How it is to live in a city without public transport

Ok just to correct myself there are some buses that are promenading up and down here but I have seen like one bus stop and no schedule or something. Everybody rides a motorbike here so there si basically not need for much proper public transport (but they plan to build underground some time around 2030!). Their riding skills are really poor, there are basically no rules (or maybe they are but nobody follow them or these are rules and I totally don´t get them) and everybody rides like they please. As we all know how it is with me and orientation and big cities and maps in general... We are not best friends let´s say or better said we are the worst enemies and I don´t understand this concept of orientation in space at all!

This city has around 8.2 milion inhabitants (according to wikipedia). It is imposible to walk longer distances because of the really high humidity, after five minutes you get totally sweaty and disgusting. Not to mention that there are people around you so close near you that you really can smell every physical odor.

So now imagine me and desperation during first days (now there is nothing that would stop me!). I was standing near the street with a huge will to go to supermarket. It was nice day (the rainy season was not hitting so strong during my first week). I came to a crosswalk and stopped. I was standing there a long time when some random person came to me and helped me cross the street (thank you young man, God will repay it on your kids!). I bought everything (in that time I was convinced to cook for myself) and with two huges bags I went home. I came to crosswalk and stopped. After like fives minutes of self-convincing that I am totally a strong woman and one hundred milion motorbikes won´t stop me, I did it. I crossed the street, I was so proud of myself! These motorbikes don´t drive very fast but they drive so close to each other that it just look like big chain of motorbikes (mostly at 8am and 17pm). When I came home I has to take a very long shower. I don´t need to go to sauna, I just go to shop!

Next challenge came when I was supposed to get to one place because of my work. Till then I used to rely on nice friends who came to my place and picked me up. My host arranged xe om (motorbike taxi) that came to my place. It was very pleasant but as this man didn´t talk english and I didn´t want to bother my host or I didn´t know how to tell her because she doesn´t speak english and the first time my friend helped me, yes I really don´t need a group of people to survive here and I am totally self-sufficient woman, I catched a xe om on the street. This crazy smelly man (as showed up latter, my neighbour) went like crazy in that old half-destroyed motorbike, he took me through some small hidden shortcuts with awkward smell. In the middle of this ride I started to pray for my life and lifes of all the potential victims of this ride but we came happily in the end. The next ride was even more funny. As it is usual here nobody tell you "I don´t know" or "no" in general. As we went I have started to feel that the man kind of doesn´t know where we are heading (in this time I went to this place like third time so I remeberer that we really don´t need to go to the highway). Time to get from my apartment to the working place usually takes like 10-15 minutes in regular motorbike with a crazy driver. This took us like 35 minutes I discovered hidden places of my district but happily came to the right place. And one last story from yesterday. On our way in huge trafic our motorbike stopped working (the driver forgot that he needed fuel to make the motorbike work) in the middle of the motorbike flow, so he took the motorbike near the close pavement and I ran away walking home.

I am now looking forward for new experiences connected with the transportation, my friend had to stopped a taxi last time to take her like 100 meters from where she was standing because she just couldn´t cross the street. So this is sooo Vietnam!

Dobre tak aby som zase nepreháňala je tu pár premávajúcich sa autobusom, ale videla som asi jednu zastávku a žiadny jízdní řád. Všetci tu jazdia na motorke takže tu ani nemajú potrebu vybudovať riadnu verejnú dopravu (vraj planujú vybudovať metro v roku 2030). Vodičské schopnosti miestnych nie sú tiež veľmi exceletné, skôr by som povedala, že si jazdia ako sa im chce a nejaké pravidlá tu buď neexistujú alebo toto sú tie pravidlá a ja ich totálne nechápem. Nejazdia rýchlo, ale oni skôr tvoria takú dlhú reťaz motoriek že je ťažké to zastaviť a jeden druhého predbiehajú a sú strašne blízko pri sebe. A všetci vieme ako je to so mnou a orientáciou v priestore, mapami a veľými mestami, veľmi chabé, neexistuje tam žiadny spoločný bod kde by sme si rozumeli. 

Toto mesto má podľa Wikipedia 8.2 miliónov obyvateľov. A je nemožné chodiť pešo kvôli vysokej vlhkosti, za pár minút som mokrá ako myš. A hlavne keď ľudia tu príliš nerešpektujú nejaký telesný odstup (pani profesorska na NOSKE mala pravdu keď nám hovorila, že v Ázii sú tieto dištančné zóny dosť posunuté), tak v pohode môžte každého cítiť už z diaľky.

No tak si predstavte moje zúfalstvo prvé dni (teraz idem jak víchor nič ma nezastaví. tak sa som rozhodla, že idem do obchodu (vtedy som si myslela, že si tu aj variť budem). Postavím sa k tej ulici a stojím tam už pár minút. Zrazu ku mne príde nejaký človek a pomôže mi cez cestu (vďaka Ti mladý muž, nech ti to Pán Božko na deťoch odplatí). Tak som si urobila urobila veľký nákup a šťastná som sa vybrala vybrala spať. Znovu tam stojím asi päť minút a hovorím si že Veronika si silná žena toto dáš jak nič. A nakoniec po asi ďalších troch minútach som to dala! Taká pyšná som na seba bola. Keď som prišla domov dala som si takú dlhú sprchu. Tu nepotrebujem chodiť do sauny, tu je sauna skoro všade kde nie je klimatizácia!  

Ďalšia výzva prišla keď som sa kvôli práci musela presunúť na jedno miesto. Dovtedy som sa spoliehala na mojich kamarátov, ktorí ma odviezli kam som potrebovala. Tak mi moja domáca ráno zavolala xe om (motorkový taxík), ale keďže tento pánko nehovorí po anglicky a ja som ju nechcela zase otravovať lebo ani ona vlastne nehovorí po anglicky a tento xe om mi vybavil môj kamarát (áno som tu extrémne sebestačná!) tak som si na ulici jedného stopla. Taký milý smradľavý pánko (nakoniec som zistila, že je to môj sused) nakopol ten svoj polorozpadnutý stroj a už si to išiel jak strela. Cez nejaké tajné smradľavé uličky, v polovici jazdy som sa začala modliť za svoj život a život všetkých potencionálnych obetí našej jazdy, ale nakoniec sme šťastne dorazili. Ďalšia jazda bola zaujímavá lebo ako som už spomínala ľudia sa tu väčšinou tvária, že vedia kde sa čo nachádza a "nie" alebo "neviem" ako odpoveď neexistuje. Tak sme si teda šli a už s ami to zdalo, že tudy cesta nevede, no a neviedla, tak sme si pekne z asi 10-15 minútov cesty urobili asi 35 minútovú a spoznala som rôzne časti môjho distriktu. A posledný príbeh je zo včera keď nám to skapalo v strede toho prúdu aút (kamko zabudol, že na to aby tá motorka fungovala treba aj benzín), ak nás dotlačil na kraj cesty a ja som si pekne šla domov pešo.  

Teraz sa len teším na ďalšie zážitky. Moja kamarátka si minule musela vziať taxík asi na 100 metrov lebo nevedela prejsť cez cestu. Vitajte vo Vietname!

Yours

Veronika