Yamaha Cuxi!!

I bought a scooter today! I've been researching into it a lot and both Mai (landlord) and Mr. Nhan (security guard) have been a lot of help. I decided to go with the Yamaha Cuxi. It is small in size and does not go super fast; it is fuel efficient and has a nice-sized storage compartment under the seat. The bike even came with a helmet and rain jacket.  :)

[That's Mr. Nhan in the blue shirt.]  :)

This is the basement, where everyone in the building can park their bikes. Mr. Nhan's "room" is on the left side of the door. When he is on duty, he can hang out and nap in there... the gate is open now because we were going out to ride but usually it is closed and locked. 

I think I have a prime parking spot... right next to Mr. Nhan's bike!  :)

Mine's the 2nd one in... so cute!

Aaaaand, of course, I've already had my 1st crash. I hope it's my only!! I planned to practice driving up and down our small alley until I am comfortable with the bike. Since it is very narrow, you have to turn very slowly... well... I turned the gas a bit hard and the bike spun out.  :O  Thank God I'm fine (other than this knee) and, overall, the bike is fine as well! I broke the lefthand brake so we went back to the shop. It took 5 minutes and cost $2.00 to fix - seriously! But I felt terrible. I already planned to really take my time with it, but even more so now. It was a big purchase for me and the traffic is nothing to take lightly here... I will keep practicing and pay a xe om driver to take me to and from work each day for the time being. Sheesh.

Here I am cruising (before the crash):

Mai usually goes to a Yamaha shop that's near our building but Mr. Nhan and I ended up at a Yamaha shop in District 1 a few days ago when we were shopping around. I like the one that we found because there is a young guy there that went to school in Australia and speaks English really well.

Mai did take me to her shop today to buy the bike and I finally told her that I just wasn't as comfortable at that shop and wanted to go back to where Mr. Nhan and I had been. Mr. Nhan seemed to agree (he took out the guy's card from the shop to show the address...) and so off we went. It turns out that Mai was really happy with the shop that we found too! She said it was a good deal (they sold me the bike for 4 million less than the other shop said the price was) and the costumer service at this one is great... I get free scooter washes for life!  :P  I trust Mai's perceptions and am happy that she liked this shop. Who knows? - maybe she'll keep going back to this one now!

Giang (sounds like "Yang") is the guy at the shop - he's great! When Mr. Nhan and I showed back up to have the brake fixed, he came in thinking we had been there that whole time waiting for the bike! Ha... I told him what happened and he seemed concerned - and amazed that there was no more damage done to the bike than just the brake... seriously not a scratch even though it turned completely sideways! He gave me some tips and I told him that I hope to not see him again for a while :P