Back in the saddle…

Your mild-mannered Delhi correspondent is back in the land of paneer and samosas after a too-brief vacation in Vietnam, only to find that BRIC has added an S before I could suggest a V.  Oh well.  

Traveling has me thinking about cultural relativism, so here's a few quick contrasts:

India traffic – Drivers speed up to close gaps so that pedestrians can't jump out into the road (0.8 car lengths is the rule of thumb; go to 1.2 lengths and somebody will try to nose in).

Vietnam traffic – Motorcyclists adjust their speed so that pedestrians can walk through the mass of traffic safely, as though there's a force field around them.

India road crossing – It's the pedestrian's responsibility to gauge the speed of traffic, pick a spot, and dash across the road without getting killed.

Vietnam road crossing – The best way for a pedestrian to cross the road is not to look at the oncoming traffic (use peripheral vision if you're scared). That way, traffic adjusts to your walking pace; otherwise, they get flummoxed trying to read your mind.