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Cheryl,

Thanks for sharing some great information on how to acclimate to the very different culture that is Vietnam. I am an American,, however I lived in Vietnam for about 3 years.

The climate and culture were quite the shock to my wife and I in the beginning. What helped us dramatically is our involvement with a church group that had both expats and  Vietnamese nationals attending. We were then able to learn quickly where to live, what kind of transportation we would choose (we bought a motorcycle as I had owned one in the States). However, nothing could have prepared me for the kind of traffic we experienced in Ho Chi Ming City. The other part of surviving the traffic is learning the traffic rules or lack thereof. Toughest one for me to wrap my head around is the lack of yielding to a right of way. So in HCMC you may be cruising down a busy street going with the flow of traffic on a main thoroughfare, when a taxi, and or bus or truck approach from a side street. It is normal for them to NOT yield to the traffic on the thoroughfare. They will pull out right in front of you without yielding and many times without even looking at what might be coming at them on the main road. In this case, you are expected to yield to them by moving over to your left forcing other traffic next to you to make room as well. It is sort of a survival of the fittest, or largest. Bikes are expected to yield to taxis, taxis are expected to yield to buses, and buses typically yield to the large trucks! It is best to take a taxi and ride with friends until you learn to navigate the rules, or lack thereof! Be safe out there is the main thing!

Thanks for letting me share!

Ron LaFave

I have visited Vietnam a few times, but have never lived there. I highly recommend watching the 90 day fiancee episodes with Violet and Riley to get an insight into Vietnamese culture.

@ronlafave

glad to hear similar observation as mine. traffic kaw is fairly universal. automobile operators and most scooter rider all require license in vn. so it's baffling why most basic traffic laws are ignored such as ROW yielding.