I am currently in Vietnam doing lots of things with internationals. I am leaving the description there for now, just know that I am doing well and am able to speak English! That is refreshing considering the last two months involved love through actions alone. It is just tough here because we cannot share or talk about Poppa openly, hence why I am not sharing much about what we are doing.
Strangely, this blog is about traffic in Vietnam. Traffic this month has been more apparent to me because my team and I have to ride our bikes everywhere, and let me tell you it is scary at times. So here is a little about this life threatening traffic…
Basic road layout: Bikes are the far right side of the right lane, motorbikes are also in this lane but next to the bikes, cars are in the left lane. If there are 3 lanes cars and motorbikes share, but cars are the dominators of the road
To make a left turn you have to play frogger…meaning you have to merge into motorbikes and then cars hoping that your guts don’t end up on someone’s tire or windshield
Motorbikes are the most popular form of transportation…they literally look like swarms of fish wearing fashionable medical masks, sunglasses, and helmets during heavy traffic (they also cover ALL of their skin to not get dark)
You can drive into oncoming traffic if needed
You get honked at if you are in the way, to not move, to be warned that they are about to cut you off, to say hey girl heeeyyyyy!!!
You can expect a car to not look when pulling out, when cutting across traffic, when making a u turn in the middle of the road
You can expect the same things to happen with motorbikes
You will see EVERYTHING on the back of a motorbike
…babies
…small children
…mother’s breast feeding
…dead pigs (have seen 3 on one)
…live pigs
…cases of beer piled higher than the driver
…anywhere from 1 to 6 people
…food carts attached to the side
…people sleeping
…people on a date
…people holding suitcases, brooms, bamboo, DVD players, dogs, pillows, _____…
…people texting
When cars have to make a right turn they will just cut across into your lane hoping that you will stop
Fun fact…mom don’t read this one…my brakes don’t really work at all on my bike and my handle bars were broken for a few days when having to battle this traffic, luckily my bell and lungs work! The lungs don’t do much since people don’t know “MY BRAKES DON’T WORK…I CANT STOP…MOVE MOVE MOVE…OHHHH CRAAAAPPPPPPP…LOOK OUT HOMEBOY…I AM ABOUT TO HIT YOU…COME ON NOW” in English. They do understand AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
People are so close at times that their knees will touch and you fear for the lives of the children on the back of the bikes when in a taxi that just honks the entire ride for people to move
You get warned about people stealing..they are so good that they have mastered stealing while driving by on their motorbikes…I do not know that from experience, don’t worry
You have to walk at a steady pace across the street so that the cars and bikes can time when to move over to not hit you…like you do with a tree in the middle of the sidewalk. You cannot wait for no one to be coming because you will sit there all day. You just walk into traffic like you walk in the mall while praying the whole time in an anxious panic for the swarm of motorbikes to not hit you.
Our bikes turn into Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when the tide is up near our apartment during full moon. Our feet literally peddle through water and if you tip over you can expect the water to be up to your knees!
We bike sooo much because we live the farthest from the things we have to do. My legs are getting a good work out and I am working off the last 5 months of rice intake, but it is so stinking hot that you are DRENCHED in sweat by the time you get to an event (where everyone is dry and not slimy looking because they have motorbikes)
Well that is a sneak-peak into traffic and bike riding in Vietnam for ya
A little story if you can hold your short attention span…I rode on my first motorbike the other day. It was great. I got a text that said “bring a light jacket, sunglasses, and a rain coat” (there was no chance of rain but I took it just because). I got to her bike, put on my sweater in 100% humidity feeling like I was standing next to the sun, she gave me a medical mask to protect me from the pollution, I put on my funky sunglasses, put on a helmet, then jumped on the back. The girl who drove me said “trust me ok?” and I said “ok” as we began to drive across four lanes of traffic that doesn’t stop. We dodge and weave in and out of motorbikes and finally get to our destination. If I didn’t sound like I fitted in by my appearance (minus my curly brown hair blowing from under my helmet), I had to hold a mop on the way home. Not a super exciting story since there is no climatic ending… I hope I didn’t disappoint you, but that was my first adventure on a motorbike!
Sorry I haven't written in a while, we have been running around like looney tunes and when we have free time I usually choose relax over blog…woops to my commitment to all you readers! I love you all and thank you for supporting me in everyway that you do!!!!
