No motorcycle!
The man is uniform
All sandblasted khaki and exuding authority.
He lives for this, I can tell.
I imagine the flow of his day. Chatting with friends, the shopkeepers, trinket hawkers, street food merchants.
No doubt these days they bemoan the lack of tourists, foot traffic,
income.
Things are quiet in Hoi An these days.
Which, for him, no doubt translates to boredom. A lot of sitting back, slowing down.
I cruise the streets on this new-to-me yet familiar bike in a helmet that doesn’t fit quite right.
Starting to get a headache
I’m caught in the space between knowing where I want to go and chasing random discovery. I take a left because why not, then a right because yeah, it makes sense, then realize I may have missed out completely.
I’m wayward.
Lost, but the stakes are low. I’m in no rush, no timetables this afternoon.
The wooden archway denotes an entrance to a temple. The carts arrayed along the lane means this is a street for pedestrians, not cars. And, for the third time today, I hear
No motorcycle!
I gotta stop making wrong turns
But in making these wrong turns
Feel like I maybe made his day.
Get Up Eight 
Such a lovely flow of thought throughout – this line is my absolute favorite, and so well-placed: “I’m wayward”. I can see the bored, khaki-uniformed officer coming suddenly to life as you make your wrong turn… seems he does live for this. I can feel it! As much as I feel the pull of second thoughts causing you to make wrong turns. So much metaphor in that – and learning.
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I was amused by your “spin” on this encounter- that you made his day. But what I really enjoyed was the easy way you take your readers to places they have never been. The carts, the temple. I think I started reading your writing with motorbike journeys that had more drama. I like those but also like soft mood you set here, of enjoying your wrong turn taken.
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I love the way you brought us this post – I liked your line about the officer lacking tourists, foot traffic (and therefore income). My favorite line, though, was just the one paragraph – “I’m wayward.” THAT. You said so very much in those two words. Loved this post!
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