Yesterday, I told you that the streets of old town Hanoi are chaotic.
Everywhere there are cars, people, scooters, and no zebra crossings or stop lights.
But is a river chaotic?
Let me explain…
WHEN IN HANOI
A few weeks ago, I took a motorcycle riding course in Thailand.
I thought I was going to learn rules.
But the instructor told me, “Don’t worry about rules because the Thais don’t know the rules either.”
He then explained that the roads are like rivers.
Every car flows down the road like a log flows down a river.
I can see this when crossing the street.
At first, you think you’re going to get run over.
But when you step out into traffic, the cars and scooters flow around you.
This is so different from how we drive in the U.S.
In the U.S., we have our space and our rules and if you get in my space or break the rules the other person is going to get angry.
Have you heard the expression “road rage”?
I can’t say yet which is better.
But I can leave you with another idiom:
When in Rome, do as the Romans.
Or simply, When in Rome….
(Do you know where this idiom comes from?)
Same like most drivers in Africa… 😀
As AI says: The proverb “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is attributed to Saint Ambrose and comes from his answer to Saint Augustine’s question about fasting customs in Rome and Milan. It means that in a new place, one should adapt to the customs prevailing there.
I must add to my earlier comment that I read Mr Vig’s adventures through different countries like “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”.
When in Rome,do as Romans do:it sounds reasonable, otherwise it can cause even more chaos in traffic..