What I find most fascinating here is the hour long news/goverment announcements and music which is played over giant megaphones and speakers every morning at 5am. I can almost sleep through them by now and I find it absolutely hilarious! This announcement service used to be incredibly important as it was one of the only ways of finding out what's going on at a local, regional and national level. However, with mobile phones and the internet it almost seems a little bit superfluous.
Another thing that really fascinates me is the complete lack of health and safety regulations. Helmets were introduced a few years back, yet there is no governmental standard, so the helmets on sale here are mostly decorative and probably not accident-safe. Also, there is no law requiring children to wear helmets! I almost laughed out loud the other day when I saw a woman on a vespa/scooter put a small plastic chair on that flat bit intended for your feet and then lifted her two or three year old onto it. Fortunately in the city most people don't go faster than 30 or 40 kilometers per hour! Furthermore, people carry the most ridiculous things on their motorbikes, bicycles and cyclos, ranging from wardrobes and fridges to chickens and stacks of beercrates. The load is sometimes secured using ropes, more often than not it's just perched on the seats of the cyclo with someone holding it and peering over the top. People also take naps on their cyclos/motorbikes!
cyclo (I didn't take this picture, I've yet to start photographing people)
The third thing I find really amusing is the abandoned amusement parks within the cities green parks. There are dodgems, merry-go-rounds and even some small rollercoasters, but they don't seem to be open or safe for that matter! At night they look really eerie in the glow of the streetlamps. I'll try get a photoseries of the rides up soon!
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