Two wheels good?

One abiding memory of Vietnam will be of the ubiquitous moped – from remote islands to mountain regions to big cities, they are everywhere (see extras as well). 

You see everyone from young kids to old ladies riding them, sometimes four people per bike, sometimes loaded with produce, weaving their way through the traffic and keeping pedestrians on their toes. In fact, yesterday evening I was propositioned by a 'lady of the night' who sped up to me on a scooter, showed me an extremely saucy video on her phone, and sped off equally quickly when I spurned her kind and thoughtful offer :)

There are plans to do away with them (motorbikes, that is) in Hanoi – the city authorities has announced that it will ban them by 2030, but to be honest I find it unlikely as they are so ingrained in the culture here. And if all the moped riders decided to get a car instead, there would be complete gridlock.  

Hanoi is a wonderful place, by the way – we have 24 hours more to explore and then sadly we fly home... I could probably spend a week in this city, no problems at all!