In the Trenches

Fair warning, I'm totally going to geek out in this post.  There will be numerous exclamation points and many declarations that may appear hyperbolic.  The amount of enthusiasm expressed will be so large, it will give the impression of sarcasm.  My zeal, however, will be genuinely sincere.  Ames and Cas, this one's for you, who like to do it in the dirt. :D


If you've been reading this blog faithfully, you'll remember from I'm Alive!!! that I mentioned the execution of an excavation at the citadel near our apartment.  Sunday morning, I was fortunate enough to be led on a tour of said citadel and the excavation site by none other than the leading archaeologist of the dig, historian and professor Le Van Lan, a Vietnamese celebrity who is a veritable compendium of history in addition to hosting a quiz show.  I met a legitimate celebrity!  Granted, none of you have heard of him, but it was still cool to be walking around with someone who kept getting stopped by people saying "I've seen you on TV!"

The citadel circa 1490. I haven't been able to find a decent map of the current citadel and surrounding area to post, but they exist out there in the internet, if you care or are bored enough to go looking.

Entrance to the citadel.

The citadel, or Thang Long (Rising Dragon), saw its heyday from 1010-1397, after Ly Thai To established Hanoi as the capital of Vietnam, and it's this period that the archaeological dig dates to.  It was built on the remains of a seventh century Chinese fortress.  You can go HERE for more accurate and detailed info.  The first part of this tour, however, focused on the American War period, with war rooms and nuclear-safe tunnels. Other tunnels branch off to West Lake, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and other buildings within the citadel, making it possible to move stealthily underground...had these off-shoots not been recently blocked off, of course.

House 67, built in...1967, where many war decisions were made and generals even slept.

 

Strategic planning room.

Professor Lan being awesome. The map behind him shows the tactical movements of the Tet Offensive.

Professor Lan being even more awesome, trying out the bed in the office of the Vietnamese general in charge of the Tet Offensive.

Down to the tunnels.

 

Inside the bunker.

This submarine door keeps the tunnels safe from any nuclear attack the Vietnamese thought the US would throw at them.

We then headed over to the dig, where I managed to refrain from jumping up and down and squealing, though I couldn't conceal the Cheshire cat grin plastered on my face.  The central part of the excavation is in the now dry silt of the Red River, which has since meandered outside of the citadel.  On either side, remnants of the city have been unearthed, including wells, drainage pipes, and pillar bases with lotus blossom designs.  It was amazing!!!  There were actually some people excavating there, and I got to reminisce about Greece while watching them clean dirt off the dirt and move it to huge piles of more dirt.  They at least had face masks to keep from inhaling the dust they were stirring up.  There was even distinguished stratigraphy!!!  Man, I miss playing around in the dirt, looking for historically significant finds.  It kind of sucked at the time, but seeing all these archaeological endeavors and what they've uncovered makes me long for archaeologist's tans and dirt inhalation all over again.

Made from excavated stones. I'm not sure how I feel about archaeological finds being used like this, but I figure if they weren't here, they'd be stuck in crates in a warehouse somewhere.

The brick wall is also made from excavated material. The large lotus-decorated stone once held a wooden pillar that has since decayed. Prof. Lan is demonstrating.

Not quite as Raiders of the Lost Ark as you might expect.

Trenches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm totally wigging out on the inside!!!!!!

So, since this is an on-going excavation, pictures under the big blue tents are prohibited.  I'm not sure how it happened, but my camera apparently snuck out of my pocket on a few occasions and took some photos of its own volition.  I'm going to call the results miracles rather than contraband.

I'd write an ode to stratigraphy if I thought more than two people would appreciate it.

Unearthed structural foundations!!!!

Drainage pipes!!!!

 

Look how cool the brick layout of this well is!

It was absolutely amazing to get to see such a well-preserved site, especially with it being closed to the general public.  An official, public thank you to Roman for hooking me up with Professor Le Van Lan and for generally being so well connected.


I then met up with the guys for Sunday brunch at Puku, a 24/7 cafe with pretty great Western food and a fabulous London Fog Latte.  Yums!!  That evening was a going-away party for a colleague of Kyle's, so I got to stretch my mingling muscles again.  The day was a good balance between ecstatic and chill.

PUKU!

Highlight: we also saw the CUTEST pair of pure white Persian kittens that had just arrived from London and were on the market for a mere five million dong ($250) a head.  Alas, my puppy dog eyes didn't work, and Kyle wouldn't let me bring one home, but their cotton-ballness should help cushion my dreams for a while.

Ahhhhhhh!!!!! It was like petting a cloud!!!!!!

An unrelated cat, but I thought my sis would find it and its Vespa cute.

Stolen Time

The first thing I saw this Monday morning was a boat in the shape of a giant swan floating in the middle of the lake outside my window.  So the first thing I did this Monday morning was smile.  I knew it would be a good one, because how can it be a bad day when the first thing you experience is joy?

Just one of this flock made me smile.  This gaggle made me chortle. :)

I was surprised by a day off work!  I'd already slept in (through the morning cacophony ten floors below and the more personal assault on my eardrums thanks to my uncles' banging on my door half an hour before my alarm went off), so I leisurely hatched a plan to make the most of my stolen time today.  Roman decided to play hooky, too, and got going with his necessities so we could hook up after my first adventure of the day.

I FINALLY put my foot down and decided to visit the very first thing I'd put on my list the very first day I was in Hanoi: Tran Quoc Pagoda.  It's on the causeway that truncates our smaller Truc Bach Lake from the larger West Lake, both of which are visible through my window.  

I had planned to borrow Roman's bike to pedal out to the pagoda, but when the seat came off in my hands I thought keeping the ground under my feet would be a better choice.  So I, of course, had to cross the street on the causeway and opted to take a little video so y'all could come along.

Pagodas face the water, so the entrance is actually through the back of the complex, into the Stupa Courtyard.  Each of these structures holds ashes of important Buddha dignitaries.  The Lotus Tower houses sixty-six marble Buddha statues, one in each alcove on the six sides and eleven levels, harmonizing odd and even.

Stupas!!!

Lotus Tower.

 

Passing by the monks' residence, you can reach the front courtyard, which houses a ringed Bodhi tree supposedly grafted from the Bodhi tree under which Siddharta Gautama (the Buddha) sought enlightenment.  It was a gift from the Indian president in 1959.

Bodhi Tree.

The best picture I could get of the main sanctuary was outside looking through the window.  There was a huge Vietnamese group having lunch inside, so my mobility and picture-taking vantages were limited.

Me with an animistic natural statue representing mountain, plant and water.

Roman offered to take me to the History Museum (remember the fabulous Indochine building by Ernest Hebrard?) and to give me a personal tour.  It started in the paleolithic, as all museums should, and worked its way up to the present.  I'll give you some highlights.

Remember now?

Neolithic earrings...just think for a moment about how you'd put them on. Ouch.

Bronze pediform axe, dedicated to Amy. :D

These bronze drums are from the Dong Son culture, about 2000-2500 years ago, and each have an incredible amount of detail and craftsmanship.

Burial pot.

I gotta a fevah!

One thousand arm Buddha. All that decoration on the circle behind him is more arm.

Cheshire Tiger! Just to brighten my sister's day. :)

Breastplate-shaped bells. These ones are Taoist, but they can be found at pagodas, too.

Mother-of-pearl inlay. This is a tiny scene on a huge three-paneled screen.

CHECK OUT THIS GUY!!! I WANT TO TAKE HIM HOME!!!

More Cham culture. I got to watch Roman attempt to do this pose.

Part of the "Imperial Treasures" collection. This gold book weighs over seven pounds!

We then walked away the rest of the day, and I got some amazing shots for this Doors-of-Dublin-esque project I'm working on.  We also passed along streets with sidewalks filled with groups playing games and women selling every edible thing under the sun.  Apparently, my culinary education was by no means completed Sunday.  I touched jack fruit with its medieval spikes of steel--I swear if you threw it at someone, you could easily kill them or at least permanently disfigure them.  I saw whole squid soaking in preparation to be cut up, rolled up and fried up.  I tried pickled bamboo root (not my favorite thing ever) and today's highlight----------------------------->

More Chinese Chess, with lots of wanted (and unwanted) advice being given.

Some kind of card game. Even Roman didn't know what it was.

Jack Fruit! It hurt like a sumbitch to touch those spikes.

Such an appetite we worked up, and seeing all these amazing foods made our tumblies rumble, so we stopped at the BEST and MOST FAMOUS creme karamel shop in Hanoi.  I'd tried this dish last week, but this was like walking into the Taj Mahal after only seeing it in black-and-white photographs.  Ah, I savored every bite of the sweet and slightly bitter concoction.  With generosity in our hearts, we got three more to take back home for dessert so Kyle could participate in the edible ecstasy.  Wonderful end to a wonderful day.

The Taj Mahal of creme karamel.

YUMS!!!!!!!!!