Editor’s Note: Stivi Cooke is an Australian based in Hoi An City in central Vietnam. Enjoy this account of his traffic experiences in the central part of the country.

>> An audio version of the story is available here

Summer’s gone and there’s nothing better than getting out on the highways to explore Vietnam’s impressive landscapes. True, Vietnam’s traffic conditions are somewhat legendary to expats and the rather shocked tourists, yet it’s fun, just plain fun. 

It’s tough enough riding during the day. In the last few months I’ve ridden in knee-high water, gale-force winds, pounding rain or that more annoying version, and light drizzle that seems to seep in under the raincoat in ways quite mysterious.

Considering all the risks on the roads, it’s still breathtakingly adventurous to pit wits with the manic Vietnamese crowds riding around as if the road were really their living room – which it is. However, few of us expats ride more than a short distance at night around town. Night-time brings dangers, yet can reveal more of how the Vietnamese live than the daytime.

I commute regularly between Hoi An, where I live, and Da Nang, where a lot of my work is generated, along the coastal highway, a double lane in each direction with a concrete divider running through most of the Quang Nam section. I head up to Da Nang around mid-afternoon and return around 9:00 or 10:00 pm usually. 

The single lane road out of Hoi An, Hai Bai Trung Street, that leads to the main highway is nothing short of a formula one race track for large vehicles and it gets worse as they hit the gas pedal turning northwards to Da Nang. It’s far worse squinting in their high beams to find the edge of the road at night.

Mostly it’s a matter of staying out of people’s way on the way northwards. Mums crossing the streets to pick kids from school on their motorbikes, dads carting stuff with a wagon behind their bikes and the ever constant lazy dog snoozing in the right hand lane. Mid-afternoon is busy with two small markets along the way packed with mums and kids shopping for second-hand clothes, fresh fish or the evening’s fruit and veggies.

I sometimes like to stop and watch the fishermen stringing out nets to repair, four or five guys, stitching the nets slowly back to together. The nets glisten in the afternoon light like a fairy tale princess’s dress. 

The only dangers are the approach to Da Nang with the resorts on the right disgorging their daytime shift of builders, workers and staff. No-one looks before they roar out on the road but even worse, taxis swing across with little to no warning. It’s hard on my nerves.

Speeds in the day and night are unbelievable. I ride at about 40 km per hour yet I’ve seen cars disappear in a blur of noise in seconds. Ah well... Brakes are only for decoration anyway...

Night-time is something else.

As I head back, Da Nang is truly awesome to see at night from the bridges. It glows with the energy of a young city in dozens of neon and floodlight colors. Watching the roundabout traffic swirl in a sea of red rear lights is mesmerizing. 

This is where it gets hairy and weird. Da Nang has lots of roundabouts with small bikes and big cars competing for the space and crossing. It’s split-second timing to spot the gaps and slot in because no one is stopping for anything! Quite amazing to see people chatting or checking their phone while they’re doing this! And imagine doing this on a rainy, cold night when plenty of people are not using their front headlights.

The run home to Hoi An is fairly straight but night-time seems to bring out another side of people. Taxis do sudden U-turns, drunks roar out of café driveways, couples wobble across two lanes as they cuddle and chat, traders race home with empty side buckets strapped to their old bikes and huge coaches race each other to Hoi An.

There’s a surprise or two, of course. One time I swerved to avoid two stray pigs. Another night, a drunken construction worker walked straight out into the rain, singing his head off – I didn’t see him until he was about a meter away... There’s the time when there was a great brawl going on at a wedding next to the road. I watched from a safe distance.

Pit stops for the toilet are quite funny at night too. Mum races into the bushes while dad minds the bike then he’s off and running too! I saw a rider taking his large dog for exercise down the highway one time – one hand on the dogs leash as the pup ran alongside and the other on the throttle.

Lots of people go for a walk in the dark for late night chats and exercise too, particularly around Marble Mountain. Young lads chat in groups under the street lights and play cards in the dim light with plenty of shouting going on! Many young couples like to sit next to the road and chat away the night – guess that’s the only time for romance when the family home is crowded!

It’s still hazardous as kids race to the shops jumping the concrete barrier in the dark and it’s hard when people come in the opposite direction on my side with the high beam just too close for comfort but that’s their world so I learned to get used to it. I’ve seen dead people on the road and nasty accidents, however those are few and far between, thankfully. 

Well, that’s what you have to do for the work, yet there’s nothing like the sigh of relief I breathe when I get inside my front gate... and have a cold beer to reward myself for surviving another night on the road.