Traffic jelly

This evening, I experienced the worst traffic I have yet to experience here in Vietnam. It was ridiculous. Stop, go, stop, go, inhaling more exhaust than I'd inhale in a month back home. Going around the traffic circles was insane because every entrance was jammed full of people. As soon as a gap opened up in front of you, you HAD to lurch into it. Or you'd be left behind.

So after numerous lurches, a couple love taps on other people's fenders and rubbing my wheel all over someone else's, I finally made it to school in the spitting rain and lung-blackening fumes. It was fun though. Fun to run red lights with everyone else, fun to mutter what the fuck with everyone else and fun to just be a part of the madness.

People are insane here. It's just a fact of life. And you notice the insanity even more when everyone is jammed together like that. Like the guy who drove his 4-wheeled bicycle through a red light and made everyone else stop for him. When he made it through he turned around and laughed at his buddy who had intelligently stayed behind.

Or to see motorbikes coming at you in the wrong lane of traffic between you and a bus going in the right way. Just veer to the side. It's normal. But it was nice to see this lady stick out her tongue in slight recognition of the absurdity of it all as she tried to make her way to the appropriate lane. It made me realize that I'm not the only one out there who is shaking his head and laughing all the way to work.