62 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Commuters on scooters navigate the crowded streets of Ho Chi Minh City, 2023. world and remain everyone’s trusted partner. Recently, in less than a year, Vietnam hosted the presidents of the U.S., China, and Russia. The secret of how Vietnam can pull off that extraordinary balancing act may be found in the functional chaos of its streets. Wise riders head for openings, not closings. There is a clearly understood hierarchy on the streets of Saigon. In general, size gives precedence. Buses, for example, proceed deliberately into chaos, fully understanding that everyone will scatter by the time they arrive. Scooters, at the lower end of the size/priority continuum, must be considerably more agile. Wise two-wheel pilots move toward openings, not closings. If the car just ahead unexpectedly signals that it’s making a U-turn, wise riders accept this fact and time their arrival after the offending four-wheeler has cleared, even if the rules of the road are in their favor. Scooters in Saigon are pint-size, scrappy survivors. Adjusting to circumstances to find a path forward is much more important than analyzing what has gone before; what exists is much more important than what should be. JANNEN MAY
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