The Ancient Art Of Water Pupperty (roi nuoc)

Today Paige and I went to see a performance of the Water Puppets, a show that shouldn't be missed by any visitor to Hanoi.
Having seen this performance and enjoyed on a holiday 2 years ago I thought I would take Paige again. When I told her we were going to see the Water Puppets she was very excited as she seemed to remembered them. It was interesting to see her excitement as the performance started. The show isn't in English but with the small written program in hand and with the music playing it is easy to follow the story line.

Paige just loved it, I think her favorite part was when the sparkler fire work came out with the dragon water puppets.

Picture: The water stage with the puppets

Here is a bit more information on this interesting performance form;

Vietnamese water puppetry is an age-old art that is intimately tied to the rural culture of rice farmers.

Origin and History - A unique form of Vietnamese puppetry called mua roi nuoc can be traced to the Red River delta region of northern Vietnam in the twelfth century. An inscription dating to the Ly dynasty provides the first record of a water puppet performance. It was given in 1121 in honor of the longevity of king Ly Nhan Tong, but no one knows how long rural farmers had been performing before then. Over the centuries, as with many other kinds of artisans and craftsmen in Vietnam, the puppet makers and puppeteers formed guilds in a few of the villages.

Picture: A scene of a march

Characteristics and Operation - The puppets are carved from fig wood, decorated with bright colors, and covered with numerous layers of lacquer to make them waterproof. They have movable heads and arms and are mounted on a base that features a rudder and acts as a fulcrum for the strings that control the upper body. The puppets measure 18-36 inches in height and weigh 20-30 pounds. The figures exhibit a variety of forms: humans of all sorts, animals like water buffalo and cormorants, mythological beings like fairies and dragons, and familiar objects like boats and fish traps. The puppeteers stand in waist-high water behind a curtained backdrop and control the figures with bamboo rods and string mechanisms below the surface. Complex maneuvers can make dragons exhale smoke or fish shoot sprays of water at the audience.

Picture: Water puppets dancing

The Stage - In ancient times, shallow ponds and rice paddies were the stages for impromptu shows. The water surface was an integral part of the play. It concealed the legs of the puppeteers and provided exciting effects like waves and splashes. The rest of the puppeteer's body was hidden by a curtained frame. The simple theater stages of wood, bamboo, and cloth developed into permanent structures as the folk art evolved over the centuries to a more established form. Some of these stages still exist and date to the Le dynasty (1533-1708). In modern times, the stage is a water-filled tank with a platform alongside for the orchestra. The puppeteers are concealed from the audience by a pagoda-like structure that covers half the tank and provides a backstage area for maneuvering and storing the puppets.
Performances - A typical performance consists of 18-25 short scenes lasting a few minutes each. Themes include humorous aspects of daily life, fairy tales, folk legends, and national history. A small orchestra accompanies the vocalists and provides dramatic effects with drums and cymbals. Fireworks also figure in some of the stories.

Picture: Musicians play and sing during the performance

Picture: Puppeteers at the end of a performance

Exploring The Old Quarter Of Hanoi

Well getting to know a new city is always interesting. We decided to explore some of the old quarter in Hanoi. The streets are narrow and congested with a mix of scooters, small cars, hawkers and tourists making there way around. Like the rest of Hanoi crossing the road is an art form bikes come from everywhere and as you cross the move all around you so its best to keep moving and not stop, just look straight and walk.

Picture: One of the corners in the old quarter

Description from the lonely plant book "This part of the city is home to a thousand years of history, the commercial quarter of the city evolved alongside the Red River and the smaller To Lich River, which once flowed through the city centre in an intricate network on canals and waterways, teeming with boats. Waters could rise as high as 8m during the monsoon. Dikes were constructed to protect the city and these can still be seen along Tran Quang Khai. In the 13th century Hanoi's 36 guilds established themselves here, each taking a different street, hence the original name 36 Streets. Today, there are more than 50 streets in today's Old Quarter. 'Hang' means merchandise and is usually followed by the name of the product that was traditionally sold in the street. Thus, Pho Hang Gai translates as 'Silk Street'. These days the street name may not indicate what's sold there, otherwise there would be lots of Pho Hang Du Lich (Tourism Streets)".

Picture: Some buildings in the old quarter

Walking around we found some streets stare very narrow and open up while others narrow into a warren of alleys. Even with a map it is easy to get disoriented. Many of the stores sell the same thing but I think if you find something you like it is best negotiate a price and buy as it may be a hard task finding the same store again if you want to come back. As a person now living here it is hard to blend, being a Westner we just look like another tourist so you pay the price for example the prices seem to be higher here, the area we live you can buy on the street two small peeled pineapples for 10,000 dong (less then $1) here in the old area, one peeled pineapple is 30,000 dong ($2) still cheap when you feel like a snack but just goes to show some of the difference. Being such a big area we only saw a small part of this area so exploring another time will be added to the list of things to do.

Picture: A local lady walking around selling her items

Picture: Local cat taking it easy

House Hunting

Apartment or house? how many rooms? swimming pool?, garden? or garage? and what location? these are the questions we have had to answer in our search for a house. The big question we are asked is "what is the budget?". I have viewed a couple of areas and like the area called "Tay Ho". This is the area that we have been staying in at the moment in the serviced apartments.

Picture: Serviced apartments we are staying called Sedona Suites

I have been exploring the streets of "Tay Ho" and this area seems to have many expats living here and seems very safe. Many expats walk around at night. This area seems to have a lot of life to it and a bit of sole. It has a nice mix of new and old feeling to it so this is the area we have mainly been looking in for housing. A newer area I have viewed across the lake from Tay Ho is called Ciputra which also has a lot of expats living there but to be honest, nothing seems to be out of place, all the houses look the same, and feels very secluded from everything. I am not sure how I would tell where I lived most likely going to the wrong house when arriving home.

Pictures: Homes look all the same in the Ciputra area

Land in Hanoi is very expensive. We have found houses are usually built very close together with not much garden. If a house has a pool then it is usually located under the house which seems a bit strange. Most homes have four levels and if you are lucky the roof top has an entertaining area but a lot of the homes I have seen don't. It has been very hard to find everything on our wish list so what I thought was important in the beginning I have had to reconsider.

Picture: The driveway of the house we are considering renting

I am glad that if we can not find anything that we are happy with then we are able to stay in the serviced apartments for as long as we need. There is one house we are going to consider which I will be talking to the estate agent about as there are a number of things that would need to be fixed and changed before a long term lease is signed because once a lease is signed then people have told us that things don't seem to get done which is common practice.

Hello Hanoi

Well we finally arrived in Hanoi after the flight from London. It has been four days and we are settling in nicely. We are staying in the Sedona Suites which are serviced apartments and are very nice. Paige has been enjoying being able to swim and I think we are all enjoying the warm weather. The time difference from London has taken a bit of getting used to and the first couple of nights we where all up wide awake around 3am in the morning. So far we havent rushed into anything, the hard work starts next week. Ben starts his new job and I start house hunting.

We have been lucky as we have got some great tips from another couple who have been here for a while with the same company.

The area that we are staying in is called Tay Ho and seems quite nice also seems really safe. We have seen many expats walking around at all times of the day and night which is reassuring. We havent really done much exploring but that will come with time. It is kind of strange our taste buds seem to be working over time as all the food here seems really nice and sooooooo fresh. We have not done much cooking as it is really cheap to eat out and we havent had any complaints from our taste buds or stomaches so thats a good sign.

It is all really exciting as this is my first blog from Hanoi so only time will tell how we like things here, I am sure I will have my good days and bad days as it is only expected living in a new country. I can honestly say "so far so good" and I have my fingers crossed that it will continue that way but only time will tell.

England Holiday - Part Two Driving

Picture: Bernadette & Paige with the hirer car

Day 6 - Thursday
Seeing as we were staying in England for about two weeks we decided that we would hire a car and drive out of London for some of that time.
The costs sure do add up when hiring a car, extra insurance, congestion fee for cars travelling around London, GPS unit and fuel. Once we signed our life away we hit the open road, headed across to Bath.
Our first stop was at Windsor Palace where it started to rain and it was a bit hard finding our way in for the lack of signs but we eventually succeeded. Inside once again we found an array of opulence and were amazed at how big the rooms were. We came across Queen Victoria's dolls house room which there was the biggest dolls house we had ever seen. The dolls house even came with landscaping around it.

Picture: Part of Windsor Palace

After looking around it was time to move on to the city of Bath. After checking into a hotel we found we went off for a walk and headed to the main tourist attraction, the Roman Baths. We were surprised to find the baths in the centre of town and we thought really worth seeing. There was a lot of history to this place so as we wondered around with the electronic guide it was interesting to hear all about it. We felt the water which turned out was quite warm and it’s a shame that you can’t take a dip as the Romans used to.

After stepping back into the street we head to a local pub and had a feed of some mashed potatoes and pie, yum (and more ale for Ben).

Picture: Inside the Roman Baths

Picture: View from hotel room of Bath

Day 7 – Friday
We explored around Bath and walked along the Avon River until early afternoon, such a nice town which had a nice warm feel to it.

Picture: A view of the river

We hit the road again and drove to Bristol where we met up with a friend of ours, Mark Hall who we had known from Kalgoorlie and now lives in Perth. Mark was on a business trip. It is such a small world. We all decided to take an evening walk to find something for dinner. What better way to enjoy the evening then to sit in a local park and dine on some yummy lamb kebabs.

Picture: Mark & Paige

Day 8 – Saturday
Today we where on our mission to do some site seeing. We drove to Bovington where Ben wanted to visit a tank museum. Funny story, it wasn’t until the last day in Mongolia that I found out it was a tank museum we were going to see. I thought Ben had said “tent” museum, just goes to show what an understanding wife I am as I was willing to go look at tents of all things. The tank museum turned out to be quit interesting. There was a very large number of tanks on display. To be honest I didn’t realise that there where so many different tanks. Paige and I wondered around while Ben was preoccupied with the information boards at each tank.

Picture: Paige & Bernadette standing in front tank on display

Picture: Paige in front of yet another tank

After stopping at a local pub for lunch we headed to Amesbury to see Stonehenge. As we came over the hill we could see Stonehenge in the distance. We located the car park and paid our entrance fee to walked under the small underpass to get a closer look. The circle of Stonehenge was located in a field which you are able to walk around on a path only able to get as close as 100 meters away. I expected the stone circle would be bigger than it actually was. We walked around using the audio guides which was really interesting to hear the information they had compiled.

Picture: Bernadette, Paige & Ben at Stonehenge

Picture: What Stonehenge would of looked like when first constructed

Day 9 – Sunday
We drove to Portsmouth which is on the coast where we visited the HMS Victory at the historic dockyards, Paige kept calling it a pirate ship which we thought was quite cute. HMS Victory was quite impressive and had undergone extensive restoration. It would have been a hard life at sea if you were of lower rank, the cramped areas and the hygiene factors I think would have drove many men crazy.

Picture: HMS Victory

Day 10 – Monday
Still in Portsmouth was stumbled onto a great army disposal shop in which Ben was like a child in a candy store. There were so many items crammed into this one store. Ben found himself shifting through piles of items, it took me a while to get used to the mouldy old smell. Paige had fun trying on all the different hats.

Picture: Paige dressed up in an out fit from a local department store

Day 11 – Tuesday
Our last day in England we decided to visit Brighton another coastal town on the way back to the Heathrow as we were not flying out until the evening.

We visited the famous pier and dined on fish and chips on the seaside. Paige was surprised that the beach only had pebbles and not sand. We walked along the pier and Paige and I went on the carousel. For afternoon tea what can I say? It was sugar filled with cotton candy and Brighton rock candy. Paige was on a sugar high for the rest of the afternoon. It was time to drive the last leg of our England road trip and we headed for Heathrow. With plenty of time we returned the hire car and it was time to wait for our flight to Hanoi via Seoul.

Picture: Ben & Paige collecting beach pebbles

Picture: Paige & Ben behind a picture board

Picture: Paige & Bernadette on the carousel

How time flies we totally enjoyed our holiday in England. The food, beer and being in a so called normal (English speaking) country was a nice change. One thing that did stick out was there were many Polish people working in England in hospitably. We seemed to run out of time to do everything that there was to do in England so at some stage we would like to return for another trip and next time we would like to do another road trip but for a bit longer maybe drive to some other countries in the EU.

England Holiday - Part One London

Arriving in England we where greeted with an over cast afternoon which I am sure is quite normal weather for this time of the year. We decided to take a cab to our hotel, I always wanted to go in a black cab through London, why? I am not sure but I can now tick another thing off my list. We where staying at the Novotel Hotel London Bridge so the cab driver gave us a mini tour as we past some famous landmarks before arriving at the hotel. Even though there was only an hour difference between Rome and London we where feeling a bit tired and decided to have an early night.

Picture: London Black Cab

Day One - Saturday
Seeing as we were not to far from the Tower of London we decided to make this our first sight seeing stop. The weather was over cast and with a little drizzle we made our way over to the tower. I thought The Tower of London would have been a bit higher but I am sure back in its day it was quite high. We walked around for most of the morning and got to see the crowns which where all breath taking. The history and the age of this structure we found quite interesting and was worth visiting. Our afternoon was spent walking around the city of London which on a Saturday resembled something of a grave yard or ghost town but we found a pub and stoped for a drink and something to eat.

Picture: Paige standing on The Tower Bridge


Picture: Lunch



Picture: Paige with two London Policemen

Tower of London
Begun in 1079 during the reign of William the Conqueror this castle complex is one of London’s three World Heritage Sites (besides Westminster Abbey and Maritime Greenwich). The White Tower at its heart was the original building. Walls, more towers, a riverside wharf and palace were added over the next few centuries. Originally a royal residence, the tower was increasingly used as a prison after Henry VIII relocated to Whitehall Palace in 1529.

Picture: Ben & Paige near Big Ben

Day Two - Sunday
We started off our day with a big breakfast in a little café we stumbled across the previous day close by to the hotel. Feeling very full from the yummy breakfast we decided to take a stroll over the Tower bridge and down a long the Thames River.

Our first stop was Shakespeare’s Globe. Wow, what an interesting theatre which was replicated on the originally built one in 1599 in a different location. The structure that stands today was built with traditionally methods which you could see quite well from the wooden pegs that held the oak pillars together. The tour guide was well versed in how and why certain aspects to the Globe existed which we found quite interesting. A highly recommended tour. One day we hope to see a show there, and apparently it is very popular and the shows are frequently sold out.

Picture: Bernadette & Paige in telephone box

Shakespeare’s Globe
The rebuilt Globe is no ordinary theatre. This faithful replica of the original “Wooden O’ has the same central stage left open to the elements, surrounded by a roofed ring of seats. It also uses Elizabethan construction methods and materials and is only 200metres from the original Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare worked from 1599 to 1611.

Picture: The stage at the globe


Picture: Part of the seating at the globe

We strolled back along the Thames River over the London Bridge which we were a little surprised at how plain this bridge was compared to the Tower Bridge. We came across The Black Friar Pub which had an Art Nouveau facade and inside has mosaics on the walls with pillars and fireplaces. We feasted on meat pies filled with stout gravy and the nicest mashed potatoes served with steam broccoli (and a pint of Ale for Ben). It was simply yummy. After lunch we decided to jump on one of the city’s tour buses that we could hope on and off at our leisure and took in the history of the city and rested our tired feet.

Day Three – Monday
We started our day with another big breakfast and jumped back on the city tour bus as we had some time still left on our tickets. The day was a bit grey and we where wondering if the sun ever shone in London. As the tour bus went around a different part to London it felt like hours before we arrived at Madam Tussaud’s waxworks museum. The line had started to build so we where waiting for about half an hour before we got to go in. We found the museum split into different levels with different wax figures spread through out. Some of the figures looked so life like and others I cant say they did a good likeness of the celebrities. I think the strangest thing was people were getting their photo taken next to the Adolf Hitler Wax figure.

Picture: Ben standing next to wax figure of John Howard



Picture: Bernadette standing next to wax figure of Tom Cruise

After our brush with the so called famous people we headed on the tube to the London Eye that’s once we worked out how to get our tickets and the best way to get there. I was really surprised at how short the trains were and how often the trains would arrive but it turned out a great way to get around London in the end.
The London Eye was a great way to see the whole of London. Paige was really excited to be going "up to the sky" as she said. The security everywhere is quite amazing, getting patted down and bags checked on entry to the glass capsules. They even had people doing bomb checks as people jumped off each glass capsule. The Eye moves quite slowly up and the "flight" as they called it takes about half an hour to do a full circle so we where lucky the day was quite clear and the rain had held off to get a good view of things.

Picture: The London Eye

Picture: View from the top of The London Eye

Picture: Paige standing with gentleman we met, he had sewed on all the buttons on his suit

Day Four – Tuesday
We jumped on the tub and headed to Buckingham Palace where we were hoping to see the changing of the guard but it wasn’t meant to be today as a police officer told us that because of the troops being overseas fighting in other countries this would only be happening tomorrow so we would have to come back.

We then headed off to the Imperial War Museum where we wandered the different levels of War memorabilia, I got chatting to a couple of veterans that where happy chatting about the olden days, they remembered fondly the war years.
Walking around I had seen the Lion King stage show advertised so I decided to take this opportunity to see this show at the West End. The production of the Lion King was just amazing. The music, the puppetry and overall effects was just breath taking. I thought it was worth every pound I had spent on the ticket.

Picture: Buckingham Palace

Picture: One of the gaurds at Buckingham Palace

Day Five – Wednesday
We had seen the biggest basilica in Rome so we thought we would head to St Paul's Cathedral as we had heard that it was very impressive. St Paul's was built after the Great Firer of London and inaugurated in 1697 and also survived the London Blitz of WWII. An impressive cathedral with the roof decorated with beautiful mosaics which must of taken years to complete. I can’t say I was impressed that we had to pay an entry fee to enter a church.
As the rain came down we went back to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. Once we arrived the crowds where out in force so getting a good spot was just impossible by the fence so we decided to stand across the road to get a good view of the soldiers and horses entering the palace grounds. I had seen this on tv but to see the procession close up was even better.

Picture: Palace Guards

Picture: Police protecting the palace

For a change of pace we headed to Harrods to visit this retail store. “What’s all the fuss about” I thought as I entered the store, over priced and it didn’t really "blow my hair back" oh well I can say I had been there.
Back on the tube and to the Camden markets. “Have a look at yourself” I heard myself thinking as we saw many punks and alternative dressed people. I think it’s a place that shows you that if we all looked the same then life would be boring. Camden Markets is an area that unusual dressed, body pieced, shaved hair people blend in as the norm.

Picture: Paige liked the big lion

Picture: To remember the woman of WWII