Hanoi to Ninh Binh

27 Oct - a day of rest in Hanoi...

The influence of French colonial days is evident in the street patterns, parks, and architecture...

 ...a bike repair shop on the sidewalk beside the park - lunch time...

...mobile goldfish shop...

We took a tour, again arranged by the local support people, in the afternoon...

Water Puppet show

Ho-Chi Minh's Mausoleum

The nearby Canadian Embassy

 ...and a rickshaw ride to dinner...

 

28 Oct -- breakfast at 0530 and on our way on the bikes just after 0600 to try to get out ahead of the traffic, which is nearly all scooters. A short ride on city streets and up onto a road on a dike that follows the river south out of Hanoi. It's another cloudy poor-visibility day...

The poor visibility is mainly pollution... I've written that before... diesel fumes, smoke, goodness knows what all else. We've given up... when in Rome... well, when riding a bike here in this pollution... I wonder if we'd be allowed to wear these in Quebec if they pass their new law?

It was a bit brighter after lunch, pleasant scenery, not much traffic on dirt roads like this one...

...even less traffic here...this was a tough climb with loose gravel and stones on top of big rocks - many decided to walk it...

It would not be a TdA excursion without roads like this...the reward is scenes like this...working people setting out by boat to do their chores...

...and without moving our feet, we re-aim the camera and get scenes like this...

We're in Ninh Binh tonight, where 1000 years ago was the capital of Vietnam.