myrainasia

Been meaning to talk about traffic for a while now- possibly already have discussed this in brief on other postings, but the traffice in SE Asia, and Vietnam in particular, deserves a more lengthy discussion.

As a New Yorker I walk everywhere.  Accordingly, it is difficult for me to believe that I have taken to planning my excursions in Vietnam based upon how many streets I will have to cross.  I have gotten better at the actual execution (boy is that ever the correct word)  of a street crossing , but I still hate it and can definitively state that I will never get used to it.  Traffic comes from all directions; traffic lights are few and only partly obeyed; the rule is to start crossing and continue going steadily across while letting the whizzing vehicles make their way around you;  vehicles stay within the marked lanes about as well as a 2-year-old stays within the lines in a coloring book; and horns are used incessantly- most often as a way of saying “I’m bigger than you- move over”.  The  order, from right to left is: pedestrians, bicycles, cyclos (that’s the bicycles with passengers), motos, and then, in no particular size order, cars, buses and trucks.  The latter 3 tend to rotate passing depending, I assume, on who’s feeling more macho at the moment.

The traffic report must also include how to get around in SE Asia.  Hard to believe I desperately miss the tuk tuks.  I felt moderately secure on those and less like a sitting duck.  Tuk tuks are not allowed in Vietnam.  (Presumably their size would just make the traffic situation worse.)  This leaves me with the option of taking a taxi (somewhat harder to find and always more expensive), moto or cyclo.  I took a cyclo yesterday for the first time.  Aside from immense feelings of guilt (that some poor schlemiel was pedaling his heart out for a pittance while I sat in comfort) the ride was excellent.  They don’t go that fast (for obvious reasons) but they’re terrific for short sightseeing trips.  And, while our negotiated price was 45,000 dong (about $3) for 1 hour (the negotiations involved my driver quoting this price and me saying OK) the fact that I agreed without haggling indicates that the actual price is probably about 1/3 what I paid.  But I have a personal rule that says I do not negotiate when the price is ridiculously low.  Plus, having just spent $70 to buy a plane ticket from Hue to Hanoi because I refuse to take an overnight bus which probably costs about $6, I felt the need to attone for my spoiled brat ways.

More often I can be found on the back of a motorcycle, something that does not thrill me, but to which I have become quite accustomed.  Vietnam passed a law at the end of 2007 requiring the wearing of helmets.  Apparently, after getting over the affront of having to wear a helmet, the Vietnamese decided to turn their helmets into personal fashion statements.   All moto drivers carry an extra helmet for passengers.  They hand it to you to put on but get a very annoyed look on their faces if you have the affrontery to try and adjust it to actually fit.  You never hold on to your moto driver.  Public touching is not very common in SE Asia, but I have seen a lot more touching on motos in Vietnam than in any other country.  I, however,  pride myself on having learned to ride without needing to hold onto the back with both hands.  The major trick is not to look at the road in front of you, and definitely not to look at traffic.  Even more exciting is the fact that I can do this riding sidesaddle- a requirement for women wearing skirts as I usually do.  I truly amused myself when I crossed the border from Cambodia into Vietnam.  I knew in advance that I would be on a moto- with my 45-lb suitcase- for a lengthy period of time.  Thus, I put on a pair of shorts- a whole new meaning to “dressing for success”.   (I also think there’s a good joke about “backseat driving” here, but I haven’t nailed it so I will let it slide.)

Lastly,  must mention how many people can fit on a motorbike.  My personal best spotting is 6- 1 adult male with 5 children.  3 and 4 is too common for words.  5 is moderately rare.  You won’t see more than 3 adults as a general rule.  Entire families is a pretty common sight.  The other day I heard someone call this a “family sandwich”.  Liked that.

Next blog entry will try to give some update on my travels.  Now I’m off to play in traffic. 

Tags: 1, cyclos, moto, taxi, traffic, Vietnam

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 4:53 am and is filed under 1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.