Hanoi is a city you ride into with your elbows tucked in. On the Red River delta, a thousand years after it was first made a royal capital, it has an Old Quarter where the streets still carry the names of old guilds, silk, silver, tin, hats, and in front of every door a few plastic stools and a pot of something steaming. The motorbike is the language of the place: families of four, whole shop windows and live ducks all travel on two wheels, and the flow of traffic at a roundabout looks chaotic until you notice how courteous it is. Hold your line, signal with your eyes, and move steadily.
The city's centre of gravity is Hoan Kiem Lake, the Lake of the Returned Sword, named for the legend of a king who handed back a magic blade to a giant turtle. Nearby, the Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 for Confucian learning, is a quiet courtyard of old trees and stone tortoises. French colonial boulevards, yellow villas and the opera house recall the century of colonial rule, and the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, on Ba Dinh Square, draws long queues. For breakfast, find a pavement stall for phở, and for something odder, egg coffee, whipped yolk over strong brew.
The route out toward Moc Chau heads west and north-west across the delta, then climbs into the limestone mountains of Hoa Binh province. The first hour is slow, with trucks, towns and heavy traffic, so leave early. Once you are past Hoa Binh the road begins to climb, with long bends over passes and wide views over valleys of rice and tea, and the Da River below, dammed into a long reservoir. Mist is common on the ridges, and the road can be slick with wet clay after rain.
Fuel stations are everywhere in the Hanoi region, and in the mountain towns there are enough to keep you moving, although it is worth topping up before the long climbs. Autumn and spring are the most pleasant seasons, with clear air and mild temperatures. Summer is hot, wet and humid, and winter can be surprisingly cold on the high ridges, where a thermal layer is welcome.