Posted by vietnamtravelblog on August 19, 2008 under Vietnam Travel Tips | 
Today the Internet is widely available throughout towns and cities in Vietnam, including dial-up (VNN1260 or VNN1269) and ADSL (MEGA VNN). ADSL services are using in most hotels, guesthouses and cyber cafés while dial-up services can be used through telephone line.
Hotels and guesthouses may apply varied charges on internet usage. Cyber cafés are a good choice with just 2,000 to 3,000d per hour. Many post offices also offer this service.
It’s easy to access internet with a personal notebook or laptop (with “standard” modem) as hotels offer several facilities in the room. You can buy prepaid cards to save cost, they are sold at most post offices. Remember that the power supply voltage may vary from that at home, risking damage to your equipment.
Posted by vietnamtravelblog on August 18, 2008 under Vietnam Culture, Vietnam Festivals |
Ooc-Om-Bok Festival is a religious service that worships the moon deity of the Khmer minority group and prays for good luck, happiness, good weather and bumper crops. The festival is usually held when the dry season begins and rice are ripening on the fields.
The Moon-worshipping ceremony takes place on the evening of 14th of tenth lunar month before the moon goes to the top. The ceremony is held in the yards of the pagoda or of residents’ houses. People erect bamboo poles with a crossbar on which they decorate with flowers and leaves. Below is a table of offerings that include green rice flakes, potatoes, bananas, coconuts, grapefruits, oranges and cakes. People sit on the ground with crossed legs, clasping their hands before the altar and look up the Moon. An old master of ceremonies says his prayers, asks the moon deity to receive the offerings and bless people with the best.
After the ceremony, the elders ask the children of the house sit flatly on the ground with crossed legs before the altar. The elders then take a handful of green rice, feed each child and ask them what they wish while clapping their backs. If the children answer the question clearly and politely, all the best will come to them that year. After that, people enjoy the offerings together, and children play games or dance and sing in the moonlight. Anyone who visits the Khmer’s houses on this occasion will be tasted com dep (a kind of young sticky rice). At the pagodas of Khmer people, locals hold paper-lantern releasing into the sky and putting on the rivers. The custom of releasing flying lights and floating lights is believed to sweep away the darkness, impure and sadness from the village. Many traditional activities of the Khmer are organized on the evening of 14th.
Posted by vietnamtravelblog on under Vietnamese Business Culture |
Meetings are considered very formal in Vietnam. It is not common to commit to meeting a long time in advance. In Vietnam the meeting will be confirmed at most one week prior to the appointment. It may make it difficult for you planning a trip but it is a reality in Vietnam. You should reconfirm your meeting one or two days ahead. You also should contact with your partner first to get a list of participants and their ranks so you know who you will talk with. Vice versa send your representatives before the meeting.
You will be led into a meeting room in which the Vietnamese are already present. Your team leader should enter first. And after greeting by making handshaking, your team will be invited for sitting across a table, leaders opposite each other and others seated in descending order of importance.
Small talk will come first. Business is addressed once people feel comfortable with each other. The head of the host team will deliver a short welcome speech, and then turn the floor over to the visitors. Your senior team member should speak for your company; avoid conflicting statements from other team members. When talking, your spokesman should address the senior Vietnamese representative. Vietnamese prefer to hear a proposal as a broad overview, and then respond to specific issues or questions point by point.
Business cards are a common opening to business meetings. It is very impressive if you prepare the business card which has two sides, one has your own language and the other translated into Vietnamese. Because it is a little bit difficult for you and your partner to distinguish foreign people so a very important point is you should put your picture into the business card. Business cards should be handed to all those attending a meeting because it is sometimes difficult to discern who the important players are and who will play what role in the future. Generally, a business card should be handed to the most senior person first. Cards should be presented with two hands to very important officials, but for all others there is no required etiquette. By reading your hosts’ cards carefully, you can show respect and clarify the function of the person with whom you are speaking. Don’t disregard the cards or shove them in your pocket. Basically, treat them with respect but don’t obsess over them. In the case of large delegations, the exchange of cards may only take place between the most senior representatives. Other members of the group can exchange cards after the meeting is complete.
Tags: business, business culture, business meetings, culture, meeting, Tips, travel, travel Vietnam, viet nam, vietnam, vietnam business culture
Posted by vietnamtravelblog on under Vietnam World heritages |
Still remaining its form of City underMiddle Age and the constructions of monarchic, a invaluable museum of Vietnam, this is Imperial City – the last remaining section of 19th-century Hue, and it is now a modern experiment in recreating traditional Vietnam. The Imperial City was recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO on December 1993. Let’s take a trip through the most important historical and cultural monument of Vietnam.
The layout of the Imperial City
The main reason to visit Hue is the citadel of the old capital, along with the royal tombs scattered around the countryside. In the early 19th century the Emperor Gia Long chose the present site at Hue. The Emperor wished to recreate, in abbreviated form, a replica of the Forbidden City in Beijing. This vast structure is an unusual hybrid, built according to the notions of Chinese geomancy but in the style of the noted French military architect Sebastien de Vauban.
Dominating the skyline is the 37m (120ft) high Cot Co or Flag Tower, first erected in 1809. Cot Co achieved international renown on the morning of 31 January 1968, when communist forces seized the Citadel and ran their yellow-starred banner up its tall mast.
The lower part of the gate is stone, while on top is the “Belvedere of the Five Phoenixes” where the emperor appeared on important occasions, and where the last emperor abdicated to Ho Chi Minh’s Revolutionary Government in 1945.
Just inside the gate is a lotus pond with a bridge once reserved for the emperor’s private use. Across the bridge is the Thai Hoa Palace used for official receptions and other important court ceremonies. The columns supporting the roof are lacquered and inlaid with gold.
Thai Hoa Palace
Behind the Thai Hoa Palace are a pair of smaller halls used by mandarins to prepare for court ceremonies. The halls form a courtyard, the fourth side of which was once a wall dividing the more public area of the citadel from the emperor’s private residence, the “Forbidden Purple City.” The name conjures up images of grand palaces like Beijing. Unfortunately, it takes quite a bit of imagination to picture the buildings that once occupied what is now a grassy expanse. What wasn’t destroyed by a fire in 1947 was bombed in the 1968 Tet Offensive. The picture at above left was taken from the upper-most level looking back at the Thai Hoa palace and the Flag tower.
Off to one side of the central axis of the forbidden city, about midway, is the Thai Binh Lau or Royal Library. This small building stands in a garden and is fronted by small pond mostly taken up by a mountain-island well-grown with moss and bonsai. You will find similar ponds, fountains or even large bowls of water in many structures all over Vietnam.
Although you must enter the citadel through the main gate, you can exit it at several other points. Between the Thai Hoa palace and the halls of the mandarins, a path leads to the Hien Nhon gate (left). Leaving by this gate is the shortest route to get from the forbidden city to the museum at Long An palace. Along the path are a couple of buildings worth a look.
A visit to Hue might be considered incomplete without a boat trip on the outstandingly lovely Perfume River. Boats are readily available for hire, either for an exploratory trip in the vicinity of Hue, or for a longer journey upstream to the tombs of Minh Mang and Gia Long.
Perfume River
It’s hard to explain the uncanny beauty of the river, though doubtless the irridescent, aquamarine waters, together with the profusion of colourful craft and boat women sporting non la–the ubiquitous cream-coloured conical hat of Vietnam–all contribute to the effect. On a clear, sunny day the Perfume River can indeed be magical.
By Vietnam-beauty.com
Tags: city, Gia Long, Hue, hue city, Minh mang, Perfume River, travel Vietnam, UNESCO, vietnam, World Cultural Heritage, world heritages
Posted by vietnamtravelblog on under Vietnam Travel Info, Vietnam Travel Tips |
It’s been quite a week getting through Vietnamese red tape. One of my designated tasks in preparation for our trip to Vietnam has been organising our visas. Citizens from most countries in the world need a visa to enter Vietnam. There’s a Vietnamese Embassy in London, so a couple of weeks ago, I started doing the paperwork for a visit to their visas office so that Monsieur and I don’t end up being returned to England as rejected goods.
As anyone who’s ever applied for a visa will know, embassy queues are unpredictable and I hate not knowing how long I’ll be away from work if i have to undertake this sort of errand. Groaning to myself as I realised how much time this was going to take, I googled Vietnam visas and lo’ and behold, found the online answer to my visa prayers. It’s now possible to apply for your visa through an online agent, pay a processing fee and print an authorisation letter with a special code for presentation when you arrive at one of the international airports in Vietnam. You’ll need to present 2 passport photos with the letter and a visa fee, but even added to the processing fee, this system still works out way cheaper than doing it the embassy way here in London.
The first part went well. I sent through a completed online form with our trip and passport details and almost immediately received a confirmation of receipt. A few hours later, an e-mail arrived saying we’d been approved for entry into Vietnam, giving me details of how to pay the processing fee either by Western Union or Xoom.com.
You guessed it – this is where my problems began. The Western Union online money transfer system all seemed to be going swimmingly until a page appeared telling me to call them to confirm the transaction. I did so, answered about 30 or so questions regarding the transaction and was then told firmly that it had been denied. I called my bank to ask why; they told me the transaction was showing as confirmed and recommended calling Western Union again. W U told me that this confusion often happened with banks and that I would receive my money back in seven to ten days. If I wanted it sooner, I should apply to my bank as my money was currently sitting in a suspense account. I called my bank again. They told me that only Western Union could release the funds from the suspense account. The only suspense there was in this situation was going to be when I could expect my money back. I called Western Union again and flipped out.
“so you’re telling me that even though your system was always going to refuse my transaction, you took my money anyway and now I can’t have it back for seven to ten days? That’s theft. You must be making a fortune out of this scam. It’s my money, you took it, you won’t approve me to send it where I need it, you’ll get the interest from it for a week and a half and you tell me it’s my fault for pressing the SEND button?”
That’s right. They told me it was my fault. I won’t go on. My blood pressure’s rising as I write this. In summary, I was put onto one of those supervisors who’s been thoroughly trained in how to speak with hyperventilating hysterical customers, which only enraged me more as I have been through that sort of training myself so I can hear all the tell-tale phrases.
I called my bank again. Explaining my frustration, I was then told that it was all my bank’s fault. The fraud alert computer spotted my attempt to send money to Vietnam, a place with which I have no relationship according to my account history, so the card was blocked immediately. The bank clerk unblocked it for me and logged the dates I’d be travelling in case this happened again. I logged onto Xoom.com, tried to send across the visa money again and was again blocked. I called the bank again. They told me that my card had been blocked once more because the previous clerk with whom I’d dealt had logged me as being in Vietnam already so the computer thought a UK transaction was fraudulent. The account was unblocked for a second time but even after another hour I still couldn’t get the money to go through. Fed up, I stopped trying.
The following day, I logged onto Xoom again. This time, thank Heavens, the transaction arrived safely in Ho Chi Minh City and Monsieur and I will receive our visa confirmation letters before we leave. Now I just have to get my money back from Western Union.
Summary:
Started transfer attempt number 1 – 2.15pm day 1
Successfully completed transfer - 12.38pm day 2
Calls to Western Union -3
Calls to bank – 4
Western Union refused transactions – 1
Xoom.com refused transactions – 6
Xoom.com accepted transactions -1
Blood pressure reading after third call to Western Union -180/120, i.e. dangerous.
Western Union fee for sending $36US to Vietnam – £12.00 GBP (rip off)
Xoom fee for sending $36US to Vietnam – $5.99 US (far cheaper)
Would I recommend Western Union? – NO.
Advice – call your bank before attempting an unusual transaction to make sure it isn’t blocked.
http://epicurienne.wordpress.com/2008/08/17/visas-for-vietnam/
View more cool article here: http://epicurienne.wordpress.com
Posted by vietnamtravelblog on August 17, 2008 under Vietnam Travel Tips |
In comparison with other countries, Vietnam is considered as one of the safest country for personal security. But as a traveler, you should be aware of some crimes to avoid bad situation during your trip. Here are some safety tips which can helps you when you travel in Vietnam:
- Be careful in a crowded area such as local festivals, tourist site… there may have some gambles which you should not join and also pickpockets.
- Keep enough money in your pocket and don’t show off it in the public place. Keep the rest on your body. It would be very convenient if you carry the credit or master card. You can withdraw the money in almost big cities and some tourist sites. Remember don’t count your money when you’re standing at ATM, put it in your wallet and check it in a safe place later.
- With the important document such as passport/visa you can keep it in safety deposit box in the hotels.
- You should never wear a bag or purse to avoid bag snatchers.
- Traffic in Vietnam, especially in big cities such as Hanoi and Saigon is very terrible so be careful when you cross the street. Here is a video of how to cross the street in Vietnam. Get experiences and don’t get shocked!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jp_PHAgt1Q]
Posted by vietnamtravelblog on under Vietnam Travel Tips |
It’s very interesting to know some basic vietnamese words while traveling in Vietnam. Here we give you some basic Vietnamese words with the phonetic spelling to help you talk with Vietnamese people in a friendly way.
|
We |
chúng tôi |
choong toi |
|
Please |
xin |
som |
| 1 |
10 |
Thank you |
cám ơn |
cam uhn |
| Mot |
Mooy |
Hello |
xin chào |
sin chow |
| 2 |
20 |
Goodbye |
chào/tạm biệt |
chow/tam beet-et |
| Hi |
Hi-mooi |
Sorry |
xin lỗi |
sin loy |
| 3 |
21 |
I want to buy |
tôi muốn mua |
toy moo-uhn mooa |
| Ba |
Hi-mooi-mot |
How much? |
bao nhiêu |
ba-ow nyew |
| 4 |
99 |
Want to go |
muốn đi |
moo-uhn de |
| Bawn |
Cheen Mooy-cheen |
Where is |
ở đâu |
uh dow |
| 5 |
100 |
Hotel |
khách sạn |
khack san |
| Num |
Mot-chum |
Restaurant |
nhà hàng |
nya hang |
| 6 |
101 |
Toilet |
nhà vệ sinh |
nya veh sing |
| Saow |
Mot-chum-ling-mot |
Bottled warter |
nước khoáng |
noo-uk kwang |
| 7 |
230 |
Boiled water |
nước sôi |
nook soy |
| Buy |
Hi-chum-ba-mooy |
Tea |
chè (north) |
chay |
| 8 |
4000 |
|
trà (south) |
chah |
| Taam |
Bawn nyeen |
Coffee |
cà phê |
ca-fay |
| 9 |
50,000 |
Ticket |
vé |
veh |
| Cheen |
Num-mooy-nyeen |
Railway station |
ga tàu |
gah |
| 10 |
600,000 |
Hot |
nóng |
nong |
| Mooy |
Saow-chum-nyeen |
Cold |
lạnh |
lang |
|
8,000,000 |
Do you have? |
có không |
ko..khong |
|
Taam Chiew |
Yes I have |
vâng, có |
vahng,kwa |
|
9,000,000,000 |
Good/Bad |
tốt/ không tốt |
toh-t/khong toh-t |
|
Cheen Tee |
I (do not) like |
tôi (không) thích |
toy (khong) thik |
| Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
| Thứ hai |
Thứ ba |
Thứ tư |
Thứ năm |
Thứ sáu |
Thứ bảy |
Chủ nhật |
| I |
Tôi |
toy |
| You |
Anh (m) when addressing people the same age, formal |
ang |
|
Chị (f) when addressing a woman who is slightly older than you |
chee |
|
Em (m or f) when addressing some younger |
em |
|
Ông(m),Bà(f) when addressing an elderly man(ong) or woman(ba) |
ong/ba |
|
Cháu ( m or f) when addressing a child |
chow |
Posted by vietnamtravelblog on under Vietnam Travel Tips |
Going to Vietnam, you can discover the country through various cities, tourist sites … by air, road, train or boat…
Traveling by Air
Traveling by air may be the first choice for traveler in Vietnam. There are three international airports in Vietnam: Noi Bai in Hanoi, Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang in Danang city. Airport tax is 14$ for only international flights in each airports.
Flights are available to almost big airports such as Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Phnom Penh, Dubai, Paris, and Frankfurt…
In major cities of Vietnam, plane ticket booking is available via telephone and internet. It is also available at civil aviation ticketing offices, travel agencies and hotels.
Taxies
Taxies service are available all day at the airport, hotels, railway station in the big cities and provinces. The prices is about 1$ for the first 2km, and every kilometer thereafter costs about 0.5$. It can be vary based on the taxi service provider you choose.
Pedicab or Cyclo
Pedicab available in some cities such as Hanoi, Hue, Dan Nang, Hoi An and Saigon. You can discover these city by Pedicab (it is called “xich lo” in Vietnamese). It costs about 40.000 VND to 50.000 VND / hour (3$ ~ 4$ dollars / hour). It is very convenient that you can take photos or make movies while sitting in pedicab.
Trains
Vietnam’s railway provides an alternative travel mean to the plane. You can travel through Vietnam by train but it takes time because the journey time is long. Sleeping compartments usually are available on the long-distances train.
Ticket can be bought at the station of Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City in advance.
Cars for Rent
Cars for rent are available at almost travel agencies. There are a wide range of cars you can rent with drivers.
Motorbikes for Rent
Motorbikes for rent are available in almost tourist town and cities. If you want to have an enjoyable sightseeing you can rent one. It costs about 6$ to 12$ performance day to rent a motorbike.
Posted by vietnamtravelblog on under Uncategorized |
Here, new buildings, there, persons in a hurry… It is the picture of a busting, dynamic but beautiful and friendly city – Ho Chi Minh City, the Chief Southern Centre of Vietnam!
Introduction & Location
If you have visited a number of cities in Vietnam but forgot Ho Chi Minh City, you have not known much about Vietnam for real. It is considered the capital of the Southern area of Vietnam. It is located near the Mekong delta, about 1,760 kilometers south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam with the population of 7 million in the area of 2095 square kilometers (908 square miles). Ho Chi Minh City is the second heart and soul of Vietnam, to Hanoi. It’s a bustling, dynamic and industrious centre, the largest city in the country, the economic capital and the cultural trendsetter. Yet within the teeming metropolis are the timeless traditions and beauty of an ancient culture.
History
Ho Chi Minh City (abbreviation HCMC), commonly known as Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam and the former capital of the Republic of Vietnam. The city used to be a small fishing village, inhabited by Khmer people, Cambodia before becoming a land under Nguyen dynasty rule in 1698, being conquered by France from 1950 to 1975. Throughout its long history, HCMC appears to be not only a modern and dynamic city but a cultural and historical one as well.
Following the Fall of Saigon in 1975, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Nevertheless, the old Saigon moniker is still used by both Vietnamese and foreigners.
Weather
You are going to visit Sai Gon? The best time to visit weather-wise is the dry season between December and April, when the humidity is more manageable. The clouds start getting heavy around November and stay through March. The Tet Festival in late January or early February is an exciting, if extremely hectic, time to visit. Being only 10.5° above the equator and between 5 and 10m (16-35ft) above sea level, Ho Chi Minh City is almost a template for tropical weather. Temperatures rarely vary from about 30°C (86°F).
People and Culture
Exploring deeply inside Sai Gon, tourists may be surprised at the diversity of ethnic minorities in the magnificent city and its surroundings. Apart from Kinh (or Viet) people, there are a number of others, for example, Chinese, (the largest Chinese community in Vietnam), Khmer, Cham, Nung, and Rhade, etc. Each of them has their own cultural characteristics, languages, costumes, lifestyles, and religions such as: Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Ancestor Worship, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Islam, Hinduism, and Bahá’í Faith. Yet, the vast majority is Kinh people, whose common charateristic is to be friendly, hospitable, open-hearted, and straightforward.
These days, lots of Sai Gon’s youngsters and youths could speak English fairly well. They are more and more fond of communicating with foreigners in English for practice. More importantly, they are helpful, which fully reassure first-time foreign visitors to this city.
HCMC, as known, is now growing up to be an industrious, modern and dynamic city, with a lot of new modern constructions of Western architecture. However, here and there you can still see ancient monuments such as Notre Dame Cathedral, Thien Hau Pagoda, Phung Son Tu Pagoda, etc., making it a special picture of “an integrated rather than dissolved city”. HCMC is called “the Pearl of the Far East” or “Paris in the Orient” thanks to this special fascinating beauty, capable to have most travellers lengthen their stay.
Places of Interest
Being a city embracing both traditional and modern beauty, HCMC is an ideal destination of interest for every generations with different characters.
You are young, active and playful? There are uncountable places of entertainment for you in this fast-growing dynamic city. Dam Sen Water Park is worth your try. Opened in 1999 with new water slides added each year, this water park offers some truly unique water slide experiences (including the amazing “Space Bowl”)! Or you may like to watch films? Galaxy cinema with up-to-date films on big screen would be your premium choice. Though not as huge as that in some other countries, it is one amongst the top places of entertainment in Ho Chi Minh City these days.
If you prefer places of religion and history, here we go! Notre Dame Cathedral (Nhà thờ Đức Bà) is the old architectural monument, which is much enchanting. Incense Thien Hau Pagoda is dedicated to Lady Thien Hau, the sea goddess, who left two giant turtles to keep an eye on things in her absence. A festival is held in her honor on the 23rd day of the March lunar month. Don’t miss the gorgeous sculptures in the walls of the courtyard outside the temple! Quan Am Pagoda, the oldest pagoda in town, and Phung Son Tu Pagoda, which is dedicated to the God of happiness and virtue. The pagoda itself is dusty and dwarfed by high-rises under construction nearby, but the small, sculpted grounds are a good place for a rest from the hectic city. Besides, you should also visit some premium museums of the city, such as the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Museum of Vietnamese History, and Revolutionary Museum and the War Remnants Museum.
Further more, HCMC is a city that churns, ferments, bubbles and fumes. The streets are a jumble of street markets, shops, pavement cafes, stands-on-wheels and vendors selling wares spread out on sidewalks. It’s impossible not to be infected by its exhilarating vibe.
Dynamic economical outlook
As mentioned, HCMC is now one of the two most significant economic centre of Vietnam. Around 300,000 enterprises are trading in high-tech, electronics, processing and light industries, in construction, building materials and agro-products on a whole. Further foreign investment is now pouring into the city. Month by month, year by year, buildings, contructions of entertainment, tourism, and companies come up. Higher education in Ho Chi Minh City is much concentrated, with about 76 universities and colleges and a total of over 380,000 students. The health care system of the city is relatively improved with a chain of about 100 public-owned hospitals or medical centers and dozens of private-owned clinics. Transportation is more and more convenient with four means of transport system: airlines, rail, road and marine. What is more, mass media is day by day fast developing. It is also the home of hundreds cinemas and theatres, parks, and luxury and standard hotels. Well, what can you see from this much-to-say view? I can only see rapid growth and great economic as well as tourism potential!
Activities
- Notre – Dame Cathedral
- War Remnants Museum
- Jade Emperor Pagoda
- Binh Tay Market
- China Town
- Cu Chi Tunnels
Posted by vietnamtravelblog on under Vietnam Culture |
If you are ever in Hanoi it will be regretful to miss the Water Puppet Theater – even if you think you are not a puppet kind of person. Water Puppets literally means “puppets that dance on the water”. This show is not just geared for kids, but meant to delight adults as well.
History:
Vietnamese Water Puppet originated from the Red River Delta of Vietnam in the tenth century. Some of the earliest troupes are in Nguyên Xá commune, Đông Hưng district, Thai Binh province. Water puppetry is deeply imbued with the cultural characteristics of the people of this area. This unique art first appeared around the 15th century, when post-harvest, artists who were also farmers would gather to perform and relax. The custom remains today in many localities in the Red River Delta such as Dao Thuc, Phu Da, Dong Ca, Nguyen Xa, Dong Ngu, Nhan Hoa and Nam Chan.
In ancient Vietnam, the rural Vietnamese believed that spirits controlled all aspects of their life, from the kitchen to the rice paddies. That is the reason why the farmers in this region devised a form of entertainment and worship to satisfy these spirits. Water puppetry is the lively creation of farmers who spent their days in flooded rice fields. At some point, they discovered that the water was an excellent medium for puppetry: it not only concealed the puppeteers’ rod and string mechanisms, but it also provided exciting effects like waves and splashes.
When water puppetry became more popular, villages competed against each other with their puppet shows. This led puppet societies to be secretive and exclusive, including an initiation ceremony that involved drinking rooster blood.
So far this art form has been unique to North Vietnam. Tourists can enjoy this kind of art all days in a week at Thang Long Puppet Theatre, which is the most well known one in Ha Noi.
Performance
For over a thousand years, performers in Vietnamese Water Puppet Theater’s feet have always suffered in cold and wet condition. Water puppetry is performed in a chest-deep pool of water, with the water’s surface as a stage. The puppeteers stand behind a screen and control the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface.
The puppet is carved out of wood and often weighs up to 15 kg. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers to control them. The appearance is of the puppets moving over the water. The puppets enter from either side of the stage, or emerge from the murky depths of the water. In the past when the rice fields were flooded the villagers would entertain each other using this puppet form.
A traditional Vietnamese orchestra provides background music accompaniment. Singers of Cheo (a form of opera) with origin in North Vietnam sing the songs which tell the story being acted out by the puppets. Performances of up to 18 short scenes are usually introduced by a pig-tailed bumpkin known as Teu, and accompanied by a small folk orchestra. The musicians and the puppets interact during performance; the musicians may yell a word of warning to a puppet in danger or a word of encouragement to a puppet in need.
Along with singing the atmosphere, while the decorations set the stage for each particula, traditional musical instruments like drums, wooden bells, cymbals, horns, two-string Chinese violins and flutes create r style of water puppetry. Researcher Nguyen Huy Hong believes that water puppetry combines sculpture, architecture, painting, music, stage and literature.
Content
The theme of the skits is rural and has a strong reference to Vietnamese folklore. It tells of day-to-day living in rural Vietnam and Vietnamese folk tales that are told older generation to younger generation. Of which stories of the harvest, of fishing and of festivals are highlighted.
The water also provides the best setting for the puppeteers’ theme: day-to-day village life. Water puppets bring wry humor to scenes of farming, fishing, festival events such as buffalo fights, and children’s games of marbles and coin-toss. Fishing turns into a game of wits between the fisherman and his prey, with the fisherman getting the short end (often capturing his surprised neighbor by mistake). Besides village life, scenes include legends and national history. Lion dogs romp like puppies while dragons exhale smoke and shoot sprays of water at the audience. Teu, a pig-tailed bumpkin, is the character who usually plays the role of introducing the performances. The introduction is always accompanied by a small folk orchestra. Spotlights and colorful flags adorn the stage and create a festive atmosphere.
Legends and national history are also told through short skits. Many of the skits, especially those involving the tales of day-to-day living, often have a humorous twist.
Water puppetry has always gone hand in hand with festivals. Each Lunar March 13, Bo Duong villagers hold village festival to commemorate their tutelary god. Aside from worship, the festival is also an opportunity for villagers to relax by watching water puppetry, taking in fireworks displays, flying kites and entering cock-fighting contests. The festival always attracts thousands of attendants. Village festivals are great wind down for farmers and artists alike.
By Le Trang from Vietnam-beauty.com
Tags: mua roi, mua roi nuoc, tour, travel, viet nam, vietnam, vietnam beauty, Vietnam Culture, vietnam travel, vietnamese, water puppet
