Who rides a Vespa?

Vietnam is a motorcycle country. Two wheels (about 90%) greatly outnumber the cars on the road. But as seen in the images on my two previous Vietnam-related posts here, hardly anyone there wore a helmet on the road. Thankfully, that’s a thing of the past.

So how did the country get it’s more than 12 million riders to wear one? Well, it all started with this campaign.

The ads featured in campaign were made by Ogilvy and Mather Vietnam for Asia Injury Prevention Foundation. The campaign utilized actual motorbike accident victims.

• See  here the English version of the shock ad they showed on their national TV in full.
• And here are the equally disturbing print/billboard ads: “I don’t wear helmet because… it ruins my hair | they don’t look cool | it makes me look stupid.”

On December 15, 2007, wearing a helmet became mandatory (Government Decree Number 32 - Mandatory Helmet Law) to all motorbike riders in Vietnam making it one of the world’s most successful public-health initiatives in years. My recent visit there is proof that indeed, everyone now wears a helmet there and not just in Ho Chi Minh but in the rural areas as well. Our tour guide said not everyone is happy with the new law but all are forced to comply than pay the fine of 200,000 dong or roughly about U$D12.

And since the “coolness” factor ranks high for most Vietnamese riders, some of their helmets (they used to jokingly refer to these protective headgears as “rice cooker”) don’t look like helmets at all! For a rider like me, Vietnam roads was practically an endless showroom of fancy helmets money could buy. There are ones that are shaped like baseball caps, cowboy hats, bowler, sola topee, and knitted beanies. There are colorful visors made of cloth attachable to a plain-looking helmets. At one time, I think I even saw a helmet that looks like the familiar Vietnamese straw hat (Nón lá ). You name it, they have it!

And since I myself fancy unique helmets, I bought some for myself. I even bought one for my daughter which is shaped like a ladybug. That one’s just too cute to pass up. See them here. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing to do with Vespas but I figured I’d do some 80’s Pinoy kids a favor by posting this on the internet.

The ad below brings a lot of memories. Shot in Liverpool, England, I was in high school in the late ’80s when this popular Coke ad was shown locally. I’ve been looking for this in YouTube for a years but no luck. I saw the other international versions but not the one shown here in the Philippines. When I saw most of the comments in those clips, a lot of people are also looking for the same local version. Someone even “threatened” that if the Coca-Cola peeps don’t upload the video soon, he’s gonna switch to Pepsi! hahaha!

Luckily, I got a copy of my requested episodes of QTV’s Ang Pinaka over the weekend (thanks again Vexel9!) including that of the Most Memorable commercial jingles.

When I saw this Coke ad again, I remembered how big a crush I had with Lilet back then. hahaha! I would have been proud kung naging gf ko sya that time. Alam ko sa St. Jo sya nag-high school eh. Kaso mahigpit daw yung nanay kaya di na ako nanligaw. KAPAL! STALKLER! bwahaha!

Anyway, here’s the TVC.

Syempre, may kasamang lyrics:

I am the future of the world
I am the hope of my nation
I am tomorrow’s people
I am the new inspiration

And we’ve got a song to sing to you
We’ve got a message to bring to you

Please let there be, for you and for me, a tomorrow (tomorrow)
If we all can agree there’ll be sweet harmony tomorrow (tomorrow)
And we all will be there, Coca-Cola to share
Feeling so real and so true
Promise us tomorrow
And we’ll build a better world for you

Wanna see the versions from other countries? I compiled them here. Read the rest of this entry »

There are a number of song about riding a Vespa, but my favorite, hands down, is LùnaPop’s (link auto-translated to English) “50 Special” which they released back in 1999. I call it “The anthem for Vespa riders!“

The song is in Italian but it has gotten so popular back then that the band made another version in Spanish. I’ve also read before that they later made an English version for the UK market but I wasn’t able to hear that one. That was the case until I stumbled upon this…

The verses sounded weird for me. The English lines seem forced to fit the melody, and in some instances, it felt like words didn’t even rhyme. But the refrain sounds alright to me.

I still prefer the Italian version though. For me, it felt more… ITALIAN!

And that’s just how it should be.

-o-
{▫}
J0HNRANA

john[dot]rana[at]gmail[dot]com

This one’s the actual episode I was talking about in this post: “This blogger will guest on TV!” Special thanks to Vexel9 for giving me a DVD copy.

I have to warn you though that this video may take forever to load. The files are so large that youtube won’t even accept them for uploading! hehehehe I don’t know how to make the size of the videos smaller. Instead, I divided our interview into two parts.

Here’s the first part.

Second half of the Bloggers’ segment here. Read the rest of this entry »

In the coming days, I’ll try to make some follow-up posts related to items I have posted previously. These have been in my to-do list since forever and I figured I might as well get ‘em over with.

The music video below is related to the “Vespeeps join a music video shoot!” which I posted sometime in March 2007. It’s the song “To The…” by Juan Pablo Dream and directed by Jon “Sponky” Villarin.

Was finally able to track this down via youtube only recently and I imported it in my multiply page. Vespas, Beetles and Combis abound in the 2nd half of this music video! Too bad the audio of this particular clip is not in-sync with the video. Well, better than nothing!

I saw Pyke & me appear for a split second! bwahaha

For a behind-the-scene account regarding this shoot, you may re-vist this post.

I want my MTV!

-o-
{▫}
J0HNRANA

john[dot]rana[at]gmail[dot]com

Prior to the ride, we asked several contacts in Bora if we could actually bring in our scoots to the island resort. All said it’s not easy or it was close to impossible with the strict regulations. Details on how-to were sketchy so our group settled to just leave our reliable steeds at Caticlan. But deep inside, I still wanted to give it a shot. We’ve gone all the way there, so how hard is it really to bring the scoots along on a 15-minute boat ride? But who do we talk to? The coast guards? The boatmen? The porters? We were totally clueless. I admit I was also concerned of about how much that extra trip would cost or if it was even safe to do so. On a personal level, bringing my scooter there will be a validation that this ride is indeed a Boracay Ride. I wanted it so much that I had to at least try. Read the rest of this entry »

The tropical beach of Boracay lies in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines and about 315 kms. away from Manila. It’s a very popular tourist destination and is considered one of the top 10 beaches in the world.

After tackling the North Luzon Loop, the Vespa Club’s Ride Director (Adrian/Rastaman) suggested that we ride to Bora. It took months of planning as logistics were critical for this ride as it involved scoots being ferried twice in two RoRo (Roll On-Roll Off) stations before we could reach our intended destination. We wanted to actually bring our scoots in the island. But after asking around, we learned it was close to impossible with the strict environmental regulations plus the fact that we don’t know which riding club has ever done so before, that is, if there is already. So, we agreed to go on with the ride and settled to just bring the scoots up to Caticlan then try our luck once we get there.

Soon as this ride was confirmed, my wife & daughter booked a flight to Bora to meet us there. Here’s a route map how we got there.

Air travel takes just a little over an hour and with the cheap airfare for advance bookings, the cost comes out just the same compared to RoRo. But riding isn’t just about getting to the destination, it’s also about experiencing the sights and enjoying the journey every step of the way.

Here’s our travelogue. Read the rest of this entry »

Before I start talking about the Independence Ride we had in our club, let me first share with you this clip of a poignant and reflective rendition of our national anthem “Lupang Hinirang” (Chosen Land) which is traditionally played as a march.

The version below was sung acapella by what sounded like a boys choir. Created by advertising director Mae Paner, I first saw this via the PAGASA community which my wife & I have been privileged to be a part of through the invitation of Dale, another Vespa buddy.

Here’s the video:

For more details about the above clip, just click ‘more info’ in this YouTube page.

Now about our ride… Read the rest of this entry »

Tomorrow, June 7, 2008 ( 6.7.8 ) will be the wedding of our friends Tonton & Kitty. The groom is my Vespa buddy while the bride is a W@Wie who’s been exchanging emails and text messages with my wife for their wedding concerns (special thanks to management & staff of Fernbrook Gardens and Josiah’s Catering for extending valuable assistance to our friends!)

Due to some equally important occasions within my family, Benz & I will have to miss witnessing this couple exchange their ‘I dos.’

But I would not let the event pass without posting these great pictures of them. I don’t really know if they’ve seen it already. I went straight to Parc Cruz, their photographer for their pre-nup/engagement pictorial, to specially ask for these. Special thanks to him & Apot for bearing with my pangungulit just to have these amazing shots in my inbox.

Here’s my favorite:

Here’s another shot, this time a closeup of the soon-to-weds. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier today, the Vespa Club had the privilege of lending our beloved scoots to the members of the American pop/rock band The Click Five who’s in Manila for a quick stop for a concert in Araneta Colesium tonight.

The shoot was done at the 5th level poolside of the Crowne Plaza where the band is billeted for the duration of their stay. We actually had to get the scoots through service elevators just to get there. The shoot was fun and the band members were friendly. It’s a good thing that three out of five TC5 members have their own Vespas back home so they’re used to riding scoots.

Prior to the shoot, I wasn’t really familiar with their songs (I mean I know some of their songs but I didn’t know they sung it) but I know that my niece is a mad fanatic seeing pictures of the members in her multiply site. So my wife tagged her along to check out the shoot… and boy, was she in for a treat of a lifetime! hahaha!

Here’s my niece Pao with TC5 frontman Kyle Patrick and my beloved Pyke.

Here’s a group shot of the Vespa Club boys with The Click Five. Read the rest of this entry »