Crossing the Street in Saigon

Here are a couple of photos of the street traffic in Vietnam. (Neither really captures the density and craziness.) Most of the traffic is motor scooters, but there are also a mix or cars, trucks, bicycles, and others. They do not stop for pedestrians. We were told to cross in the middle of local people when possible, and when that was not possible, to walk at a constant speed: do not run and do not stop. In that way the motor scooters will judge whether to go in front of you or behind you.

We were also told that there are 4 reasons we will not be hit:

1) We look different, so they see us well.
2) Because they watch US television, they see that our traffic is not chaotic, as theirs is. Therefore they expect us to freak out, so they allow for that.
3) They are good drivers. This is strange, but true, in the sense that they are used to clearing another vehicle by only inches.
4) It costs too much if they hit us. We are not covered by the state’s medical care system, and we like to sue. Net, don’t hit an American.