{"id":5330,"date":"2024-11-25T12:10:33","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T12:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hoarde.net\/craigblog\/?p=5330"},"modified":"2024-11-25T12:37:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T12:37:39","slug":"craigs-first-tour-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoarde.net\/craigblog\/?p=5330","title":{"rendered":"Craig’s First Tour, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pickup from the hostel turned out to be a young suit-wearing woman on a scooter, so an only slightly terrifying ride to the tour office occurred. All but the last 100m was in Old Quarter alleyways, so after walking them for a few days, it wasn’t so bad. It did back up my theory that I’d probably not enjoy a Cyclo ride in Hanoi, so I’m pleased about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I was told not to get on THIS bus, because there’s another one coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the same suit-wearing young woman shows up again, annoyed, because apparently it WAS that bus, so there was a trip through even more terrifying Hanoi traffic to catch up to it. 1\u00bd lane alleyways are one thing; Streets with five lanes in each direction are quite another, even though the speeds involved were running pace at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I now know the answer to the question of why tourists get injured in these situations; Because there’s no choice but to be in that situation, and aside from saying “forget the whole thing” and walking away, there’s nothing you can do about it. I just kept a firm grip on the handles & kept my weight forward, and trusted that Annoyed Suited Scooter Lady would want to live just as much as me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonus comedy: The guy who flagged us down for the bus so that I could get on is the same one who told me not to board it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn’t doing that well when I booked this thing, and I’d forgotten almost everything I was told about the trip, so the guide’s briefing was genuinely useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n