Motorbikes in Hanoi

The second you set foot out of the airport in Hanoi, you are going to see some weird things on motorbikes. I have seen some really REALLY crazy things on motorbikes to share with you. To give you an idea of how many bikes there are let me tell you some numbers:

There are 96 million people in Vietnam and 45 million motorbikes. In Hanoi there are 8 million people 5 million motorbikes. This means that a lot of people drive motorbikes, so this means a lot of people get creative...

We have seen motorbikes used as transport for everything from people to food to animals to building supplies. Some of the most creative and impressive loads were a mattress; baskets strung through each other in a huge pile, so big you couldn't even see the driver; two chihuahuas balancing on the bike; families of 5-6 people on one bike; propane tanks; crates of eggs; beer delivery; long ladders and 2X4 boards; cement bricks; an entire bed frame; bouquet of balloons, and more. Here are some of the pictures we were able to get:

 

Imagine if these deliveries fell:

Boxes and bags of everything you can imagine were common:

Firewood was common in Sapa:

This was a giant stump pulled by a motorbike. 
I'm guessing this will become a table.

 There were also bicycles used as delivery trucks.  They carried lots of items, from fruit to brooms.

They even put fruit on there bikes

Because there are so many motorbikes and some cars thrown into the mix, the streets are always busy. Crossing the street is like trying to get across a tightly woven piece of material. You have to just walk out into the street and walk between exhausts and bumpers while drivers weave around you and honk. There are also people on bikes going upstream in the wrong directions. Even the sidewalks are not without the occasional bike zooming by you. Every now and then you will see a giant tour bus with people standing just as close as if they were eating at their dinner table.

Video of traffic streaming by: 

Grab Bike is like Uber but you ride on the back of a motorbike.

Here is where you can get your car seats.

Parking for all these motorbikes is like a mad explosion has happened. There are motorbikes on the sidewalk, so half the time you cannot walk on the sidewalk and have to brave the street.

This is a side street but still has lots and lots of motorbikes

Motorbikes are even spots for napping.

The electrical wires are almost as crazy as the streets.

When I think of Hanoi I will always remember the crazy street crossings, the good food, the markets and especially the motorbikes.