Our itinerary says that today's ride is split into two contrasting sections. So we start with a boat trip to the floating market at Cai Rang. This is a wholesale market where people come to get supplies to sell in their village. Larger boats are drawn up in the river selling mostly fruit - mangoes, pineapples, guava, watermelons, jackfruit (looks a bit like a large slug with goose pimples. Tastes better I assume. Slug is one of the few creatures we have not bee...

Our second day of cycling and we're beginning to get the hang of cycling in Vietnam. These seem to be the rules of the road here: 1. Ride/drive on the right. Most of the time.2. If it is easier, it's quite permissible to drive on the left.3. When joining a main road or a roundabout do not give way.4. When turning left do not wait for a gap in the oncoming traffic.5. Do not look behind you. This is especially important when startin...

No, I haven't suddenly developed a nostalgia for old music hall songs. Today we've spent cycling through the Kingdom of Coconuts in the Mekong delta. We have begun our cycling trip. Not without some trepidation as we've chosen the worst time of year to do it. It is the start of the wet season, which means not only that it is wet but also very hot, with temperatures of up to 35 deg. Yesterday we experienced the sort of downpour that characterises the wet season i...

Back in Hanoi after our trip to Ha Long Bay we visited the Museum of Ethnology. Vietnam has over 50 different ethnic minorities, many of them comprising only a few thousand people. The Museum includes displays showing their traditions, costumes, crafts etc. Outside are reconstructions of several different architectural styles from different groups. These figures come from a Giarai tomb of Gia Lai province. Surrounding the tomb are large wooden figures symbolisin...

We only have one day in HCMC, which is a pity because it looks quite an interesting place. More modern and cosmopolitan than Hanoi with smart shopping malls (unfortunately full of Western chains including Debenhams, Gap and Accessorize so that once inside you could be anywhere in the world); skyscrapers, plenty of Western-style coffee houses and the people dressed noticeably more fashionably and, a few, at least, driving bigger cars than in the capital. However...