Vietnam - The Zen of Scooter Riding

There's no possible way to describe the "scooter culture" that exists in this country. It looks like complete chaos, and yet, somehow, it seems to work. Here are just a few snap shots that illustrate some of the things I observed relative to scooters. The first picture shows the masks many of the riders wear. I assume it's not related to swine flu, but is related to trying to lessen the intake of dirt and toxic fumes from the hoards of scooters that surround you. Good luck. However, even better is that the picture shows that the driver is texting! You wouldn't believe how many of these people are whizzing around talking on the cell phones or texting! The second picture shows the line up of scooters waiting for a light to change at an intersection. This is actually very rare. Most intersections don't have traffic lights and so when you come to one you just start honking and move on through. No one weaves and rarely does anyone stop. You basically just brake a little while everyone else continues to move and before you know it, you're on the other side! The last picture shows a couple of young women with a cute little kid on the scooter. Kids no bigger than Jacy are all over the place on the scooters, holding on to the handle bars and cruising with the 'rents! How anyone lives to reach adulthood around here is a mystery to me!