Tone took me for a spin on a cyclo here, around HCMC to see the sights. Actually the highlight was sitting with our drivers at a typical roadside 'cafe' for a really strong local iced coffee.
Tone's driver told his story, which went like this... He has an electrician, then he was in the South Viet army for 6 years; shooting, getting shot, then in a 're-education' camp for 4 years, cutting down trees with a small axe, on one bowl of rice per day, and since then, he's been driving a cyclo - for 16 years, as he's not allowed a real job. It's apparently a typical story for many of the cyclo drivers. But he was a good guide, and well worth the few bucks he got out of us.
