Marie and I have been to a LOT of different places, and seen a lot of craziness. But nothing can prepare you for the ground transportation in Vietnam.
Crossing the street: The onslaught on scooters/motorbikes never stops. We waited for a break in the traffic for about 5 minutes before realizing it doesn't stop!!! You actually need to cross the street while hundreds of scooters/motorbikes, cars and trucks are coming right at you. The key is to walk slowly, and look the driver in the eye, so they can swerve around you. Another way is to wait for a local to cross, and follow them/use them as a blocker. Absurd.
Scooter/motorbike taxi: If Toyota is the world's largest car manufacturer, then Honda must have the most vehicles in the driveway. The Honda NF (Wave) scooter is EVERYWHERE. It also serves as a primary taxi in Hanoi (and yes, there is a driver and 2 passengers on it). While scary at first, it wasn't that bad, as they don't go more than 15-20 mph.
Mountain roads: Those of you that have been to Italy know that the drivers are crazy and the mountain "highways" are basically paved versions of goat paths. Not much different here, except the roads aren't necesarilly paved, falling rocks are common, rarely will you find guardrails, there are no rules, and children and farm animals in the middle of the road are common. We had at least 3 "We're gonna die" moments on a 2 day trip. The key to survival is having a rock solid vehicle (nothing less than Toyota Land Cruiser, Jeep Wrangler or Rang Rover will do), and a guide that has driven on the roads for 10 years.
Be cognizant, even if you're not on the road: Traffic does not slow down for anyone. In a 150km strech (about 100 miles), we saw 2 people thrown off motorbikes, an overturned tractor trailer, 2 "normal" auto accidents and a dead cow. At one point, Marie was standing on the side of the road taking pictures. Apparently this Hyundai dump truck going 35-40mph didn't care -- I had to literally push her out of the way (actually throw her into the rice fields) so she wasn't smacked by truck. Very scary.
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Nick if anything bad happens on the trip in one of these strange places - remember, you can always shriek like a girl, screaming
"I am an American!", and run waving your arms in the air. Works every time.
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