Crossing the Street in Hanoi- Is it Dangerous?

After spending the last 3 weeks in the laid back country of Laos, I was introduced to Vietnam with more horns and motorbikes than the eye could see. Hanoi, Vietnam's capital city of 3.5 million is chock-full of motorbikes going every which way.

The majority of the hotels are in the old city, tucked away amidst the narrow alleyways. Cars may have difficulty passing by on some streets but a bike can go anywhere. There are a few traffic lights to help organize this mayhem but no one seems to follow them. There could be a four-way intersection with two sides clearly having a red light, yet the motorbikes and bicycles pay no attention as they zigzag through each other. Walking on the sidewalk is also out of the question since it is usually taken over by parked bikes, local restaurants and street vendors, leaving no room to actually walk.

After a few hours of crossing all of these busy streets you realize the secret: Wait for the large buses and cars to pass and then just walk in a calm and even manner. Somehow, in someway this actually works and the bikers do not hit you. It is nerve racking (especially at first) because when you step out into the street you have a sea of motorbikes coming right towards you, but they do manage to swerve around you, sometimes closer than you would like. It is actually best not watch as you cross the street- just look straight ahead and then it is not that scary.

Instead of taking a taxicab, a popular form of getting around in Vietnam is to hire a motorbike to get from point A to B. To think that I would be on the back of one of these million of bikes, swerving around people, cars and objects in the road is still a little too much for me to fathom. I have heard that Saigon has 10 times the number of bikes and if one wants to take a motorbike taxi, that is the place to do it.

I will keep you posted.