Make sure there are no cars or busses coming on your side of the road, then weave your way through the scooters and motorcycles to the centre line; now, look in the other direction and make sure there are no cars (this includes taxis) or buses coming and weave your way through the scooters and motorcycles. Regular bicycles don’t count because they can look out for you.
How to Cross a Street in Ho Chi Minh city at a Light:
Remain alert for the sign of the cross-traffic slowing down. Once the vehicles come to an almost stop, weave across your side of the road before the traffic begins to turn into your lane from the traffic going in your direction. Walk in front of the now-stopped vehicles, but as you approach the sidewalk, watch for the scooters and motorcycles making a right-hand turn on the red light.
The Safest Way to Cross a Street in Ho Chi Minh city:
Wait at the corner for one or more locals to come who are crossing the road. Walk beside them as though you belong!
Thursday, Feb. 17.
Our mission today is to sign-up for a couple of tours and to get some travel information from the Sinh (Café) travel agency. With our trusty map and newly acquired skill of crossing streets, we successfully negotiate our way to their ultra-modern efficient agency. All is put together in a minimum of time. We will be there tomorrow at 8 a.m. to go to the Cu Chi tunnels and the next day for a Mekong Delta trip. The office is in the midst of the “backpacker’s” district. We spend the next hour wandering the streets and alleys to see the place and, hopefully, find a restaurant for our dinner. There is not one but a hundred!
The delivery man is pushing his bike backwards to the corner.
Hotels in the Backpackers' District
Each hotel is just one balcony wide.
We have a quick beer (I get more compliments on my hat!) and return to the hotel via the market (where I spot my first little rat scurrying from the market to the sewer) for a pit stop on our way to the War Remnants museum.
I sit outside and read the Vietnam guide book while Peter spends a couple of hours in the museum. I am befriended - of course - by a motorcycle driver. He practices his English, tries to sell me some tours (good business man) and happily shares my crackers (as do some of his fellow drivers). He even gets me one of their small plastic chairs to make my sitting more comfortable. When Peter comes out I inform him that we are taking a motorcycle back to the hotel! The ride is quick because we spend some time going via the sidewalk and some going the wrong way on a one-way street. We think the driver charges us too much, but we have arranged for him to take us to the backpacker’s district in the a.m. and we will set the price or he will have gotten up early for nothing! We will see how that works out.
After a pit stop, we walk to the backpacker’s district and find one restaurant that looked good this a.m. It does not disappoint. Peter has a chicken leg and French fries while I have a small pumpkin soup and shrimp spring rolls. With two beer and two glasses of wine we manage to spend $13.50 in a lovely, clean environment with a waiter whose smile would melt your heart. As we finish our second drinks, he asks if he can speak with us to practice his English. He asks the usual questions - this is not a come-on, but a kid from Dalat just trying to improve to get ahead. The average monthly wage for a waiter would be the equivalent of $100 to $150 Canadian dollars.
We decide this morning that the ratio of motorcycles to cars was 10 to 1. In the evening, this changes so now it is at least 20 to 1. It is the only way to go, so we get a diver who has two helmets, he calls his friend, and we are back to the hotel in five minutes. The price is less than half what we paid earlier, so we have our new price to quote in the a.m.: $1 each/ 20,000 VND.
Yes, it is what you think it is. Anyone for A Tale of Two Cities?
My first successful motorbike/taxi ride.
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