Anyone who has been to Vietnam will tell you about the traffic.
As soon as you step onto the streets, you are greeted by a cacophony of beeping horns and whirring engines. The traffic seems to move in a constant state of organised chaos, with cars, bicycles, scooters and pedestrians all weaving in and out of each other. Locals maneuver through the crowded streets with a level of confidence that can only come from years of experience.
They are frequently parked on the sidewalk, making it hostile to hapless tourist pedestrians who find themselves tripping over kickstands.
Motorbikes and scooters piled high with goods that tower over their riders dart about everywhere, slipping through any gap in traffic.
I was very impressed by this guy transporting a teetering stack of boxes.
And this pair of fellows — one to drive, the other to keep a tight grip on a 20 foot tube.
I started taking photos of the mirrors on some of the parked scooters and bikes to capture some slices of Hanoi at unexpected angles.
Most scooters and motorbikes weren’t vehicles for solo travelers. Many were used by two or three passengers at a time, and it wasn’t uncommon to see parents with small children perched precariously on their laps as they whizzed down the street.
My favourite was the iced coffee sellers. These guys rode around with an esky on the back of their vehicle, and a speaker that chanted “Ca phe! Ca phe!” I would get a ca phe sua da (iced coffee with milk) for 15k dong — less than AUD$1! — and didn’t get sick even once, despite the warnings I heard about ice from street food vendors.
The highlight was getting my nails done when one of these guys came driving past. The lovely lady doing my nails popped outside, grabbed me a coffee, and let me sip it whilst she finished off my manicure.
I actually walked the entire time I was in Hanoi (despite many of the green-clad GrabBike taxi service guys who tried to convince me otherwise), so my experience of riding in the city was limited to dodging moving vehicles and this selection of pictures. Maybe next time I’ll be braver.
