Leaving Hanoi, Vietnam Miscellaneous
Trip Start
Jun 28, 2008
1
16
23
Trip End
Aug 25, 2008
Hanoi, Vietnam
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Here are some random observations about Vietnam that didn't make it into any of our other postings...
Vietnam Miscellaneous
Rules of the Road
OK, there aren't really RULES per se, more like suggestions, with great allowance made for the personal preference of each driver
Ao Dai I
.1. Might Makes Right. If a large truck is rumbling thru an intersection, he can do pretty much anything he wants, all cars, scooters, pedestrians get out of his way. Similarly, scooters give way to cars, and pedestrians give way to scooters.
2. Anything you can get away with is OK. Pass on the left, pass on the right, just don't hit anybody.
3. It's OK to allow 2 feet or less of clearance between vehicles at 30 mph.
4. Lane markers are decorative only.
5. Use your horn regularly. The horn usually means "Look out, I'm coming through." Sometimes it means "You stupid &#^$*#", but that's somewhat rare. People don't really get mad at each other much on the roads.
6. Coming around a blind corner, you can just go for it, just hug the side of the road, everyone will go around you.
7. It's OK to drive on the wrong side of the road while you're getting going, again hug the side of the road and look for your chance to get over to the right side.
8
Ao Dai II
. Don't do anything stupid.9. Go slow, and pay attention!
The last two are probably the biggest difference between US and Vietnam driving. In the US, I guess people assume that everyone is going to obey the rules and that they will be safe. Here in Vietnam, people know that it's a free-for-all and that they MUST pay attention. People trust each other to not do anything stupid. We never saw any close calls in our two weeks, just because everyone's paying attention and being careful.
Scooters
Or mopeds, motos, or whatever you want to call them. They go everywhere. People drive them right up into their living rooms and park next to the TV for the night. Also, it was such a trip to be walking thru a VERY crowded alleyway market where there's barely enough space to walk, but people are going thru on scooters! Is that really OK? No one seems to object. It would be against the rules in the US for sure. But that's one difference in Vietnam, there just seem to be fewer rules, it's much more wide open. Maybe there should be a law against scooters in the market, maybe someone will get hurt! But at the same time it's kind of refreshing to not be so hemmed in by laws and rules.
Napkins and "Refreshing Towels"
There are no napkins in everyday restaurants here, only fancier places
KFC Ga Ran Kentucky
. Do you just wipe your hands on your sleeve? But there is frequently a "refreshing towel", which is a small cloth towel soaked in cool (we hope clean) water that you use to wipe your hands before eating. Dave also used this as a napkin while eating, being an ignorant savage.No Wash Cloths
Keli is accustomed to using wash cloths to remove makeup at the end of the day, we found these for pennies in all 3rd world countries where we have traveled, but here in Vietnam we have found them nowhere and people don't even know what we're asking for!
Squid Snacks
Ingredients on package of squid snacks found at train station (sort of like Squid chips or Squid crisps): Squid, sugar, salt, chiles, garlic. Squid of all types is popular here, along with all seafood products.
Western snack foods
Only western snacks found are M&Ms, Oreos, Ritz Crackers, Snickers, Mars, Pringles. Nothing else, anywhere in Vietnam. KFC is the only western fast food chain in Vietnam, here it's called "Ga Ran Kentucky," which I suppose must mean Fried Chicken Kentucky.
Vegetarian food
Surprisingly easy to find veggie food in Vietnam, better than HK or Tokyo.
Voice-over translation on TV movies
Several times we saw TV movies playing on our hotel room TVs, and noticed that instead of using Vietnamese subtitles or dubbing the dialogue in Vietnamese, they would just have a voice-over speaking the Vietnamese translation during the film. So in Jerry Maguire you hear Renee Zelwegger say "You had me at 'Hello', you had me at 'Hello'" and the voice-over says those words in Vietnamese. This continues for every line in the entire film. What a horrible way to watch a movie! Maybe it's cheaper than subtitles?
Sweat
Sorry for the grossness, but seriously sweat just rolls down every part of your body when you're outside in the heat of the day. It's incredible! Your clothes just end up SOAKED in sweat at the end of each day, and then when you finally do laundry it's so unbelievably fantastic. We drink 1-2 liters of water per day and (again sorry for grossness) we don't hardly pee at all! Just sweat it all out...
The Ao Dai
Wow, what a wonderful, beautiful, elegant dress. It's the traditional national dress of Vietnam for women. It consists of close-fitting pants and a floor-length dress over the top. The dress part is cut up both sides to the waist. I guess the fabric is silk or some sort of polyester. Colors are usually bright and the fabric generally has a sheen. Usually solid colors, though sometimes with a pattern, and the dress is frequently a different color than the pants. The outfit moves beautifully and looks very comfortable.
Usually traditional dress looks old and out of date, but the Ao Dai looks supremely fashionable, modern and elegant!
Millionaire
Usually at the ATM we would get out either 1,000,000 or 2,000,000 Dong. You're always walking around a millionaire! Since the Dong is currently about 16,000 to the US Dollar, 1 million dong is about 60 bucks. It was pretty hard at first to pay for things, it's just shocking when dinner costs over 50,000!
