And the holiday begins! Vietnamese, tourists battle traffic mess

By Quynh Tran - Thanh Nguyen - Ngoc Thanh April 28, 2017 | 06:09 pm PT

Many in Ho Chi Minh City just grab their bags and run to the airport while bus stations in Hanoi are also packed.

And the holiday begins! Vietnamese, tourists battle traffic mess

Roads leading to Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City are jammed on late Friday afternoon, as people leave for the long Refunification weekend. Vietnamese will have a four-day break through May 2 to mark Reunification Day on April 30 and Labor Day. Many will take a vacation or go back to their hometown.

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Traffic around the airport is heavy every holiday. It has become much worse this time due to construction work for new flyovers.

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This woman decides to walk to the airport after her taxi is stuck in traffic.

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These foreign tourists also leave their cab and run to catch their flight.

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This 23-year-old man has to run more than one hour with his bags. His trip to the central resort town of Nha Trang doesn't have a great start.

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Another traveler asks a xe om to carry his luggage to the airport.

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In Hanoi, travelers also have to face a similar ordeal. Many bus stations in Hanoi are packed on Friday afternoon.

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Many line up for hours to get their tickets and some accept to pay twice the normal fare to black market dealers.

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“I bought a 4 p.m. ticket but the bus arrived two hours late,” says a man as he jostles to get on a bus to Quang Ninh Province, home of Ha Long Bay.

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A sleeper bus leaves Hanoi with too many passengers.

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A man raises two fingers to indicate how many hours he has waited to get on this bus to the central province of Thanh Hoa.