A woman's work . . . . . (Or so we are told.)

Well, last night saw a change in the weather, with a steady drizzle gradually turning to steady rain, turning the streets of Hanoi into a muddy mess, and making a wander round the Friday Night Market a bit of a dreary affair.
However, we did complete our evening stroll in a remarkably traffic free central area around our lake.  There are several of these lakes within the city, remnants of when the area was drained to allow relocating the then king’s palace and hence the capital city.    We thought at first the bannising of traffic was something to do with the imminent visit of The Donald, but apparently this is now a regular occurrence at the weekends.
Today involved being driven south west of Hanoi for some 4 hours, gradually climbing into the mountains and the mist until visibility was down to almost zero.  These conditions did not, of course deter the intrepid Viet drivers who still tried to overtake everything, in the face of oncoming scooters and juggernauts. Madness, but we made it to Mai Chau, where we are staying tonight, in a homestay.   In fact, we are to sleep on a couple of mattresses in a communal dorm with room for another 5 couples. Thankfully we are on our own, as you know how I hate to hear to the nocturnal emissions of others. ;-)
After lunch today we walked for a mile or so beside rice paddy fields then boarded a somewhat rickety bamboo raft for the return journey.  A bit iffy, but, again, we made it.
Don’t know what we will do this evening, as there is nothing.  I guess we’ll think of something in our glorious isolation.
Tomorrow we move to Po Luong, for cycling and contemplation.  Of what remains to be discovered.
Caio!