Hanoi: City Bike Tour, Banana Island & Local Food Tasting

4.98

(161 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit, I felt a little nervous weaving into Hanoi’s morning traffic — but Sang, our guide, just grinned and told us to “trust the rhythm.” He was right. The city has its own beat: scooters buzzing past, someone roasting corn on the sidewalk, that sweet smell of mango jelly drifting from a stall. We started near the Old Quarter, helmets slightly crooked (at least mine was), and before long we were pedaling down alleys so narrow I could brush the walls with my fingertips if I wanted. There was this moment when a woman smiled at us from her doorway and handed Sang a bunch of tiny bananas — apparently she does this every week. I still think about that.

The highlight for me was crossing over to Banana Island. It’s wild how quickly the noise drops away — suddenly it’s just muddy tracks, banana trees everywhere, and you can hear birds instead of horns. Sang explained how this patch of green survives right in the middle of Hanoi’s chaos; he even pointed out some old French graffiti on a bridge pillar (I’d have missed it). We stopped for coffee at a tiny spot by the railway tracks where trains barrel through so close you feel your chest vibrate. Li laughed when I tried to order in Vietnamese — probably butchered it. The coffee was strong enough to make me blink twice.

After that we rolled past Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum — all quiet and serious — then down what Sang called “the most poetic street in Hanoi.” Not sure what makes a street poetic but there were couples holding hands by West Lake and fishermen napping under their hats. At Lake B52 we sat on the grass while Sang told us about the American shell still sitting at the bottom (he got a bit intense here; history feels different when you’re right there). Honestly, my legs were tired but I didn’t want it to end yet…