It turns out that it’s easier to ride a bicycle in Hanoi than to walk.

We left Hanoi on Wednesday from the Old Quarter. I was really nervous about the whole thing based on the two days we spent exploring on foot where we found crosswalks were nice street art and the lighted signals were mearly optional.

Logically, it shouldn’t have been such a big deal to me since we’ve had plenty of experience on previous trips. Back in 2008, we tackled Melbourne, Bangkok and a handful of cities across Europe with many problems. Barcelona was the only place that got close to really breaking us down.

So how did it go in Hanoi? It wasn’t bad at all. We definitely had to keep our wits about us, using our peripheral vision to see cars, scooters and bicycles coming at us from all directions. After awhile, I let myself be present and embrace the bizarre flow of orchestrated chaos. I think a death grip on the handle bars and twitchy bike handling might have lead to disaster. Overall, the ride was really awesome to experience, complete with an adrenaline rush that lasted pretty far into the countryside.