Slowly and steady. The secret to surviving the streets of Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) is to walk at a steady pace no matter what.
At rush hour hundreds of Vietnamese men and women hit the streets on little motor bikes called cyclos. For foreigners, the instinct to run across the street or avoid oncoming traffic can mean a horrendous accident.
Against all reason, the key to making it safely through the mangled mess of cars, cyclos and bicycles in Vietnam's busiest city is to let the Vietnamese avoid you.
A taxi lifted up on top of a cement median served as a reminder to me of what could happen if I did not pay close attention to my surroundings.
Failing to look both ways can be fatal. I had to learn the hard way that lanes for traffic mean almost nothing here. Cyclos will take the easiest way through traffic, even if that means riding against it.
The other key to surviving is to simply ask a local. Finding anything in Ho Chi Minh can be difficult. The streets are well marked, but the alley ways where all the cheap food and accommodation are located can be very hard to find.
When looking for a guest house to stay in over Easter, I became hopelessly lost. It was dark and the streets were jammed packed with people. My friends and I decided to ask a local for directions. I showed two women the name of the place and the address. All of a sudden, two men came over, looked at the directions, got on motorbikes and drove away.
I thought, okay, well apparently they could not help us. I could not have been more wrong.
Fifteen minutes later, the men circled back and lead us to the guest house. One of the men took us directly to the doorstep.
He circled around, gave us a wave and drove away.
Look for more on traveling by train for 18 hours to Hue near the DMZ zone soon.
At rush hour hundreds of Vietnamese men and women hit the streets on little motor bikes called cyclos. For foreigners, the instinct to run across the street or avoid oncoming traffic can mean a horrendous accident.
Against all reason, the key to making it safely through the mangled mess of cars, cyclos and bicycles in Vietnam's busiest city is to let the Vietnamese avoid you.
A taxi lifted up on top of a cement median served as a reminder to me of what could happen if I did not pay close attention to my surroundings.
Failing to look both ways can be fatal. I had to learn the hard way that lanes for traffic mean almost nothing here. Cyclos will take the easiest way through traffic, even if that means riding against it.
The other key to surviving is to simply ask a local. Finding anything in Ho Chi Minh can be difficult. The streets are well marked, but the alley ways where all the cheap food and accommodation are located can be very hard to find.
When looking for a guest house to stay in over Easter, I became hopelessly lost. It was dark and the streets were jammed packed with people. My friends and I decided to ask a local for directions. I showed two women the name of the place and the address. All of a sudden, two men came over, looked at the directions, got on motorbikes and drove away.
I thought, okay, well apparently they could not help us. I could not have been more wrong.
Fifteen minutes later, the men circled back and lead us to the guest house. One of the men took us directly to the doorstep.
He circled around, gave us a wave and drove away.
Look for more on traveling by train for 18 hours to Hue near the DMZ zone soon.
3 comments:
Very interesting! My main fear about traveling to non-English-speaking countries has always been that I'd end up lost somewhere, unable to find my way or find someone to help. It's very encouraging to know that people are so willing to help. Saigon sounds very...fast. Sounds like you're in the middle of another fun adventure. P.S.: 18 hours by train? Wow...
Ask a local, what a concept! Nice work.
"Let them avoid you" - this is so true! After couple of tries, I am now able to cross the street in HCMC.
Sometimes, however, the flood of motorbikes and the sound they make can get to you at the end of the day, or they can begin to suck the life out of you in the morning!
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