The riddle first appeared in 1847 in a New York monthly magazine known as  The Knickerbocker.

…There are ‘quips and quillets’ which seem actual conundrums, but yet are none. Of such is this: ‘Why does a chicken cross the street?['] Are you ‘out of town?’ Do you ‘give it up?’ Well, then: ‘Because it wants to get on the other side!’

But if I were a chicken in Viet Nam; I’d run away from the road.  If you have never experienced crossing the road in Viet Nam; then you have missed out on a death defying thrilling experience.  Sai Gon has a population of over 5 million with tens of thousands if not even more scooters, bicycles and vehicles on the roads through most of the daylight hours.

The scooters flow from point A to point B flawlessly (most of the time).  They cross in front, in back and some seem to go right through each other to get to their destination.  When making a left turn or even a U-turn; the driver will cross in front of traffic like it’s cutting a piece of bread – with ease.

Then to add to the craziness of the traffic, add a local crossing the road and you’ll be dumbfounded as to why the person 1)wants to cross the road 2) is in the middle of the road 3) made it across the road alive.  Yes, crossing the roads in Viet Nam can be dangerous, but somehow the drivers just flow around you as you walk through the traffic.  That is IF you pay attention to the drivers and never take a step backwards.

To live deliberately … ~ Henry David Thoreau

So that its subjects will view it with admiration, as a chicken which has the daring and courage to boldly cross the road, but also with fear… ~Machiavelli

The first photo was taken  in July 2010 on one of our many road trip in Viet Nam.  It was taken in or near Sai Gon.

The second photo was taken by my wife as my brother, myself, Raam Dev and my nephew cross a “quiet” street in Saigon.