**Cycling Through Vietnam: The Story of a Day on the Road**
🚲 **50 km cycling through Hanoi and its surroundings, surrounded by heat, humidity, scooters, villages, smiles, and culinary discoveries.** On our first day in Vietnam, we immersed ourselves in the heart of a fascinating country, from Noi Bai Airport to the lively streets of Hanoi, passing through the legendary Long Bien Bridge. A first adventure filled with surprises, sweat, and above all… stars in our eyes.
My Travel Journals
Cycling Through Vietnam: A Day on the Road
This is the beginning of a great adventure: heading to Asia, a continent where the feeling of being somewhere completely different begins even before setting foot on it.
A few stories, photos, and videos inspired us, but above all, it was our thirst for adventure that drove us. Not just an ordinary trip, but a journey by bicycle.
We decided to set off with our bikes and our passion: Hamza and me, Roumayla, two lovers of adventure.
We had been preparing for this trip for several months. The tickets were booked, the departure date was getting closer, we were saving money and getting ourselves ready. And finally, the day arrived.
The Big Departure
We were heading to Hanoi, Vietnam, but before that, there was one essential step: packing our bicycles carefully so they could travel safely in the plane's hold and arrive at our destination in perfect condition.
We left from Algiers. The bikes were safely loaded, and we were on board.
A layover in Doha, surrounded by luxury and towering skyscrapers, a brief pause far away from the world that was waiting for us.
18 hours of flying, one layover, and a six-hour time difference…
Hanoi, September 24th.
The first thing that struck us was the extreme heat and humidity: Vietnam and its climate.
Our bicycles were back in our hands. The most important part was behind us.
Our First Kilometers in Vietnam
From Noi Bai Airport, Hanoi's airport, we made our way through small villages and fields, surrounded by ponds and rivers.
We discovered scooters carrying all kinds of things, entire families sharing a tiny seat, and even carts pulled by motorbikes, seemingly three times heavier than the bikes themselves.
As we cycled along, our eyes wandered from one surprising sight to another.
The nature was incredibly lush. The trees and plants were an intense shade of green, unlike anything we had ever seen before.
We were grateful to have the chance to travel these roads, surrounded by such beautiful landscapes.
Smiles and Encounters
We met children who were very curious about Hamza's height — or perhaps his curly hair.
We laughed with them without understanding a single word, and received a hundred smiles within just a few hours.
The architecture was quite unique: very tall and narrow houses, roofs of all different shapes… Something new at every street corner.
We were getting closer and closer to the city.
The roads were still incredibly wide, and the main roads felt more like highways.
Long Biên Bridge
We crossed the Red River via Cầu Long Biên, or Long Biên Bridge, a more-than-century-old structure stretching 1.6 kilometers.
You can definitely feel its age: the crossing seemed to go on forever.
And all of this happened amid a joyful cacophony, with thousands of scooters overtaking us on a narrow lane.
Hanoi was here!
Through the Streets of Hanoi
We headed towards the Old Quarter, with its endless stream of motorbikes.
The streets became narrower, lined with countless little shops, from tiny restaurants to hardware stores.
The strong smells of nước mắm and cháo followed us along the way.
Vietnamese cuisine delighted our taste buds, although not always our sense of smell when you're not used to it. You have to take the time to discover it, taste it, and let yourself get used to it.
For lunch, we had a Bánh Mì, born from the fusion of the French baguette and Vietnamese flavors.
It may look like a sandwich, but it carries the full identity of Vietnamese cuisine.
Discovering Hanoi
Our journey continued.
We cycled along the famous Hanoi Train Street, then made our way near Hồ Hoàn Kiếm Lake, also known as the Lake of the Returned Sword.
Located in the historic and cultural heart of the city, it showed us yet another side of Hanoi.
We then headed towards the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, on Ba Đình Square, before continuing to West Lake (Hồ Tây), a huge lake from which we could see the city's towering skyscrapers on the other side.
50 Kilometers on the Clock
The day ended on a huge avenue filled with thousands of cars and scooters, everyone making their way home.
We weaved our way through the traffic: a real challenge, surrounded by a constant roar that seemed completely chaotic if you haven't yet developed the instincts of a Vietnamese rider.
50 km on the clock, plenty of sweat, but above all, stars in our eyes.
Hanoi is a beautiful, vibrant city, full of surprises.
See you soon for another adventure on the road by bicycle.
