1 - The Roads are a Jungle
2 seats + 2 bikes + 2 people = perfectly roadworthy.
Bummed a ride off a fellow traveller's hotel pick-up at the airport. It was an interesting and somewhat numbing experience.
After 40 minutes' ride my left leg alone granted me a place on the board of the Ministry of Silly Walks.
And crossing the road is just a case of walking out when the time feels right, closing your eyes, and hoping you arrive on the other side. So far we've got through unscathed.
2 - The People are Nice (picture unrelated)
The people are nice.
While they try to make a living, they are not pushy, they don't bother you unnecessarily, and they respect your space.
Having lived in China and visited Sri Lanka and Turkey I can confidently say that the people in Vietnam outstrip them by a long way.
Prices are not usually written on items (as is the case in over half the world I believe), but most people will not rip you off. Just have a basic idea of what things cost, and walk away if quoted too much.
Being quoted too much is relatively rare, and when it happens it's only by about a 50% margin - nothing compared to China where I was once quoted 400 USD for an item I ended up buying for 10 RMB (1.5 USD - still too high).
3 - Everything is Cheap
This room, with a Jacuzzi bath and breakfast included, is 25 dollars a night for 2 people. It's in the middle of the thriving Old District in the centre of Hanoi.
Your average evening meal will set you back 2-3 dollars.
A tasty subway-style sandwich is 1 dollar.
And a beer is 0.2-0.75 dollars depending on the brand.
The flip side of that is...
4 - Millionaires have to work their way around the Zeroes
To be a millionaire in Vietnam you need to have a total of 50 dollars to your name.
Congratulations - you're living the dream.
You have a million Dongs in your pocket.
Working out what to do with all your Dongs is harder.
Anyway, avoiding the toilet humour...
1 USD = 100 JPY = about 21,000 VNDong (let's round it down to 20,000)
Step 1 - Cover up 4 zeroes with your thumb.
Step 2 - Divide by 2.
That's your value in Dollars. Add a couple of Zeroes for yen.
eg. 10,000 Dong + step 1 = 1 Dong + step 2 = 0.5 dollars
Not rocket science.
5 - Chickens!!
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| You're next |
And there are chickens all over the place in Hanoi.
They don't outnumber the people, but they're working on it.
I saw whole families of chickens prowling the streets, surreptitiously avoiding the lens of my camera.
They have no owners.
And no boundaries.
Who rules who, I cannot say. But I hope I'm the predator and not the prey.
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