Wesa Reminds Us That Seattle Traffic Might Not Be So Bad
Our own Wesa sends this video of traffic at a typical intersection in Ha Noi, Vietnam:
Sorry I can't embed the video on the page, apparently Metblogs won't allow video from Flickr.
She told me she will never complain about Seattle traffic again. I don’t think I’ll hold her to that though!
Also, from her Flickr photostream I found this gem:
Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom
You can follow Wesa and her sister on their trip through Asia on their travelblog at: http://emwesaasia.blogspot.com/.
Even though the traffic there is pretty crazy, notice that they are far more alert of the traffic around them than we are, in general. Nobody flinches or gets upset when somebody turns left and crosses through traffic, it is expected, and everybody knows it will happen, so they just watch for it and then adjust when necessary.
One of the reasons we have so much traffic is that few of us are really aware of what is going on around us when we drive. We expect everybody to go straight and not disturb us.
I have never been to Vietnam, but in Mexico city there is god-awful traffic, of which this video reminds me, but people are aware of what is going on, and there are far fewer accidents than you would expect if the same traffic were here in the US.
Great observation iamkevin, and you are completely right. I’ve been learning how to cross the streets here, walking in a consistent manner (speed, direction), letting bikes and cars choose which way to skirt around me. Very controlled here, though the first thing I saw after we flew here from Laos was a motorbike accident involving 2 men and a small child. Minimal injuries, from what I could see. It’s amazing to me to see how coordinated everyone is here.