Núi Thert

Good morning from Hanoi . We spent two very interesting days in Hoi An, that has an ancient but well preserved old town area. It is famous for its tailoring. I decided against getting any clothes made but a number of people in our group had various items sewn within 24 hours. One fellow ordered a smoking jacket and a lady got two pairs of shoes made up. Hoi An is especially pretty at night as it’s lit up with lanterns and sits on a river. A highlight for me was the chance to go to a Vietnamese cooking class. The lady instructing the class was appropriately named Happy and she cheerfully guided us through the preparation of four traditional dishes - spring rolls ,fish wrapped in banana leaf and bbq’d, eggplant and chicken pho. It was a very entertaining evening as Happy was not only a skilled cook but she also seemed to know a full repertoire of show tunes. On Tuesday we did one of our longer rides (80 km ) that included 10 km up and then 10. kilometres down the Hai Van Pass. I was still feeling a bit skittish about the long, steep downhills - and the roads were wet- so made a decision to give Mike my ebike for that 20 K portion and just enjoy the views from the bus with a few other ladies. The rest of the 60 km was very scenic and, except for a few light showers, we enjoyed reasonable weather. We stayed one night in the old capital city of Hue and completed our last cycle ride around Hue early Wednesday morning. It was not a long ride but perhaps the most hair raising as we had to move through busy intersections and traffic circles with the rest of the traffic chaos. We saw the ancient citadel- home to the last Vietnamese Emperors. As we travel further north the influence from the French colonization is more evident and we’re getting things like baguettes and croissants. Unfortunately, the viticulture industry hasn’t enjoyed the same success . I believe the climate is way too humid for grapes. We tried some local wine and let’s just say it wasn’t expensive and worth every penny. We have been able to buy Chilean wine at times but like other Asian countries, wine simply hasn’t caught on as a popular drink. One overall observation about the country is the unfortunate amount of garbage. Like some other developing countries we’ve visited, there is a lack of bins and no culture of recycling. Even in some of the prettiest areas there is garbage strewn on the roads and in the ditches. Our modern heavy reliance on disposable containers compounds the problem. Some specific cities like Hoi An seem to have managed the issue as it was noticeably tidier. Our tour company Exodus continues to provide a very tight but well oiled itinerary and at every stop we have water, snacks, restrooms - dodgy as they may be .

Yesterday afternoon we said good bye to our bikes and got on the overnight train to Hanoi. That was an experience I’m happy to only have once! For 13 hours the train noisily clack clacked, and shuddered north. We shared a bottle of wine with our cabin mates then settled down to sleep. I had one of the narrow upper berths and was too scared to sleep lest I rolled off as the train went round a bend. Some of the group partied into the wee hours and at the stops they could open a window and buy more local beer or cheap wine from someone on the platform. I won’t even get into the toilet situation. Suffice it to say I tried to limit my fluid intake. Mike is a world class sleeper so he managed to get some rest. At 5 am we all staggered off the train bleary-eyed, and we herded to a hotel for breakfast . We have now hopped on a new bus and are on our way to beautiful Halong Bay where we’ve been promised great weather and a luxury boat. Along the way we stopped at a large pot making plant. The clay in the surrounding mountains is perfect for pottery so there are big producers but all very” handrolic” from firing the pots to painting them. And no health and safety in sight. Hopefully, we will have a couple of relaxing days before our trip home.

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