The Damsel of Discovery

Step into a city where life takes place on the street. From narrow alleyways to main roads, it’s all lined with locals stationed at mini plastic tables and chairs, gulping down their Pho soup. It’s a place where the main way to get around is by bike- motor or push.

At over 7 million people strong, Hanoi Vietnam is the busiest place I have ever visited. I took a bike tour with a local company, Vietnam Velo, to discover Hanoi’s rich culture, incredible food and gentle people. The company literally operates out of the guide’s home and it set me back around 200 000 Dong or 5 USD inclusive of bike and helmet hire, lunch and two guides.

Clinging to our trusty pushbikes, the group was led out of the city into dense banana plantations and the little neighbouring villages. We rode through the vibrant greenery of the Vietnamese landscape, the perfectly lined herbs planted in the succulent ground and the locals, conical hat on head, bent over working to nourish their crop. The air was fresh with the smell of damp soil and the burning sensation of the wintery air stung my chest as I breathed.

We turned into a narrow street, into another smaller, and then if it was possible, into one more that barely wide enough for our bikes. We had arrived at a traditional house for lunch.

The lady serving us was the tour guide’s best friend’s grandmother. She gave us herbal tea and bottled water- tap water isn’t safe for western bellies. We ate raw turnip with a chilli salt, a common snack in Vietnam and the sweetest pineapple I have ever tasted. In Vietnamese culture, it is custom to welcome travellers into the home. It was incredibly special to be welcomed by a complete stranger in the warmest of ways.

It was not long before we returned to the city, where the peaceful country turned to mayhem, the quiet to deafening motorbike engines. As the clear air became smog, I was enthralled by the understated lunch I had just experienced. While the taste of the metallic grinding of the gears and the smoke teeming from the idling exhaust pipes washed over my lips and removed the sweetness of the pineapple I had tasted before, nothing will ever remove my vivid memories of the special little lady in the house that gave us lunch.

If you are into adventure travelling, local experiences and seeing a place at it grassroots level, get yourself to Hanoi, acquire a well-oiled bike and take to the roads. You never know what you will discover.