Work With Vietnamese
  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author

vietnam cultural literacy

Song of a thousand honks

One of the challenges that many expats face when living in Vietnam is the traffic. Together with food poisoning and pickpocket, traffic accident is one of the common risks that foreigners should worry about when in Vietnam. With the domination of motorbikes and common violations of the rules, traffic in Vietnam can be unfamiliar and scary to many foreigners. And it should be, because it is not rare to see people not stopping at red light, moving in the opposite direction on a one-way street or even driving their cars backward on the highway. So unfortunately, traffic in Vietnam is really chaotic and unsafe comparing to developed countries.
Traffic jam in Vietnam
Like many foreigners, you may find it extremely difficult to cross the road in Vietnam, especially in big cities where there seem to be no traffic rules at all and the flow of vehicles is non-stop. In that case, the following tips can be helpful for you:
  • Follow the local Vietnamese, it is safer if you cross the road in group.
  • Ask for help from the locals, many Vietnamese are willing to help foreigners to cross the road.
  • The rule of thumb here is to be predictable, completely predictable to the vehicles around you. That means walking at even pace, avoiding any sudden movements (or stop).
  • Never ever step back. Stepping back suddenly will likely cause an accident since the vehicles usually try to avoid you by going behind you. If you can’t move forward, slowly stop. The traffic will flow around you.
  • Put your arm in the air, waving it a little bit if possible. It makes you more visible to the traffic.
  • Make eyes contact if possible. Eyes contact may make you more predictable to the drivers.
  • Be careful with the buses and trucks. Their drivers are usually careless and any accidents, even the minor one, can be fatal.
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Crossing the road can be a real challenge in Vietnam
One important thing to note here is the meaning of honking. In such countries as the US, honking has a more aggressive meaning. If you honk at someone, it means you are angry at them and that can (although rarely) lead to verbal or even physical fight. However, honking in Vietnam can have many meanings, usually less aggressive. "Hey, I'm here", honk. "Please let me pass", honk. "You are in my lane", honk. "Look out!", honk. "The light turns green now, let's go", honk. "I'm bored", honk. You can even find a fun guide to honking in Vietnam here. So yeah, honking here is normal and not as aggressive as in other countries. The downside? Extreme noise pollution coming from the honking of hundreds of vehicles at the same time.
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Sometimes Vietnamese people honk just because they are bored
If you hold a driving license (car or motorbike) in your country, in most cases you can convert it into a valid Vietnamese one. It is better to do that via some sorts of agency (also known as "cò" in Vietnamese) since it will save you a lot of time and effort: paperwork in Vietnam is never ever easy. Motorbike renting (mainly scooters) are widely available with the average rate of 10 USD per day. In case you stay in the country for a long period and want to buy one, it is good to know that a scooter here will cost you around 2000 USD on average. Cars, on the other hand, are much more expensive due to the very high tax rate applied (around 100%). For example, a Mazda 3 costs around 18,000 USD in America but in Vietnam, you will need to pay approximately 36,000 USD to have it rolling on the road.
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A female traffic police in her  uniform
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Key takeaways

  • Traffic in Vietnam can be scary to many foreigners due to the dominance of motorbikes and violations of traffic rules
  • Crossing the street in Vietnam can be a challenging task
  • Honking in Vietnam is very popular. Sometimes people honk just because they are bored
  • A car in Vietnam costs at least twice than in the US

More to read...

  1. Who is Ms. Nguyen?
  2. How old are you?
  3. When it's time for siesta...
  4. To hear what isn't said
  5. Tet = Christmas + New Year
  6. Smart casual? What does it mean?
  7. Rubber time
  8. We request the honor of your presence...
  9. Do you want to relax, Sir?
  10. Where Midas is welcome
  11. From outings to the company trip
  12. The rising rainbow flag
  13. Song of a thousand honks
  14. To bribe or not to bribe...
  15. It is more than just money...
  16. The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
  17. Good luck, bad luck
  18. The ugly Vietnamese
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  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author