The Vietnamese are masters of the two-wheeler. People carry their entire lives, families and livelihoods on the back of their mopeds – no matter how diminutive. On the lush, green three hour drive past the rural expanse of paddy fields from Hanoi to Halong Bay I saw a man with a whole live, twitching pig strapped to his backseat. Some women ride the things side-saddle, many seemingly unconcerned (even on a high-speed motorway) with the small trifle of holding on. Others go one-handed, mobile phone, cigarette or rainbow-striped umbrella not inhibiting their ability to maneuver amidst the busy traffic.It was fearlessly then, that Bing, our Vietnamese cookery teacher and chef from the Nam Hai hotel, led our party of three on bicycles from the hotel to the local market where we were to buy some produce to cook. This may sound idyllic, and indeed it was – but before we could immerse ourselves in the charm of the local culinary commerce we had to get there, and this involved cycling down a fairly major road and crossing a big junction – a feat indeed for one of the only girls in school to fail her cycling proficiency test, and who has barely graced a saddle since.
