Crossing the street in Hanoi…

Good morning vacationers!

Hanoi, as we all know, is the capital of Vietnam and the country’s second largest city. It’s a “jewel box” full of lovely places where you can breathe the real Vietnam of yesterday, of today and of tomorrow…but it’s also a huge and crowded city where an unbelievable number of motorcycles swarm the streets…it could also happen that they are typing an SMS message or talking on their mobile phones while driving…but…”come ‘on, don’t be so western minded!”

Well today I want to share some words about crossing the street in Hanoi…seems something easy to do…in words…

Clearly, compared with many other cities, the situation is not so bad …I mean if you think about India…I mean, in Hanoi there are not cows in the streets!

In any case, if you are planning to come in Hanoi, I suggest you retain in your mind the following points, simple, but extremely important:

THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING LAWS OF MATHMATICS…

I remember that when I studied mathematics, they explain to me that: “in a right triangle the diagonal is shorter than the sum of the sides”…well in Hanoi’s streets you could find a daily demonstration of this theorum…

When you see a motorcycle stopped at the red traffic light of the crossroad, that wants to turn left…never think that he will go straight on for some meter and then he will turn on the left! (that’s the sum of the sides and mean to give priority to who stay on your right ). In that way he would allow the other motorcycles, in front of him, to cross the street before he did. What really happen is that the motorcycle immediately turn on the left trying to be the first who cross the street (that’s the diagonal).

An other “geometric issue” ,that appears to be a corollary of the above said, is the “one way” sign…be aware!

Doesn’t mean that vehicles will arrive only from one direction!

Especially on your first step down of the curb, from your right there is almost always someone that is turning on the left, maybe going the wrong way, and passing close to the sideway for more safety…his safety…yes, it could seem that he is targeting you…but don’t be scared, nothing personal, that’s just an unwritten traffic rule…I don’t think that there’s a competition and he will score points…well I hope so…

HORN PLEASE!

horn please! I can’t complain, all the people that horn continuously are doing it to warn you, what a better polite way to save your life?!?!…but for a deepest explanation about this point I refer you to a dedicated article that will be publish soon…

WATCH OUT FOR THE TRAFFIC LIGHT:

Usually the presence of the traffic light lets us feel more comfortable in crossing the street. What I mean is that when the traffic light is green you assume you’re in the right position, is like a little voice from inside is telling you:

“it’s your moment, go on your own way, traffic light is green, there is a pedestrian crossing, no one can stop you!”

(if you are a little crazy maybe you would see also a man on the other side of the street that is waiting for give you a prize…”and the winner is…!”)

Well I strongly suggest…in Hanoi don’t listen to this voice! Is not true that cars and motorcycles are stopped on red traffic light! Hanoi’s streets are like a river with its continuous flow. So, change your mind and next time the little voice starts to grow up from inside try to understand better, doesn’t mean that you can cross easily the street…you have to think about that like someone that is telling you:

“Showtime! ok, life is a bet, live your day as it could be the last…”

(if you are a little crazy maybe you would see also a man on the other side of the street that is praying for you…)

The solution:

finding the right rhythm is the secret! When you are crossing the street you have to watch out at 360 degrees (is not a misprint, yesterday a motorcycle surprised me from behind my shoulders that I thought safe on the sidewalk side)…find a polite eyes contact with the drivers and feel each single step before do it…and never, never run!

Your destiny is not totally already written…as in Asia you can change your future making the right offers headed on the right direction, if you find the right pace somehow you will discover that the trajectories of the motorcycles will divert around you as per magic, you have now become part of the flow…

In other words, to be more prosaic and stealing some words from a Sting’s song:

“Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can, a gentlemen will walk but never run…”

That’s all for now folks

Scritto da: John Doe