It would appear, to my foreign eyes, that bicycles of quality are nowhere to be found in Vietnam. I had hoped that I would be able to buy or build a solid, smooth-riding single speed bicycle on my arrival. I was even thinking of building up a sweet fixed gear bike. Alas, quality bikes and bike parts, if available at all, are impossible to find in Hanoi. At the bike shop where MCC procured my transport for the year, the range of prices for bikes ran from $40 - $80.

I’m sure pictures of me wearing my ridiculous blue egg-helmet, sitting upright on my ridiculous, basket-adorned grey bicycle will surface on the Internet at some point. In the meantime, allow me to offer my perceptions of the rules governing Hanoi traffic.

  • Don’t look back. It is not your place to worry about what the motorbikes, taxis, buses and bicycles behind you are doing. As a corollary…
  • Watch in front of you and to your right. Motorbikes swerve, merge and change lanes without signalling their intent. This is most disconcerting when a motorbike comes flying into your lane from a road or alley on the right without so much as a glance in your direction.
  • Don’t wait for a gap in traffic to turn left. You’ll be waiting all day. Instead, if the road is not divided by a median strip, turn left into oncoming traffic in the near lane, and slowly drift to the proper side of the road, dodging the head-on traffic as best you can.
  • Honk your horn. In North America, horns are typically used either to get the attention of someone you recognize, or to warn of imminent danger. The latter still applies here, but the former would be quite impossible, considering the constant drone of horns wherever two or more vehicles are present. A horn might signal impatience (I love the chorus of horns that starts up whenever a traffic light turns green), a desire to pass, frustration, or impending doom.

I’m sure there are many others. If I discover enough to warrant a second blog entry, rest assured you’ll read about it here.