Xe om

Xe om are motorbike taxis that are all over Hanoi. On every street corner, alleyway and even inside people's homes, there are guys that have motorbikes and you sit on the back of them and they take you to your destination (or somewhere nearby) for a small fee. These guys I have found are amazing on the streets of Hanoi. They cut in front of way more cars and across way more lanes of oncoming traffic than Scott normally does, and so far, I am unharmed. Today on my way to yoga class though was definitely a first. Since Tet (solar new year) is coming up, traffic has grown to be ridiculously heavy. So when we got to a street of stopped traffic he drove in the other lane. No big deal. But then he cuts to the sidewalk and says "hello," which is code for me to hop off the motorbike so that he can drive it up onto the sidewalk. I hop back on again, we drive for a little while on the sidewalk until the traffic clears up and then (no warning this time) he drives right back off the curb onto the street. Needlesstosay being a pedestrian in this city is pretty unfortunate.