All the pictures and vids you see of the traffic in Saigon are all true. I am experiencing it for myself this week, and I love it.
Cars, vans, motorbikes, scooters, bicycles, pedestrians, vendors balancing 2 heavy baskets on a bamboo stick, hand-pedaled carts driven by old ladies (I don’t know how else to describe them), and large tour buses, all co-exist on crowded streets with no externally enforced rules. Young teens, I’ve seen mostly girls in school uniforms riding their bicycles to school; a family of 4 on a motorbike with the baby between the 2 adults; minivan taxis with aggressive drivers; a 3-wheeled bicycle street vendor selling fruits; and me, a foreign pedestrian – everyone works in cooperation with all the various modes of transportation. No matter what you are, your place on the street is respected. Everyone knows what to expect and how to react. The key is to keep moving without sudden unexpected movements, and everyone weaves in and out around each other. I love this system that is practical, relies on mutual understanding, and surprisingly safe.
In America, I’ve often been frustrated at being stuck in traffic behind cars when my destination is only a few hundred feet away and I can get there easily if I can just break a few traffic laws. Here in Saigon, you can drive on the sidewalk if need be, or you can drive on the opposite side of the street is there is no oncoming traffic. And if cars come at you, simply merge back into the other side. No one gives you the finger, there is no yelling or road rage, and honking of the horn (which is constant and a way of life) is not out of anger but as a warning as it is meant to be used.
In America, going straight has the right of way while making turns has to wait. Why? Here in Saigon (and in Taipei too, and probably in other countries as well), everyone just keeps moving, weaving in turns and u-turns any way that works. Pedestrians have to do the same. Just keep walking and cars will weave in and out around you. It all works. Even as an unfamiliar tourist, I’ve crossed major intersections and live to tell it.
I shall miss this when we leave.