Our Red River cultural exploration by bicycle combines a visit to Hanoi’s largest wholesale market, the historic Long Bien bridge and a selection of our favorite ancient temples and pagodas in this area. The journey will also provide a chance to meet with some local artists at their own studios to see how they work. We visit Dinh Thi Tham Poong’s studio whose paintings are deeply influenced by her Muong ethnic minority roots and childhood years in the remote mountainous border region between Vietnam and China.
We then visit painter Le Thu’s studio to view the original antique Peugeot bicycle collection before making our way to the village of Bo De to a lacquer workshop. Here we learn the secrets behind producing a simple yet charming lacquer product. Our program then draws to a close with the option of a delicious lunch.
