Born To Be Wild

Dalat, Vietnam:

Yesterday I rode around on the back of a 125cc, made-in-Taiwan motorcycle with a member of the notorious Easy Rider motorcycle club, a group of guides who provide tours for travelers here in the central highlands of Vietnam. It's a great alternative to being herded around on a tour bus, and I got to see parts of the countryside I'd never have found on my own.

He goes by the name "Mr. Bean", which is so much easier for we foreigners to pronounce than "Nguyen Thanh Binh", his real name, and it sounds close enough. He kept our mighty, gasoline-powered steed out of the pot holes and ditches, and was equal parts historian, sociologist, anthropologist and sit-down comedian.

We'd been riding around all day, enjoying the lush countryside, the sight of farmers watering their fields and people waving hello as we galloped past. My stomach was growling louder than the engine and I was starting to get a little bit saddle-sore by the time we stopped for lunch. Mr. Bean ordered enough food for 6 people. I ate so much I hurt myself.

It had been threatening to rain for a couple of hours, so when the bottom finally fell out of the clouds and the deluge began, we rode in silence as we got wetter and wetter. And then my 51 year old Vietnamese tour guide did the only thing you can do when you're caught in a downpour and you're soaked to the skin and it's a long way home...he started singing at the top of his lungs:

"Get your motor running
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way

Yeah, darling
Gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once and
Explode into space

I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racing in the wind
And the feeling that I'm under

Yeah, darling
Gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once and
Explode into space

Like a true nature child
We were born
Born to be wild
We have climbed so high
Never want to die
Born to be wild"

© 1969 Steppenwolf "Born to Be Wild"

Click here to listen to the theme song from the 1969 cult classic Easy Rider, starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper.