me myself and BIcycle

Having acquired a bicycle I am much more mobile and not reliant on 'Xe om' motorbike taxi's which will take you anywhere around the city. A good way to travel as long as you agree a reasonable price before embarking on your journey. However given the chaotic road conditions here i.e. rules need not apply vehicles navigate with only a mere whisker of clearance leading to a great fear for one's kneecaps in addition to holding on for dear life as they perform a meandering dance in and around each other!On my first journey this led to much squeezing in of my knees and inevitably cosy-ing up to the driver. Needless to say i am much happier on my little bicycle keeping to the side of the road and trying to avoid getting in the way. The fact that there are no official road rules in place means that any time you want to cross a road, turn against the traffic flow you basically have to go out on a whim into the streams of fast approaching drivers. Hmm easier said than done, but i'm slowly getting used to it and it is fair to say that the Hanoian's are very skilled at winding their way around slower moving traffic. It makes for a very entertaining commute and instills great satisfaction when you do manage to carry out a skillful maneuver without pissing off too many people!