Saturday, December 17, 2011

Running round West Lake

Today I went for a jog around Tây H (West Lake). On a normal jog , one would normally be attempting to combat the fatigue and exhaustion going through you as you run. Along with that, I have to deal with speeding motorbikes, treacherous teenagers, and impatient cars. As I have mentioned before,  a majority of the sidewalks in Vietnam are covered with motorbikes, tiny restaurants and cafes, and giant pots of trees which take up the whole sidewalk, thus, forcing me to run on the street.

No matter how cute, it's still annoying.

 


































 This sign is even saying that you should park your motorbikes on the sidewalk.


















Here you can see the trees whose pots take up the entire sidewalk.















































Teenagers are often having races along the lake. As the lake's road is very curvy, I cannot always see what is coming around the corner, resulting in having to dodge a speeding motorbike. When you are already exhausted, this is surely not going to make your running experience any better. Along with racing, teenagers often do what is called a "wheelie" where they lift up their front wheel while riding.

It looks very similar to this, except minus the helmet and the very high quality bike.







This is particularly dangerous because 1) they might fall on their heads and 2) their view is blocked by the giant motorbike covering their face. Their swerving abilities are hindered as well when they are only balancing on their back wheels.


If you do wish to run outside in Hanoi, your best bet for staying safe in terms of traffic safety and not being run over is before 5am or after midnight, when people are still occupied by sleep instead of zooming around on their motorbikes. However, I have attempted to run in the dark, and a majority of the lake had no lights, and was almost impossible to see. Wearing reflective clothing or holding a flashlight would be a good start… even if you are just walking.




Even though running around West Lake may be an extremely interesting run with so many scenes going on at once, a runner in Hanoi must always be prepared for anything… it may even be a good idea to wear a helmet ;).

Works Cited

Raven R6 - Standup Wheelie II. 2007. Road Carvin, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.roadcarvin.com/photos/raven-r6-standup-wheelie-ii/786>.

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