V-in-V (Indonesian Blogger in Saigon)

Well, I got stopped by the traffic police today. They told me that my violation was for ‘driving in the left lane’ which the traffic police officer said was only for cars. That was strange because I saw many other motorbikes in the same lane but the policemen did not stop them.

He asked for my passport, motorbike registration, and driver’s license. I gave him my passport and copies of the other two documents. My lawyer told me never to give the police the original of anything though I had to give my passport since I did not have a copy on me.

I had to pay 40,000 Vietnamese dong or roughly $2.66.

Most likely they made a mistake when they stopped me. I did not wear my glasses so I look like a Viet Kieu (Abroad Vietnamese) which is why they stopped me. Being part Asian makes you look part Vietnamese. If I had looked more American, they would have let me go. Anyway, I got a token fine. It should have been at least 150,000 VND.

Cross-posted at: http://kevmille.livejournal.com/104017.html

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