Traffic Vietnamese-style

We started our Vietnam trip in Hanoi, the country's capital. It's a busy and noisy city where scooters fight for their right of way with their constantly blaring horns, and all around you have layers of history reveal periods of French and Chinese occupation. It's a fascinating city! 

When we first stepped out of our hotel in the middle of the Old Town, we both did not quite know how to cross the street without being run over... The traffic is just crazy and the noise level stupefying. You share the road with scooters that shoot out of side streets without even taking a glance before entering the crazy busy main street. What they do instead is ‘honk their way in’ and hope none of their fellow road runners will hit them. After we overcame our first shock we learned that to cross a street in Hanoi, you walk slow but STEADY. And miraculously, those scooters weave their way through the many tourists with their petrified faces just fine:)

Another 'different' experience is to take a cab! I love being driven around while I can relax and enjoy what passes by. However, Vietnamese driving style needs a bit of ‘getting used to’: they do not keep their foot steadily on the gas and break when needed – it's a constant back and forth. It feels like sitting in a rocking chair that a 2-year old tries to rock back and forth, it has aslightly erratic feel to it...

All in all interesting experiences, but also tiring. And for Todd who normally gives me a questioning side-glance when I honk at a car that cuts my way in Switzerland, an entirely new way of traffic behaviour :).