anatomy of an intersection
i got a bike yesterday. it's a bright blue cruiser, beautiful machine. those guys drive a hard bargain, but so do i. well not really, but i got him to throw in a basket and a bell, all for 350,000 dong (about 22 dollars). buddies scott and nicole also got bikes...looks like there's now a Saigon chapter of AVA. bike gang, worldwide. my only reservation about having a bike is that it could potentially cut into my motorbike taxiing, which is the most fun thing ever. ever.
so in my limited experience of bike riding in saigon, and in my growing expertise in street-crossing, i've learned a few things about the streets,,,
-the traffic lights are just for show. use your bike bell liberally
-the best way to cross the street is to close your eyes and don't stop. people almost always swerve to avoid you (i learned this from my vietnamese professor)
-don't drive too close to a horse-drawn wagon thing. the horse may freak out and bash into the side of your bus and...learned this the hard way
-be wary of motorbikes driving on the sidewalk or pulling up behind you on the street. sometimes they like to grab your bag. so far this has happened twice in my group. i also hear they have no problem dragging you for blocks
-left turns are rough. but i would recommend weaving through oncoming traffic onto the far left side of the street before the intersection, making the turn, then, furiously ringing your bell, drifting back over to the right side of the street. learned that by example
-watch out for the animals
-usually your cyclo or motorbike driver will offer you drugs or prostitutes. probably not a good idea to accept
im sure more lessons are on the way..
i've started thinking about traveling after my program ends..so far on the itenerary: back to cambodia, loas, thailand, burma..myanmar, china. then back to saigon to open a 90's rock club and live out the rest of my days in 'nam. you can come visit.
but for now you can write to me!! or send me things:
Matt Solomon
c/o Brian Zottoli
SIT Academic Director
161/3 Nguyen Van Thu
District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
so in my limited experience of bike riding in saigon, and in my growing expertise in street-crossing, i've learned a few things about the streets,,,
-the traffic lights are just for show. use your bike bell liberally
-the best way to cross the street is to close your eyes and don't stop. people almost always swerve to avoid you (i learned this from my vietnamese professor)
-don't drive too close to a horse-drawn wagon thing. the horse may freak out and bash into the side of your bus and...learned this the hard way
-be wary of motorbikes driving on the sidewalk or pulling up behind you on the street. sometimes they like to grab your bag. so far this has happened twice in my group. i also hear they have no problem dragging you for blocks
-left turns are rough. but i would recommend weaving through oncoming traffic onto the far left side of the street before the intersection, making the turn, then, furiously ringing your bell, drifting back over to the right side of the street. learned that by example
-watch out for the animals
-usually your cyclo or motorbike driver will offer you drugs or prostitutes. probably not a good idea to accept
im sure more lessons are on the way..
i've started thinking about traveling after my program ends..so far on the itenerary: back to cambodia, loas, thailand, burma..myanmar, china. then back to saigon to open a 90's rock club and live out the rest of my days in 'nam. you can come visit.
but for now you can write to me!! or send me things:
Matt Solomon
c/o Brian Zottoli
SIT Academic Director
161/3 Nguyen Van Thu
District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
posted by matt at 1:18 AM
1 Comments:
hi matt! it's tory.
lovely blog, mr. saigon.
love tory
Post a Comment
<< Home