This is an excerpt from an email that I wrote back home to my family and friends while I was on my journey through Vietnam. It was written May 27, 2007, although I made modifications to the original email for this blog. Note that I live in Seattle, Washington, and that this was my first experience in an Asian country. Also note that I did not take many photos of what I am describing. Hopefully you can visualize what I am writing about.
And we thought driving and the traffic in Seattle was an experience…Well, let me tell you of my adventures within my first hour of arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam. First of all, before I describe this, I should clarify that this was actually a grand adventure, in spite of what it may sound like. I actually found myself rather enjoying what could be perceived as chaos, but what I decided was actually cooperation!
Traffic in Hanoi
After my nearly 24-hour journey to get to Hanoi, I started my almost hour-long taxi ride from the airport to my hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. This ride is where I began to experience the cooperation of traffic!! (Yes, it is possible.) But not just normal everyday traffic that we experience in Seattle, or most other US cities. Traffic of hundreds upon hundreds (if not thousands) of various types of transportation: cars, trucks, buses, motorbikes, scooters, bicycles, cyclos, even pedestrians, hundreds, all sharing the same road. What really caught my attention was that all of these various vehicles were not following each other in straight lines as we are used to; they were not necessarily following traffic rules (if there were any); they were passing and weaving in and out of each other, in between vehicles, around and through vehicles, side by side, making for no real lanes, sometimes going down the dashed line of the road, or on any arbitrary lane that one wanted to go, with very few stop signs or stop lights.
Woman on Motorbike
I found that I became immediately enthralled with looking around, observing, and listening to what was going on outside of the automobile that I was in. It seemed like a random movement, perhaps some would think chaotic, yet it worked; people got around and through and in between other vehicles in what seemed smooth, effortless, cooperative.
Interestingly, most people, especially on the motorbikes, scooters, and bicycles were not even wearing helmets. Many were however, wearing masks over their face, to protect from pollution and sun. And in all of this, I felt completely safe. Of course, I would not want to drive in this myself; I was perfectly content letting my taxi driver do the driving.
Traffic in Tam Duong Town
And then there was the noise: honking horns, lot of honking horns. Sometimes the honk was out of courtesy to let someone know that you were passing; other times it was to tell someone to get out of the way, please. Seattle seems so much quieter. But for me, even with the noise, I was not overwhelmed, and I rather liked listening to the symphony of horns.
Carrying Goods (from postcard)
And then there was what was being carried on many of these moving vehicles, especially on the motorbikes, scooters, and bicycles, themselves. Not just people; but things, too: goods that were either just bought or wanted to be sold. A dozen huge watermelon-sized fruit; 50 crates of eggs (what a mess that would be if the driver lost balance); long slats of wood or steel beams sticking out of a basket; a dozen breakable stone carvings; food, fruit, live animals and birds, not-alive animals and birds, house-hold items, building materials, anything, you name it, they were carrying it! No, they were balancing it, weaving in and out of the traffic, smoothly, effortlessly, confidently, cooperatively.
Oh, and then there was the person talking on a cell phone (a sight commonly seen in Seattle), but while on their scooter, and carrying some goods. And then there were the people who decided to just stop in the middle of the road to say hello to each other, in the middle of all this traffic, without even flinching. And, I even witnessed on one scooter, an entire family (five people) – dad, mom, and three kids.
And, I will bet that in all of this, that I was the only one wearing my seat belt!
And, what I loved the best was the conical hats that the women were wearing!
Women on Bicycles (from artwork)
That was just my hour long ride into Hanoi. What is amazing though, is like I said – it all just works – the amount of vehicles, the various type of vehicles, the passing and weaving, the honking, the goods being carried: The cooperation of this perceived chaos!
Note that after spending two weeks in Vietnam, and getting very used to the traffic and the noise, getting back to Seattle almost seemed too calm and quiet.
Sweet Travels!