World Wide Webbs

2018 – Cycling in Vietnam

Saturday 17th February : Day One – Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City

Our flight from Hong Kong arrived at Ho Chi Minh airport late morning and we passed out of the entrance to the noise of hundreds of excited people waiting which was amazing.   Our tour leader Doan spotted us and indicated where we should wait for the rest of the group. We were soon joined by others from the Heathrow Singapore flight and our bus took us to our hotel in the centre of the City.

We were allocated rooms, our room was comfortable and pleasant looking out over the busy crossroads outside the hotel. It was exciting and busy.

We were to meet up later in the afternoon at 4pm so we were free until then.

We wandered out through the very crowded excited square decorated with lots of model dogs made from a range of materials to celebrate the Chinese New Year the Year of the Dog.

 

There are vibrant flowers and families in brightly coloured clothes. It is happy and fun and we enjoy wandering through to the Saigon River.

The heat and humidity was so intense that we have some iced coffee down by the slow moving Saigon river.

The river was busy with boats large and small travelling out along the twisting river out through the Mekong Delta to the China Sea.

There are small islands of vegetation floating past providing roosts for Herons.

The military monuments and red communist flags remind us that we are in a communist state, but the life style and architecture is very western.

We wander back to the hotel and relax for an hour before meeting up with the group and going for a walking tour around the central area with Doan.

The group is very mixed with eight from a casual cycling group in Surrey; Darren, Helen, Tom, Richard, Barney, Andy, Ian, Chris; and then Mike and Helen from Edinburgh; Alison and Colin from Cambridge; Bill from Birmingham and Peter from Beccles.

Doan is South Vietnamese and has an interest in American film and television and uses this to socialise with us. A bit strange but I’m sure we’ll get used to it.

Everywhere we walked there were crowds celebrating New Year. We went to the main square, where there was a lovely colonial house. We carried on through to the cathedral which was built in the style of Notre Dame in France and visited the old post office which was fascinating.

 After our walk Doan took the group to a cafe opposite the hotel where we shared a meal and got to know each other.

Later we went with Colin, Alison, Helen and Mike to the roof garden of the Rex Bar, one of the notorious bars where the journalists reported the Vietnam war from.

It was lovely overlooking all the excitement in the square before returning to a welcome bed.

Sunday 18^th February – Visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels

We breakfast at the roof top restaurant with the sun rising. It is cool but the mist is burning off for a hot day. The breakfast is a pleasant mix of western and eastern food that we get used to at our hotel stops over the following days.

Today it is an hour’s drive to a garage forecourt in the middle of an industrial estate where we pick up our bikes. It is not a very organised affair just grab a bike and try it!

Our days from herein with the bikes followed a sort of pattern. After breakfast if we were cycling we would set off with the backup truck with mechanics and spare parts going ahead and the coach following behind. The backup truck would wait for us at stops to provide. snacks, drinks, repairs, etc. and chance for the group to get back together.

Eventually we were sorted and rode along an extremely busy road towards the Cu Chi tunnels. The road was flat and tarmac surfaced passing through small settlements or just continuous buildings along the edge of the road either selling goods or making things or repair workshops.

We stop for a drink at a roadside café and are starting to get know the other members of the group a little better. It is the first day and we don’t know what to expect of each other or ourselves in terms of speed, effort and distance. Once off the busy straight road we travelled through an area of small farms before arriving at the tunnels obviously a big tourist attraction.

We were to find that there was a lot of emphasis on the Vietnamese War, the history of which our guide was very keen to engage us with.

It led to some interesting discussions around the colonial history of Vietnam.

The tunnels were built by the Vietnam Cong in the 1940s against French air raids during the Second World War. They stretch for 150 miles when the Vietnam Cong lived down there.

Doan took us to a museum and down some of the tunnels where we could go through parts of the them, to see an underground well, and a meeting area.

We looked at how hidden the entrances were, just small hatches under leaves, the booby traps, torture equipment, the sewing room where the uniforms were made, bomb craters and air vents.

We then cycled to a restaurant in the tunnels complex where we had lunch before cycling back to the bus and returning to our hotel.

Helen and Mike took us to another roof bar and then we had street food at a Pho bar before returning to the hotel.

Monday 19^th February – Cai Be and the Mekong Delta

Another hot day and we started promptly at 7am and drove two hours south west into the Mekong Delta and Bing Du.

En route we stop to savour the delights of a service station beside the main road. An interesting mix of busy bustling self services restaurant and quiet rest rooms where you could be served a meal in pleasant surroundings and have a nap afterwards.

After our stop we start cycling along a very busy road. The group quickly separates out with keen male group at front and the rest stretched out. We keep a look out for the van at the next place where the driver hails you for breaks.

This time it was at busy cross roads where there were a lot of people and no visible sign of the group. Four of us cycled on separated from the pack but within sight of each other for at least five kilometres. One of the mechanics caught us up on a scooter he had waved down and told us to go back. Janet was devastated as she felt so tired but cycled back slowly, Graham caught her up with Alison following on. Janet was really cross with Doan!

After a break we turned off the road and cycled along narrow tracks/paths by the water passing small settlements where people were excited to see us although there must be groups passing all the time.

It was nice being off the roads and seeing the different villages.

We stopped for lunch of fish and spring rolls in an isolated hotel on the river, rather like one we stayed in in Bali. They showed us how to make spring rolls from the Dragon fish and vegetables with rice papers wrappers for the rolls. That and a few beers and we were all very relaxed but hot.

After we had eaten we found a hotel and jumped in in our undies which was great fun.

We continued through Tan Thong stopping to watch a cock fight.

Life along the waterside was reminiscent of Kerala with ferry crossing points to access villages.

We stopped to see how rice wine and coconut ice was made. An interesting family enterprise with a mix of experiences……

Graham held a snake and Janet watched the sweet making with other visitors.

Passing Brick kilns we visited a beautifully restored traditional house built in 1894 we were given tea and fruit and shown around by the owner’s grand daughter who was lovely, the furniture and shrines were exquisite.

We finished our ride at Cai Be where in the mornings there is a floating market. By the time we arrive it is the afternoon and all is cleared away and the boats have gone or returned to the shore.

We have a wide view of the market area from the bridge over the river and in the other direction into the Mekong Delta towards the sea.

It is still interesting to cycle through the narrow alleyways behind the workshops and warehouses before taking a long slow drive back through busy traffic to Saigon.

The amount of people on mopeds is amazing, four sometimes five on a bike!

It is our last night in Saigon and we have spent a lot of time with our group so we grab a meal on own in a recommended restaurant Lemon Grass a western style place near the hotel. Shortly after we start our meal the London lot arrive but find a table upstairs which was nice for all of us.

Tuesday 20^th February : Saigon to Darlat

A hot and sticky morning as we drive out of Saigon otherwise known as Ho Chi Minh City.

It was interesting to see the new buildings going up on the outskirts of Saigon, major developments. We leave Saigon and head north to Central Southern Uplands.

After a two hour drive we quit the bus and cycle through the undulating hills of the Langbiang Plateaux.

The landscape was more undulating and we had the opportunity to stop to visit a small family holding where they grew pepper.

We were never sure whether Doan had planned this in advance or was just cold calling on people asking them to show some tourists what they did and how they lived.

Further on Doan took us to a more general homestead with a range of activities. Turmeric tubers were growing and being dried. There was a stone sty with pigs and a wooden enclosure of goats. One of the family was straightening iron reinforcing bars with a hammer to be recycled.

The next homestead we stopped at grew cashew nuts. A young family with a little boy showed us their hens and goats and we saw pigeon cages fitted in trees and an ingenious ladder for reaching up into the cashew nut trees.

It was fascinating seeing the nut growing outside what looked like a small apple.

We continued on a nice undulating ride of thirty kilometres with a variety of scenery, small lakes where people were fishing and submerged gathering plants to eat, plus lovely woodlands.

Back on the bus we drive on for lunch. After lunch we continue on we climbed through endless linear towns which seemed to join on to each other until we came to a place for lunch.

After lunch we drove through low hills with tea plantation

We stopped at one of the plantations and through Doan talked to the workers who were all dressed in layers of warm clothing to protect them from the heat!

They picked the tips of the leaves with a razor blade taped to their fingers worked long day and were paid very little for a kilo of leaves. It was so hot just standing talking with them one wondered how they survived.

Driving from Saigon to Darlat we passed a variety of older house types that were interesting structures building on the idea of living working and keeping livestock all under the same roof.

We reached the resort town of Darlat at sundown it was heaving with people. We wondered up into the old town before joining the seething masses and bumping into some of our group finding a reasonable empty bar for a drink.

We returned to the hotel before going for a group meal in a bizarre empty hotel where the service was slow as they were understaffed and there was a slow leak through the roof.

Wednesday 21^st February : Darlat to Nha Trang

It is a bright sunny day

We leave our hotel and follow the lakeside on our way to the railway station, apparently the only show in town.

We visit the old railway station built by the French that now only ran a tourist train but had the old rolling stock, steam train, carriages etc.

We then drove for a little before starting our 80km ride over the Hon Giao pass 1,700m.

It was an undulating road through pine forests which gradually wound its way for fifty kilometres to the top.

Again it was busy with lots of people on motorbikes and cars. It was tough but we got off our bikes and walked when the going was hard, and we had several welcome breaks.

It was testing with Graham’s chain breaking on his bike which had to be repaired by the mechanics before he could continue. But we all did it.

There was a great sense of achievement at the top with lots of high fives and photographs and an opportunity for those who had them to show off the Vietnam Cycling tops.

Then came the highlight of the cycling trip, a wonderful thirty kilometre ride down to lunch. Even this was not plain sailing as in places the road had eroded away and there were scary gravelly bits.

But the changing views and exhilaration made the previous two hours very worthwhile.

Views out across the opening landscape and into the deep valleys were fascinating and we were torn between going as fast as possible for the delight or taking your time to enjoy the downhill and the scenery.

All too soon we had reached our lunch stop and sat in the shade by the river we had followed down from the top to enjoy the rest.

We then drove to the seaside resort of Nha Trang with a stunning view out over the bay (over the building site).

We quickly dump our bags in our rooms and swim in the sea before having a meal with the gang of 6 in the backpackers end of town. We met up in yet another roof top bar before hunting down a suitable restaurant recommended in guide books which provided a very satisfactory meal.

Thursday 22^nd February : A Rest Day with a Boat Trip to Islands

It was hot with intermittent cloud cover.

We lie in until 9.30 when we get a bus to the port then boat out towards the Islands.

We stopped off and wandered around a fishing village watching nets being mended, fish drying, hair being cut at a small on street hairdressers, eyebrows being plucked, at a beauty salon and children coming out of school. The kindergarten is still in progress.

An elderly lady sits by a bowl of eggs cleaning those that had a developing chick in them. It is nice to wander around the village and see the daily happenings of a community.

Floating rafts with tanks of different sorts of fish. Families sitting in the front tiled areas sharing meals.

We continued in the boat to the seaward facing side of a nearby island and snorkelled. After snorkelling in the Galapagos this is a poor experience but nice to be in the sea. There are a few coloured fish, starfish and sea cucumber but the coral is dirty and dead.

Then we went to a nearby island with a private beach. Exclusive! We paid to go on the beach and duly claimed our sun lounger. There was a bit of sand and a bar. It felt alien to us but, after initial feelings we did enjoy reading, swimming and sharing a tropical rice dish served in a pineapple.

It was not restful as there was so much activity, speedboats, ferries, launching of people on a parachute pulled by a speed boat.

We returned to Nha Trang and its resort skyline through choppy waters in a cool breeze and made our way back to our hotel.

We went with others to a coffee shop for a much needed coffee only to find it took 30 minutes to arrive and then it was cold!

In the evening Doan took us to a barbecue which turned out to be a traditional restaurant where barbecue’s were brought to the table. Every group of four people had raw prawns, squid, chicken. beef and vegetables brought to the table. A small tagine like brazier filled with glowing embers was brought to the table upon which each group cooked their food with lots of beers, great fun.

On leaving the restaurant we smiled to see a sign that said ‘We Have Run Out Of Food Sorry’

We all walked back along the seafront to the hotel some peeling off to visit yet another roof top bar. It had been a good rest day.

Friday 23^rd February : Nha Tran to Quy Non

The day starts hot with some heavy clouds.

After breakfast we left the hotel and cycle north through the busy city.

It was a nice way to start, and the traffic became less as we followed the coast to the toll road.

We crossed over a bridge and left the main road stopping briefly to watch some fish being prepared by the road side.

We followed a coast road north towards Dai Lang passing small fishing villages and empty beaches.

We end the session by cycling over the Ca pass to Bal Tien Song Cau.

We then got on the bus and headed to the ‘beautiful’ beach at Dai Lang where we stopped for coffee and Graham had a stunning view from the urinals!

The beach at Dai Lang is reputed to be the most beautiful beach along the north coast. It is a pity that it has been identified as the neat location for a resort development !

We continue riding up and down along the coast past a lighthouse and a beautiful beach backed by sand dunes.

We cycle on the flat further up the coast. It was hot and not very interesting so the forty two kilometres was hard going.

We had a lovely buffet lunch before cycling a further two hours reaching Quy Nhon and our hotel around five.

The cycle ride was chiefly on the flat passing more built up areas with pollution visible on the water.

We approach Quy Nhon over a bridge sweeping over a large river with spectacular views of the city ahead of us.

We arrive at the Seagull Hotel with its lovely view and cosy room just in time to have a swim in a Cornwall temperature sea.

We join others for cocktails on the rooftop bar and later enjoy a late supper in the hotel.

 

 

Saturday 24^th February : Quy Non – My Lai – Hoi An

The sun rises over the sea before we have breakfast and the day is cloudy and hot.

We cycle along the seafront and then back through the old town. It is a circuitous route to get us to the Tai Nai bridge passing lagoons populated with fishermen and cattle egrets. Janet has acquired some padded shorts and is looking forward to a more comfortable ride.

The road is a major highway slowly taking us to the bridge where there are views out over the water.

Vietnamese cycling shirts in evidence we go out over the bridge stopping in the middle for a photo opportunity for the ‘team’ before turning left and cycling inland.

 The route we follow is along the river estuary on a rough concrete track past a variety of family dwellings and fish farms. Lamps erected over the fishponds are there to attract insects at night for the fish to feed on.

Then the road improves and we passed through villages alive with the sound of pop music and karaoke being played in cafés and private houses.

In one cafe there was a gambling game going on which the some of the group watched and joined in the karaoke and drinking.

We joined a bigger road and entered Cat Tien a town with an enormous newly built Buddha on the hillside we walked our bikes through a large busy market.

Beyond the town we came to the huge statue of Budda which we had seen from miles away.

It was busy by the roadside and we went on further to stop by a war memorial equally large a balancing propaganda by a communist government. It was here that we realised we had made our way back to the coast.

 

We then cycled up and down just inland from the coast finally doing 20k through lush countryside passing farms.

 

We stop for coffee at a roadside shop where women are mending fishing nets using their feet as an extra pair of hands to stretch the nets.

We stay and watch for a while before boarding our bus for the two hour drive to Quang Ngai with only a filled pork and salsa roll or dry roll to sustain us.

At Quang Ngai we stopped at the scene of the My Lai Massacre. It was a sobering memorial with graphic photographs of American soldiers killing the villagers.

There are a party of Taiwanese carrying out a ceremony by the monument.

We were then approached by a mother with her three children asking that we took a photo of them and they of us. This was a not uncommon occurrence during the trip white Europeans obviously being a novelty.

The site was set out as a memorial and as a museum retaining the charred remains of some of the houses with a sign giving details of how many had died and a museum showing how life would have carried on in this village.

The most sobering monument was by the ditch where 170 were slaughtered in one go. The ditch now leads out into fields that must have looked the same forty years ago.

Only one soldier was imprisoned and only for a short time, Over 500 civilians massacred in an hour. The massacre was stopped by the arrival of support helicopters the pilots of which evacuated the villagers leaving the offending soldiers behind.

Another two hour drive takes us to Hoi An an old buzzing town with a good feel and interesting looking shops.

We walk in the lantern lit darkness for a group meal in an old wooden building with the restaurant on the first floor overlooking the river.                  .

A very mixed day.

Sunday 25th February
The day is cloudy and warm
We are awoken by a funeral procession passing our bedroom window.

We visit a temple and then an ancient well.

As we move through town we see many old buildings and the street life of the town. Especially the colourful markets.

The tour ends at an ancient wooden house down by the river where we meet up with the others for the boat trip to Cam Nam Island.

It is only a short way across the river but the peace of the island compared with the bustle of Hoi An is very restful.

We hire upright gearless bikes with very comfortable seats for our tour of the island starting with the boat building yard.

The island is managed by a cooperative maintaining the crafts that would otherwise be lost. We watch carpet making, noodle making and coracle making before taking ourselves to a community gathering where we offer money for their annual collection. Very gratefully received.

We return to Hoi An and visit the Japanese Bridge and buy some Chinese New Year medallions for the grandchildren.

We then grab a quick lunch before Doan takes us to My Son the Champa Kingdom this afternoon.
Doan had hired a car and driver for us and we drove for about an hour to My Son a World Heritage site with a 4th – 11th century red brick temple/palace complex in an amazing mountain setting.

It was built by the Cham-pa people who were Indonesian in origin and initially Hindu by religion and later Islam. They were an important trading nation based on their port in Hoi An. The fleet controlled trade in the area between India, China and Indonesia. They supplemented their economy by raiding trading ships on the South China Seas.

Significant damage was done to the site by American carpet bombing during the Vietnamese War in the 1980’s.

The temple/palace complex was occupied between the 4th and 14th centuries and is recognised as being the longest inhabited archaeological site in Indochina. The Cham people were eventually conquered and dissolved by the Vietnamese in the 15th century.

Doan entertained us with his lizard catching prowess.
The light was good for photos and we were pleased to have made the effort.

Part of the Cham-pa culture lives on in its dance and music and Doan took us to a fifteen minute show on the site before we resumed our tour and then returned to Hoi An.

A nice meal and coffee with the gang before independently taking a circuitous route back to the hotel.

Monday 26^th February : Hoi an to Hue

It was cloudy and warm as we drove out of Hoi An along the coast with views across the bay towards the Chua Linh Ung Buddhist temple.

The city of Danang just to the north had all the new development that had been avoided in Hoi An.  As we left the city there were lots of new developments amazingly their foundations resting on sand.

We stopped at a factory outlet selling for the most part grotesque marble statues, really bizarre.

At the back was a small area where they were chiselling away at the stone. We wondered who on earth bought these statues.

We continued on until the coast road to the Hoi Van Pass,  the division between North and South Vietnam. 

Here, there was a curious ceremony taking place involving military figures giving out medals and awards to communities who had achieved great things during the previous year.

Nearby a wedding ceremony was being performed. We get out to take photographs of and from the pass before descending to the coast.

Lang Co beach and its narrow ribbon of resort development behind is still a stunning beach despite development.

We then go inland and start cycling on a small road around a lagoon where they were breeding oysters on old bicycle tyres.

Further on we found ourselves on wide roads with no traffic, a first in Vietnam!

We continued along these quiet roads for a long time eventually doing some up and down over the railway line and a busy road before following the undulating coast around. We stop in drizzly rain by a junction, not at all picturesque, and ate a roll and nibbles before continuing on a straight flat road that passed through an area covered with graves.

We crossed the Tu Hien bridge watching a group of water buffalo swimming across the outlet where the lagoon flowed into the sea.

In the evening we go with half of the group into the back packers area where we all meet up for a drink on a roof top bar before having a nice meal. 

After our meal we wander back alongside the river for a late coffee in yet another rooftop bar overlooking the river and the giant illuminated flagpole of the Presidential palace.

Tuesday 27th February
Hue and train to Hanoi
It was misty and warm when we got up early to visit the citadel built in the 1820s and the home the kings of Vietnam prior to 1946.
Near the entrance were the nine cannons symbolic for the names given to them. Four are named after the seasons and five for the basic elements of oriental philosophy; Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Soil. They were located near the entrance to protect the Royal family.

The palace was located within a large square area with brick walls surrounding it a gateway and buildings symmetrically arranged on the site.

The most important buildings in the centre surrounded by a library, the residential area for the king and queen, the queen mother’s quarters, all set about with greenery, pools etc.

It was impressive with lovely mosaics curved roofs and ornate shapes decorating the roofs.
The Parade Ground outside the Palace doors was interesting in that it had posts indication the lines of the ranks on parade with the senior officers nearer the front.
After leaving the Palace we cycled out of the city through suburbs, rural villages and bamboo groves to a Buddhist pagoda, with a large concrete decorated tower.
Some students were inside having lessons and the ladies toilet cubicles were stalls !
Cycling back we met up with the van and said goodbye to our bikes and the mechanic and driver who had met us and provided much needed snacks en route as well as maintaining the bikes,.

We returned to the hotel, shower and relax before catching the overnight train.
We had pre-ordered food for the train but had not had any lunch so we found a plain back street café where a young mother with her child served us a simple inexpensive meal of Satay and crispy pancakes. It was a lovely way to end our time in Hue.
We went to the station around 4.30 eventually the train arrived around 5.30 it was quite exciting, a narrow gadget single track with passing places.
The sleeping berths were good and we all settled in while some of the males partied with beer the females enjoyed a civilised evening chatting, listening to Helen’s music and playing cards. The train lulled us to sleep around 11.00

Wednesday 28^th February

We all slept fitfully until around four with the train arriving in Hanoi around 5.00am. 

It was raining as we left the station but later became cloudy but cool. The departure from the station was quite civilised as long as you could ignore all the enthusiastic porters who wanted to take your bag.

We went straight to the Hotel using just 2 rooms to shower and clean up.  We had breakfast overlooking a misty damp Hanoi and an interesting 19^th century French water tower.

After breakfast we set off on a four hour journey to the Gulf of Halong where we boarded a boat to sail into Halong Bay.

We travelled through grey countryside less attractive than in the south and more industrious.

We stopped reluctantly but clearly obliged to at an awful factory outlet where disabled and able-bodied people worked producing crafts for the tourists. 

Not the best time of day for a retail experience although some of us bought pictures and paintings.  It was a bit like Bunratty Castle but four times the size and without the castle !

At the port there were loads of people doing the overnight boat trips. It was chaotically busy with hundreds of people, boats, and bigger boats moored out in the bay.

We were in a system, waiting to be processed on board.  Our boat was called the Victory and a very fine looking boat it was.

We were taken to it’s a tender and whisked out to the boat. There was our group and a French group sharing accommodation on the boat twenty five in all.

We were welcomed with a refreshing drink and given keys to our room which was on the upper deck at the stern looking out over the water accessed from a walkway like a balcony around the outside.

We set off immediately and had a very nice lunch on board. The boat was a cruise ship and we were to stay on it for twenty four hours full board.

As we ate the boat quickly was sailing among the vertical limestone rocky islands that are present in the bay a unique place and a World Heritage Site.

Moving through the bay was a visual assault as there are so many different shaped rocks, caves, arches, cliffs with small trees clinging to the steep sides.

We were taken to the floating village information centre in the Victory’s motorised tender a bit like a Panga. It sounded great except there were hundreds of other boats doing the same. Also it was rather grey and not conducive to getting wet/ swimming.

We were processed in fours into small swan-like boats rowed by a young women who took us in a line of such boats through the deserted floating village houses through an arch and back to our boat again. 

The geology and landscape is stunning and the crowds of people are the price you pay to visit the area.

Some of our group had hired canoes and done their own thing in the area.

We were quite envious as they were independent and could explore on their own.

When we returned to the boat we were entertained by a cookery demonstration making Spring Rolls and fancy table decorations from tomatoes and melon.

Before dinner we played a game of cards and watched all the lights on the surrounding boats shining around us before going to bed.

Thursday 1^st March – Ha Long Bay to Hanoi

The day started misty with the sun slowly burning through. Six of us were up at 6.30 to do Tai Chi on the deck which felt a good way to start the day.

We had coffee and croissants at 7.00 watching the mist rise on the water revealing the limestone islands and the many boats who had moored up overnight around us.

After breakfast we were taken by Pango to a cave again with hundreds of other people !

The cave was reached by climbing lots of steps that some people were struggling with. Inside there were large stalagmites and stalactites and a balcony outside overlooking the sea.

It amused us that we were issued a ticket to visit the caves as we were leaving the boat.  We then had to pass it along a line of officials who had to read it; check it; stamp it; and then collect it all in a space of ten metres.  We took the opportunity to photograph this rare item which you only briefly possessed.

Having visited the cave we were funnelled onto a small sandy beach that we could not swim from.

We amused ourselves taking group photos whilst waiting for our time to while we waited for our boat back to the Victory where we have brunch on our way back to port just as the sun begins to shine!

A fantastic landscape/seascape a pity it is so crowded, then we are part of that problem !!

We then embark on the four hour journey back to Hanoi with a similar retail stop as going. We just gave up and sat outside.

As we drove into Hanoi we pass between two large lakes the West Lake and East Lake ! 

We stop to look at the memorial to John McCaine the US airman who spent years seven years in jail and was so well treated the prison was referred to as the Hanoi Hilton.

As we walked we passed lake in the middle of a built up area next to a school where the remains of an aircraft shot down whilst carrying out the American bombing of the city.

We then went on to Bah Dinh Square and the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh and walking back through the buzzing old Quarter to our hotel.

A final meal and a visit to a young noisy bar followed by fond farewells to the group most of whom we will not see tomorrow.

We have completed our cycling trip to Vietnam but we have one more day in Hanoi.

Friday 2^nd March  Hanoi

We awoke early and there was murky cloud with sun breaking through later on in the day.  We sorted our dirty laundry for cleaning today before we leave this evening.  We have breakfast and say our last goodbyes to those who are around. We then headed off to see the Water Puppets at Ho Che Minn complex.  This is not the prestigious theatre down by the Lakeside that does not start until the evening and we would not have time before we have to leave. 

The ‘Peoples’ Theatre is a different beast entirely. Unfortunately the first show did not run so we had coffee and walked around the mausoleum and the one pillar pagoda we had seen yesterday, before returning for the second show.

There are only six other people in the audience to watch the water puppets.  The show is however spectacular.  The puppets perform in a pool controlled by puppeteers hiding behind a bamboo screen.  Several short scenes setting out good communist principles make a pleasant half hours entertainment. 

When the puppeteers come out to take their bow they don’t look at all impressed.

We wandered back to the hotel and showered, collected laundry, packed and vacated our room, leaving our bags in the foyer.

We walk back through the old quarter to the lake and had lunch in a decadent western establishment overlooking the lake.

We have a relaxing lunch in a nice location under a now hot sun. 

We return to the hotel and chat to Bill who is waiting for his flight the next morning before getting a transfer to the airport and a Silk flight to Singapore.