Vietnam’s Deadly Challenge: Crossing the Street!

In my opinion, Vietnam has the most “amazing” traffic in the world.  If you have not had a chance to visit the country before, I could feel very safe to bet $100 that you cannot cross any major street in Saigon or Hanoi by yourself in a 15-minute period.  Traffic signs are unclear; not everyone obeys the laws; and there aren’t any laws “set in stone” to follow.  Sometimes you would see a sign that says, “Go Straight on Red Light” !?…

There is a reason behind using this sign to help keeping the traffic flow, but I’ll let you find out when you visit the country if you are still confused or curious.  You might get a chance to see this unique vehicle that only exists in this lovely country:

Because of the crazy traffic conditions and overpopulation in the major cities, the government just approved a large project to build an underground and above-ground bullet train system in Hanoi.  The train will connect many points of interest from the central of the city and include Noi Bai airport. This will hopefully lead to improvements in the overall traffic conditions for this busy city.

With primary help from a Japanese corporation, Itochu Inc, this train can run with an average velocity of 40 mph, which is considered to be very fast compared to the average speed of all vehicles operating in the metro areas of Vietnam.  The project is planned to be complete by 2014.

Along with the train project, the government also approved building 18 cross bridges for pedestrians in Hanoi city.  Four bridges have been completed and in use; the remaining bridges will be completed in June 2010.  Hopefully, with this new cross-bridge system installed, you will be able to cross the streets in less than 15 minutes, and I will lose my 100 bucks.