Watch your step

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In Hanoi, it's easy to tell the tourists from the locals: they are standing on the street corner waiting to cross the road while hundreds of motorbikes, cyclos, tour buses, cars, and pedestrians whirl pass them without relief. At first, they wait for the light to change, but soon realize the light is merely a suggestion. Soon, this realization suddenly turns to fear, and for some, immediate defeat.

You see, the city runs on motorbikes. They swarm like bees, and multiply like ants. It is their major form of transportation. They carry refrigerators, babies, pigs, and 11 foot sections of bamboo on the back of their motorbike. Some text their friends, talk on their cellphone, smoke or all of the above. And they can do this all while traveling at high speeds in heavy traffic while beeping their horn. Unlike the US, the car horn is not just a sign of anger. In Vietnam, it can mean everything from hello to "how was breakfast," which can make for a rather loud commute.

So there they are: standing on the street corner, contemplating a massive intersection of controlled chaos. But then they step, and the great sea parts. The frenzied motorists merely move around them, whizzing past them creating a slight diesel breeze. They hold their breath until the other side of the street, and when they finally reach the other side, they are ready cross again.

This is our second time in Hanoi. Tomorrow we take the train to Hue in Central Vietnam, but not before we do a few more things....visit the traditional water puppet show, eat at the infamous Cha Cha LaVong (owned by the same finally for five generations), ride a cycle and say hello to Uncle Ho.

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Comments

[Arthur from Limoges]

So True !
I love it, this is so true- :-) every single word in this text is accurate ! it is exactly how it is ; in fact, if somebody had not pushed us across the road, Kim and I would be still waiting on the sidewalk for the traffic to open.