Saigon, Hanoi traffic leaves commuters helpless, one week before Tet
Millions of car and motorbike drivers in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi were stuck in heavy traffic on January 20, when people rushed home to pay tribute to the Gods of kitchen, a ritual held exactly one week before Tet begins.
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Gridlocks were recorded in multiple streets in the downtown areas of both cities during the after-work rush hours.
January 20 was the 23rd day of the last lunar month, when Vietnamese people traditionally make offerings to the three ‘Kitchen Gods,’ or Ong Tao, the deities believed to monitor household activities of a family.
In Ho Chi Minh City, streets in the city center including Ton Duc Thang, Nguyen Huu Canh, Dong Khoi, and others surrounding Me Linh Roundabout were completely over-packed with vehicles of all kind.
Most of the big vehicles such as cars, taxis, and trucks were seen motionless at many intersections while motorbike drivers had to take to the pavement to escape the jams.
On streets such as Ton Duc Thang in District 1, many drivers stepped out of their vehicles for fresh air and a small chat, having ‘surrendered’ to the congestion.
Traffic at the interaction of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Dinh Tien Hoang suffered the worst jam, with vehicles effectively ‘paralyzed’ all due to faulty traffic lights and the significant amount of vehicles in this area.
In Hanoi, vehicles were seen inching along many downtown thoroughfares such as Giang Vo, Huynh Thuc Khang, Thai Ha, and Tay Son in the late afternoon.
On Ngoc Khanh Street in Ba Dinh District, motorcyclists and drivers were not able to move, even for a small distance.
Gridlock also occurred on Nguyen Luong Bang – Tay Son Street, starting from 4:00 pm with increasing traffic coming to this area.
