Cycling in Hanoi

Our third day in Hanoi was one of my favorite (and most terrifying) days of our holiday in Vietnam. We were picked up in the morning by TinTin and our driver and were taken to get our bikes for our half-day cycling tour of Hanoi. We found these great shirts the day before and just HAD to get them because they said TinTin. TinTin was so excited we got him this gift so we had to document with some photos. 🙂

   

Hopping on the bike, I was a bit rusty at first, having not ridden in years. I forgot how painful it was and wished I had a cushion for my bum. I ended up standing on the pedals for most of the ride because it was too painful to sit.

We took off from Hanoi’s busy Old Quarter and made our way into the surrounding countryside. We pedaled through streets full of people and vendors, weaving our way in and out while trying not to crash. I screamed quite a bit but was having so much fun, despite the scooters and cars barely missing us.

We pedaled along the Red River and down an old, dirt country road (with lots of holes) to a pottery village with colorful ceramic pots stacked high, another great photo spot.

 

We ventured past several houses and later stopped at a commercial flower garden full of colorful, fragrant blooms.

        

Next, we headed toward Hanoi’s biggest lake, West Lake, where we stopped for a coffee break.

We continued our adventure past the Mausoleum and back to our starting point.   

After a full day of bike riding, we were exhausted. We had a late lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon doing a little shopping before heading back to the hotel to have a much-needed massage.

   

 

For dinner, we decided to stay in and eat at the hotel restaurant. Our overnight train to Sapa was that evening so we packed our bags and headed to the train station after eating. We had an amazing day in Hanoi and were very excited for our next day exploring a new city.

Click Here to read about our next day of adventures in Sapa.

-Elaine