Advertisement
Published: August 28th 2013
Edit Blog Post
Construction Delivery
At least one of them can see The first thing that stands out upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City is the traffic. To put it simply, there are a LOT of scooters in this town. People ride motorbikes everywhere and in any kind of weather, and often with 2 or more people or a large and awkward looking load. Next comes taxis, both cars and vans, from a multitude of companies, each with varying reputations. Then there are personal cars, buses and big trucks, all sharing poorly proportioned roads. Our taxi trip from the airport to the hotel included a high number of hair-raising near-misses as motorbikes zoomed around us while honking their horns. Going through a roundabout, of which there are many, involves speeding up into a gap and promptly braking to avoid the motos squeezing around you. The streams of wheeled machines weave impossibly into and through each other, gradually coming out the other side and on down their respective roads. Almost every intersection finds you facing oncoming traffic mere feet in front of you, either because they want to turn left or you do. Eventually someone will force a break in the traffic and the whole group will pour through. Our taxi was the
Car Seat
You must be this tall to ride the ride. source of many of these breaks, with a half-dozen motos slipping through behind the safety of our van. After finally arriving on our street we experienced our first pedestrian crossing. This involves looking left at the unending line of motos coming towards you, scratching your head and looking around for help. Fortunately we had read up on this issue and boldly stepped off the curb. This is the 'step of faith,' and we then proceeded to walk across the street while watching oncoming traffic. The motos magically parted around us and we soon found ourselves safely across the street. We found our hotel and retreated to the cool AC, where we gave thanks for our miraculous survival.
We have since spent a few months here and have started to familiarize ourselves with the unwritten rules of the road. The most important rule is this: SIZE MATTERS. If it is bigger than you, let it go first, no excuses. Pedestrians, unfortunately, are at the bottom of the food chain. Honking: there is a lot of this happening, and each honk can mean something different. Some examples include 'I am coming from behind/the left/the right/in front of you;' 'I am driving
through the intersection without stopping;' 'I am turning without looking;' 'F#%@ you;' 'You better slow down because I'm not;' 'Move over;' 'I can't see anything so watch out;' 'What I just did wasn't OK but I honked so it was;' and many more, but I think you get the picture. Traffic lights: these are everywhere and are often followed, but there are always exceptions. One exciting thing about traffic lights here is that they all have countdown timers. This lets you know whether you need to speed up to run the light or when to start racing to the next intersection. One thing many drivers do is start turning left right before the light turns green, effectively skipping the wait for a break in the traffic flood coming from the other direction. However, keep an eye and an ear open for potential red light runners from the sides. Every now and then someone will just barge past a light and into an intersection regardless of whose turn it is. However, this can be acceptable at times because some intersections are blinking yellow lights in all directions. Everyone just heads in, weaves through and pops out the other side, often accompanied by a lot of honking. In this kind of situation going too slow or stopping can actually be worse because your fellow drivers are counting on things moving at a regular pace, so maybe just cross your fingers instead.
With time, crossing the street has become much easier. As long as you maintain a regular pace the oncoming vehicles can determine where you will be and can go in front of or behind you. It's so easy a child could do it (no, really, children do this). I've also seen use of the 'magic hand': put your hand out in front of you or above your head and waggle it as you walk. This creates a 'magic' barrier that protects you from certain destruction. In actuality, the magic hand serves as an additional visual cue. Sometimes it goes above the head because some folks are so short they can't be seen through the motos in front of you, and therefore could use the extra height. Another disadvantage of pedestrian travel is that you can't use the sidewalks. It's not that there aren't any, it's that they are almost always full of parked motos and motos going in and out of alleys, or have food carts on them or stores' wares have migrated outside that it often seems easier to walk in the street. Too much traffic at a red light? Motos will take the sidewalk to the intersection! The sidewalks really aren't too bad and you get used to them, but they can be very crowded places.
I am also getting used to maneuvering around town on a moto of my own. I did rent one occasionally for work in Chiang Mai but a bicycle would often suffice, and compared to HCMC, traffic was practically nonexistent. There are many advantages that come with driving yourself around town. I put about $2.50 in the tank every few days, and the monthly rental is $1.66 a day. You can adjust to the traffic quickly, following the herd through intersections and watching what's happening around you. There's parking everywhere there is a sidewalk, but make sure there's an attendant as thievery can be a problem. The rain makes things a lot more difficult, and right now it rains practically every day. Large ponchos are the raingear of choice as they can be draped over the front of the bike as you drive to keep your stuff dry, and the person(s) riding with you can huddle underneath the back flap! Unfortunately, public works aren't quite up to par and roads often flood, resulting in soaked pant legs and shoes. Driving in Keens or Crocs is a great idea, packing the dress shoes for use upon arrival. Motos can and do stall out when it gets too deep, so all of the traffic starts to creep toward the middle of the road. Raining and nighttime make for the most fun combination of driving, but luckily rush hours are over and traffic isn't too bad.
Overall, the convenience of having a tiny, nimble, gas-friendly vehicle is great, and once the traffic patterns become more familiar the efficiency of the system is very appealing. It is more difficult to carry stuff that could be easily thrown into a car, but the things I've seen strapped behind someone with a bungee cord or some straps is mind-blowing. Mountains of toilet paper, ladders, panes of glass, chairs, livestock, televisions, ice blocks, buckets, anything really. I've even seen landscaper potential, with bundles of PVC pipe strapped to each side, or a 'flatbed' moto with a few dozen potted plants on a custom wooden rack billowing in the wind behind the driver. While there are cars and trucks on the road, from Toyotas and Lamborghinis to Range Rovers and dump trucks, the motorbike takes the cake as the ubiquitous Saigon vehicle. Don't forget your helmet.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.073s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0516s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb