Friday, July 23, 2010

Hanoi: Scooter City

Before leaving for Vietnam, friends who've been here before warned us about the terrors of crossing the street in Hanoi.  The Vietnamese ride everywhere on two wheels – bicycles, rickshaws, but mostly motorscooters—swarms of them.  The Vietnamese ride rain or shine - wearing ponchos, their lovely Vietnamese cone hats, many young couples, others balancing chickens and families in tow.

It’s not as noisy as I expected – the scooters are relatively quiet as motorized vehicles go – and everyone seems to go at one constant speed. But there are few traffic lights and no rules of the road.

To cross a street, just take your best shot, and keep on moving.

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