Recently I sacrificed my beloved Sunday morning lie-in in order to join a cycling expedition to Thanh Thoan Bridge, a small but famous bridge in a local village just outside Hue. It was built to honour the memory of a Japanese woman who lived in the village and left money upon her death for its construction. There is a shrine commemorating her on the bridge as she was not survived by any children, so the villagers feared there would be nobody to pray for her. Even today the local people pray at the bridge.

The journey to the village was not too long (under 11km) or too strenuous (mostly flat), but it was quite an adventurous trek.  The landscape we passed through was stunning and gave a nice insight into the everyday lives of the local people. We arrived in the village to find people busy celebrating Festival day and so there were old men in traditional dress, children happily running around and a lively market had been set up. The village had been turned into a large Fair, with nice Vietnamese twists on classic games such as Bingo. There was even a fortune teller on duty and on the river bank people were captivated by a highly competitive boat race that charged under the bridge and down the river.

Shi, the leader of our trek, is a very charismatic cycling companion and he made sure everybody was having a good time. He led us out of the village to a local home for a delicious and hearty meal.  Stomachs full, we set off back to Hue until finally I was able to disembark - aching, covered in oil but feeling happy after a day of good bikes (for a change!), plentiful fruit and water and a beautiful route.

- Kim Megson, Volunteer Co-ordinator