into Hanoi - 26 Oct

It was supposed to be 159 km today, but just to make sure that we got a full 'century' for Dave Cramton, we took a wrong turn and ended up making it 170 km for the day. 

On the bikes just after dawn and depart Ha Long Bay along the shore...

...the first 35 km riding as a loose group to take a ferry near Hai Phong harbour...

...squeezed around small trucks and busses...

 ...then a variety of mainly small roads until the last 10 km into Hanoi...

...through small towns and their busy streets and markets



...even the tiny roads are a marketplace, often difficult to pass through

...almost everything can be carried on a bike...

fields are full of family crypts

...a few buddhas along the road

What looked like an irrigation channel to us is a source of fish... not sure I'd want to immerse myself in that water.

Of course the joy of being on backroads is that they aren't all paved...

...and still in a rural setting just 10 km from downtown Hanoi...