Everybody gets around on motorbikes in Hanoi, and from what I’ve seen, they carry their entire lives on them. At the beginning of 2013, they counted 36 million registered motorbikes in Vietnam. It makes crossing the road a bit of a challenge, especially in Hanoi’s Old Quarter where there are hardly any traffic lights and motorists don’t seem to obey them anyway.
I worked out that you need to do what the Vietnamese do, which is to cross the road VERY SLOWLY. Always go forward, don’t run and never go backward. The motorcyclists anticipate your movements and weave in and out, between road pedestrians. I tailed several locals before I had the nerve to cross on my own.
Needless to say, air pollution is a big problem and the fumes smell.
I’d like to hear stories of other travellers renting motorbikes in Asia.
~ Spotted Cow
Wandering Cows 
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