi to Thanh Hoa (Photo: Provided by the character).

Obsessive “hunting” for tickets, being crammed into the Tet bus

Last Tet, due to not being able to book Tet tickets in time, Minh Ngoc’s family (32 years old) rented a private car from Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh. The woman agreed to pay an expensive price of 4 million VND/round trip to conveniently take care of her 2-year-old daughter and avoid being crowded on the bus.

“Before it was just the couple, now with young children, finding train and bus tickets is a whole series of hardships,” she said.

Living and working in Hanoi for 10 years, but never once booking a car for Tet was smooth sailing for Duc Huy (29 years old, from Quang Tri). In his first years of college, the ticket booking competition was “extremely fierce” due to his lack of experience, so he had to sit in the passenger seat or in the middle of the hallway for the same price as a bed seat.

The young man said he had called 7 bus companies but was informed that all tickets were sold out. On the 29th of Tet, he accepted the chance to arrive at the station, “there is no bus to go there, there are seats as well as sleepers”. Every time the bus stopped, he was worried that someone would get on, and endured being crammed for several hours.

“This Tet, I plan to go online to find a car to take home, with cheaper prices, comfortable seats, and no crowding at the bus station,” he said.

People lined up waiting for their turn to board the bus to return home for New Year 2024 (Photo: Nam Anh).

The Traffic Police Department once advised people returning home to celebrate Tet by personal vehicle to be proactive in the time, type of vehicle (car, motorbike…), and appropriate route.

In the days leading up to Tet, the density of vehicles participating in traffic on inter-provincial roads and national highways is very crowded, so choosing the appropriate departure time and route will help people return home faster, avoiding going into the traffic jam. peak.

Personal vehicles need to be fully inspected and maintained for technical safety, ensuring stable operation on the journey.

For motorbike drivers carrying additional objects and Tet gifts, it is necessary to ensure that they are securely tied and do not exceed the vehicle’s allowable size limit.

Vehicle drivers need to rest, ensure health and alertness, and must not use alcohol or beer. During travel, people must always focus on observing, controlling the steering wheel, and obeying road traffic laws.

Driving a vehicle continuously for a long time (more than 4 hours) will have a great impact on the ability to control and handle situations. If traveling continuously, people need to rest properly between journeys.

“When people feel tired or sleepy, they need to stop their vehicles safely, relax, drink water and do light exercise to refresh their bodies, or they can go to some rest stops or roadside shops to rest. , recovering his health,” the Traffic Police Department said.