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PHOTOS
AARON JOEL SANTOS/NOI PICTURES
3
Ride easy
The Vietnamese habit of
cruising around the city
streets on motorcycles and
scooters to no apparent end is, to many
visitors and foreign residents, puzzling.
But to young locals,
di vong vong
(literally translated as “going around in
circles”) is a nightly rite of passage and
courtship. The chaotic traffic in both Ho
Chi Minh City and Hanoi may hold back
nervous folks, but if you’re confident
enough to drive a motorcycle, there are
many reasons to take to the roads. In
these cities, life is led on the streets and
you’ll see a lot even on a short ride —
from gray-haired vendors in pajamas
grilling chicken to decked out glamorous
couples making their way to the newest
clubbing hotspot. Besides, the cooling
breeze provides an often-needed break
from the heat. But probably the best
reason to ride a motorcycle in Vietnam
is that it’s considered a travel badge
of honor that ranks right up there with
conquering Mt. Apo, the Philippines’
highest peak, or bungee jumping from
the Macau Tower, the world’s highest
commercial bungee jump.
2
Slowdown to a
snail’s pace
You know you’ve managed
to get on the locals’ good
side when they invite you to do a bit
of
oc
(snail) hunting. But this doesn’t
mean you’ll be grasping for oc in a
marshland anytime soon; it’s more
likely that you’ll be heading to one
of Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi’s more
obscure districts for the street feast of
a lifetime. Locals use the term “snail
hunting” due to the abundance of
fresh mollusks piled high outside the
quans
(basic restaurants) where they
are cooked in a variety of ways. You
can also order clams, scallops, giant
shrimp and mussels. Try Oc Dao in Ho
Chi Minh City (
212B/C79 Nguyen Trai,
District 1; tel: +84 (90) 943 7033
) and
Oc Vi in Hanoi (
19 Gia Ngu St., Hoan
Kiem, Hanoi; tel: +84 (98) 309 6660
).
E S S E N T I A L I N D O C H I N A