It took me about 3 weeks to get even kind-of sort-of used to the traffic here, but let's just say it will be a while before I can walk down the road with my earbuds in. You need all your senses (especially your hearing!) to stay alive on the street here.
See, the problem is the scooters. It's indescribable just how many there are. There's just millions. There are sidewalks for the pedestrian, but they are really just glorified parking spots for the scooters or a spot for stores to stock their merchandise... so you often have to walk on the road. And when you walk on the road the scooters are cutting you off there too! They drive so close! And if they aren't parking on the sidewalk, the scooters are also happy to drive right on the sidewalk if they don't feel like waiting in traffic. Mel and I agree that the best way to describe the scooters is to say that they're like flowing water- always finding an opening to get through. I've seen two buses driving together, with maybe a 12 inch gap between them and a scooter will zoom through that small space. I will never -ever- get on one of those death traps!
So I decided to post a video I took of the traffic at just one random intersection on our walk to a restaurant tonight. Watch the scooters cutting off those cars right from the start, then a taxi gets lost in the mix, a bus plows through (they're bad too- I've been cut off by SO MANY buses while on crosswalks!), and then I enjoy the brave little cyclist that could at the end there.
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