In October I made my first visit to Vietnam. During the first few days in Hanoi, I remember having near anxiety attacks every time I had to cross a street; cars, bicycles, rickshaws and cyclos whizzed by me — no matter if the light was red or green. Two good tips from friends that had previously traveled in Vietnam turned into my street crossing mantra: “just walk across the street, the cars will go around you” and “look 20 different ways before walking, you never know where a bicycle or scooter will be coming from.”
Over at Brave New Traveler, the humorously coined article How Did the Backpacker Cross the Road? deals with the same problem. The first three solutions:
1. Follow the leader — let the locals do the heavy lifting.
2. The Fake Out — hail a cab but don’t get in, cross in front of it as it slows down and blocks traffic.
3. Look official — “Hold out an ID… look very important… if the car does not stop, give the hood or the trunk a nice rap with your knuckles.”
I would love to see that last one tried out. Check out the whole article here.
Any other recommendations for crossing busy streets while traveling?