street snaps: why i’m still scared to cross the street in hanoi
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Hanoi
water puppets!
Our guide, Duc, shows us some dry puppets for sale. The water puppet show was pretty amazing after we got over the feeling that we were sitting in a high school auditorium. It was nice to have some air conditioning in that relentless heat. I’d like to add that the show was unique in a good way.
all the kids go to the temple of literature to pray before an exam
Animals get involved—touch the turtle head after making a wish, ponder with the fish in the pond or ask the smart rat for help. Funny thing is I don’t see books out. Oh well, I prefer cute animals over textbooks as well.
street snaps: i’m scared to cross the street in hanoi
hanoi’s full of pagodas and temples, so here’s number one
Ngoc Son Pagoda not that pleasant when it’s 40 degrees celsius and humid past this Singaporean’s threshold. Also, I find myself the lucky recipient of disgusted looks by the local men. Maybe it’s my shorts, maybe it’s my foreign-looking husband (even though I’m technically foreign, most of these dudes seem to assume I’m Vietnamese), maybe people in Hanoi like to scowl. Back to the temples—they’re loaded up with Chinese influence. You know, Buddhism mixed with Taoism and the whole shebang so everyone worships many gods. Buddha’s just one of the gang here.
