We got into Hanoi city last night slightly before dusk. What we saw so far is somewhat disappointing. It looks impoverished compared to Saigon. The buildings are dilapidated. In fact facing our hotel and surrounding it are tenements like you would see in Bombay. It is a paradoxical mix of odd mixture of old and new. The city is jam packed with people. There are street vendors everywhere vending anything you can think of. A large number of street vendors sell street food.
You can't help noticing that everyone is hawking something or the other. Vietnamese people are extremely entrepreneurial. They are also optimistic. How else can your explain a Vietnamese vendor trying to sell you a cap for 1 dollar or 3 dollars and walking away with no visible air of disappointment when you say no. There is a lot of capitalism for a country that is communist. The only visible sign of communism is the occasional flag with a hammer and a sickle.
Hanoi has gone through a lot. It was originally the capital city under the Nguyen kings, one of whom moved the capital to Hue. In the process he also trashed the city. Then the Chinese came, followed by the French. The Chinese were repelled. The French were also pushed back to the South. The French eventually left Vietnam after a humiliating defeat at Dien Bien Phu. The Americans took over and the war that resulted was devastating.
But the Vietnamese are an optimistic lot. They seem to harbor no will towards America. In fact the de facto alternative currency is the US Dollar.
We started the day by visiting the statue of Lý Thái Tổ. The statue is on a square that has the French quarter to one side and the old quarter to the other side. He was the emperor and founder of the Ly dynasty in the 1st century A.D. He is viewed as the founder of Hanoi having established his capital here. The square is across the street from the Hoan Kien Lake.
Hoan Kien stands for the lake of the returned sword. There are two legends associated with the Hoan Kien lake. In the first legend, the emperor Le Loi was confronted by a giant turtle from the lake. The turtle asked him to return the sword that the emperor used to defeat the Chinese to the dragon king. The king did and the turtle returned to the lake never to be seen again. Hence the name 'lake of the returned sword'. This lake is populated by turtles. Turtles are considered sacred by the Vietnamese.
Our guide told us that in the past year the oldest living turtle (200 years old) died. This turtle is embalmed and displayed in the Taoist temple at the end of the lake.
The second legend concerns a musician who received permission from the Vietnamese to build a memorial for Le Loi. He secretly wanted to bury his father but his plot was discovered at the last minute and thwarted. This memorial stands in the middle of the lake. It stands as a witness to the glory of Hanoi personified by the Emperor Le Loi.
There is an island in the middle of the Lake where the Pagoda Ngoc Son sits. The Pagoda is connected to the bank of the lake by a classical Vietnamese bridge painted red. This temple is dedicated to a general who defeated the Chinese. The temple is beautiful and serene. The bonsais are beautiful as always.
In the afternoon we witnessed a Water Puppet Show at the Thang Long theater. This theater is located very near the Hoan Kien lake. The puppet show is a depiction of the daily lives of rural vietnam. The puppets are manipulated over water. The show is accompanied by a Vietnamese opera. The men play flutes and 'vietnamese' violins while the ladies play the drums and sing. The puppeteers are behind bamboo curtains. They did come out at the end of the show, half submerged in water! The show was great, although we didn't understand a word. But puppetry has a universal language and we understood most of it.
The Water Puppet Stage
The Male musicians
The Female musicians
Tenements across the street from our Hotel
You can't help noticing that everyone is hawking something or the other. Vietnamese people are extremely entrepreneurial. They are also optimistic. How else can your explain a Vietnamese vendor trying to sell you a cap for 1 dollar or 3 dollars and walking away with no visible air of disappointment when you say no. There is a lot of capitalism for a country that is communist. The only visible sign of communism is the occasional flag with a hammer and a sickle.
Street Vendor across the street from our Hotel
Hanoi has gone through a lot. It was originally the capital city under the Nguyen kings, one of whom moved the capital to Hue. In the process he also trashed the city. Then the Chinese came, followed by the French. The Chinese were repelled. The French were also pushed back to the South. The French eventually left Vietnam after a humiliating defeat at Dien Bien Phu. The Americans took over and the war that resulted was devastating.
But the Vietnamese are an optimistic lot. They seem to harbor no will towards America. In fact the de facto alternative currency is the US Dollar.
Typical Street Scene in Hanoi
We started the day by visiting the statue of Lý Thái Tổ. The statue is on a square that has the French quarter to one side and the old quarter to the other side. He was the emperor and founder of the Ly dynasty in the 1st century A.D. He is viewed as the founder of Hanoi having established his capital here. The square is across the street from the Hoan Kien Lake.
Emperor Lý Thái Tổ
 |
 |
The Post Office in the French Quarter
Hoan Kien stands for the lake of the returned sword. There are two legends associated with the Hoan Kien lake. In the first legend, the emperor Le Loi was confronted by a giant turtle from the lake. The turtle asked him to return the sword that the emperor used to defeat the Chinese to the dragon king. The king did and the turtle returned to the lake never to be seen again. Hence the name 'lake of the returned sword'. This lake is populated by turtles. Turtles are considered sacred by the Vietnamese.
Our guide told us that in the past year the oldest living turtle (200 years old) died. This turtle is embalmed and displayed in the Taoist temple at the end of the lake.
The second legend concerns a musician who received permission from the Vietnamese to build a memorial for Le Loi. He secretly wanted to bury his father but his plot was discovered at the last minute and thwarted. This memorial stands in the middle of the lake. It stands as a witness to the glory of Hanoi personified by the Emperor Le Loi.
The Memoriam to Emperor Le Loi in the middle of Lake Hoan Kien
There is an island in the middle of the Lake where the Pagoda Ngoc Son sits. The Pagoda is connected to the bank of the lake by a classical Vietnamese bridge painted red. This temple is dedicated to a general who defeated the Chinese. The temple is beautiful and serene. The bonsais are beautiful as always.
 |
 |
The Red Bridge connecting the Ngoc Son temple to the bank of the Lake
The Pagoda
A Banyan Tree Bonsai
In the afternoon we witnessed a Water Puppet Show at the Thang Long theater. This theater is located very near the Hoan Kien lake. The puppet show is a depiction of the daily lives of rural vietnam. The puppets are manipulated over water. The show is accompanied by a Vietnamese opera. The men play flutes and 'vietnamese' violins while the ladies play the drums and sing. The puppeteers are behind bamboo curtains. They did come out at the end of the show, half submerged in water! The show was great, although we didn't understand a word. But puppetry has a universal language and we understood most of it.
The Water Puppet Stage
The Male musicians
The Female musicians
No comments:
Post a Comment