Francis tempts Viet with bike tour through Hanoi
Hotelier & pals brave chaotic city for RTE show
then they don’t want them so dump them down the toilet.”
While the diverse country held as just many shocks as surprises, Francis said the drama is non-stop for his group.
He added: “They don’t know where they’re going. The excitement is when they arrive at the airport and find out where we’re heading.”
The gang includes grannies Helen and Laura, Dublin-based Garda Brian, a priest, a florist and a blogger, ranging in age from 23 to 80. Their 3,000km trek begins in Hanoi, to see the city’s oldest pagoda and take in a water puppet show.
One of the highlights is Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum where the communist revolutionary leader’s body is preserved in a glass sarcophagus. On viewing Francis Brennan and guests on their Grand Tour of Vietnam Vietnam-style it Francis observes: “What an experience, he’s lying there ever ready lit up.”
The hotelier is equally bemused when he sees a stilt house which was home to the ex-leader in the palace grounds.
He says: “The house is interesting but there’s no toilet or bathroom. I don’t know what he did at night – he must have had a po under the bed.”
Vietnam boasts 3,444km of coastline, a diverse landscape, a population of more than 93 million and 54 ethnic groups – and the group is keen to take in all the sights and sounds.
The first episode of Francis Brennan’s Grand Vietnamese Tour airs on RTE One tonight at 8.30pm.
sylvia.pownall@irishmirror.ie