Eleventh Hour

My time here is dwindling away.  By the time I leave Sunday morning, I'll have accomplished everything I really wanted to do with a few things left on my list that won't be terribly missed.  But I'm still trying to squeeze in some things last minute, so Thursday was something of a mish-mash in my last ditch effort to take in all there is to see and do in Hanoi.


First up is Quan Thanh Temple, just down the street from our apartment, dedicated to Tran Vu, the Guardian of the North and the Dark Heaven in Taoism.  According to legend, he aided the Vietnamese in their third century struggle against the Chinese and is the "patron saint," or genie, of Vietnam during adversity.  It's a really nice temple, but I don't think it receives very many foreign visitors, which is a real shame considering the unique nature of its main deity and the temple decoration.

Back of entrance gate. On top of each outermost pillar is a ky lan, a symbolic animal representing intelligence and goodness and is a messenger for peace.

One of a pair of elephants honoring those that helped fight off invaders.

Stele naming those who donated to the reconstruction of the temple in 1893.

This altar houses a statue of the master foreman of the temple.

Beautiful lacquer door painting.

Statue of the Black Genie. He holds a sword wrapped with a snake resting on a turtle, symbolizing protection of the country and death to all adversaries. Women rub his right foot in order to absorb the genie's strength. Yes, I rubbed it--sorry, Amy, but at least it's a fake foot.

I then set out for the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, passing by the Presidential Palace.  I didn't go inside the mausoleum, as the guards wouldn't even let me walk on the sidewalk in front of it and were making me nervous, and I didn't stop to take the picture of the palace, because I was afraid they'd tackle me and confiscate my camera thinking me an American spy.  I therefore took it from my hip while barely slowly down.  In the same area is the One Pillar Pagoda, which is...a pagoda built on one pillar.  Not much else to say about it.

Sorry for the wonky angle of the Presidential Palace, but I rather favor not being incarcerated for suspected espionage.

Hanoi...

Mausoleum (with Uncle Ho inside)...

Thang Long (The Citadel)...

One Pillar Pagoda.

After taking tea at Joma, writing up some postcards (which will now probably arrive in the States after I will), and sipping a Long Island Ice Tea in the shadow of St. Joseph's Cathedral, I stopped in at yet another pagoda I'd never noticed tucked away on Church Street.  It seems that few foreigners stop in at Ba Da Pagoda, as well, and I think my timing was rather unfortunate as a monk appeared to be holding a service, so I ducked my head and made a swift retreat.

Smaller pagoda entrance than usual.

Big Buddhas.

Stupa!

Today's highlight was my xe om ride back to the apartment.  I'm trying to fit in as many rides as I can before Sunday, since once I'm back in the States it's back to four-wheeled vehicles.  I'm really going to miss driving down the street and feeling the wind caress my cheeks and danger lurk around every corner.  It just won't be the same surrounded by steel and glass on all sides.

Oh, how I'll miss careening around corners.

Miss Adventure or Misadventure?

It's been a weird week.  Not bad, definitely not fantabulous, but weird.  My internship was put on hold this whole week...don't ask, because there's not much to tell.  Hopefully it'll pick back up after we get back from Cambodia.  (T-minus ten hours till our flight leaves!)  So I started volunteering at the Ethnology Museum on Wednesday.  I went with a worldly French woman who volunteers there and is, of course, a friend of Roman's.  Basically, all they're letting me do right now is edit the English sections of catalogs and artifact descriptions...not very glamorous, but then again I'm in Hanoi. ;)


I've had some serious transportation misadventures the second half of this week, partially because Tet is coming up and everyone's driving crazy and trying to extort money to pay for all their jubilation, and partially because I've attempted to conquer the bus system, a beast which, it seems, cannot be vanquished by the likes of me.


The Ethnology Museum is way out west, so it's a real schlep to get out there, and the first day I volunteered, I had to get back to our side of town on my own.  Being impatient and too timid, I climbed into a cab with a wildly rigged meter, and made him let me out at the corner of No and Where, begrudgingly handed him his ill-earned commission and swiftly bid him adieu.  I could have walked the rest of the way, but the street was SCARY, packed with stalls and people and vehicular dangers, and I soon found a xe om, the driver of which wanted a slightly exorbitant amount of money (of course) and then didn't want to let me use his extra helmet.  I was in no mood, and he could tell, so he quietly pocketed the money and handed over the helmet.  So that was Wednesday, saved only by the fact that Roman and I attended a Tet and Kitchen Gods party in which we ceremoniously released fish into the lake to take our kitchen reports up to the gods.

Mine was the pretty silver one in the bottom corner. :)

Thursday.  Oh, Thursday.  After spending a small fortune on transportation the day before, I thought, "Hey.  How hard can it be to figure out the bus system for a sprawling city in which all the signs are in Vietnamese?  I'm a college graduate.  This should be no big deal."  Ah, to be as young and naive as I was yesterday.  My morning was spent at Hoan Kiem Lake checking out the Ngoc Son Temple, dedicated to the Spirits of Literature.

Bridge over not-so-troubled-waters leading to the Temple.

The mountain represents a good foundation. The tower says "Writing on the clear blue sky," always be truthful.

Furnace used to burn offerings to ancestors. Poems are burned as well, as a respectful method of disposal.

Wave Stopping Pavilion, symbol of resistance against "waves" of foreign influence.

The parrot represents a legend in which a woman  in need of self-improvement was flanked by two parrots, who repeated all she said back to her, and therefore ensured her honesty.

I have absolutely no idea what's up with this guy, but he's pretty friggin' awesome.

If you don't already know, taxidermy totally wigs me out. But this giant soft-shelled turtle was pretty cool.

And then I had a leisurely lunch and did some serious present-shopping for some of you lovely readers.  (At least, you better be lovely readers or you might not be getting your presents.)  I should have had plenty of time to find my way to a bus stop to take me to the Ethnology Museum to volunteer that afternoon, but after lapping the lake twice (and this is seriously a lake, not some dinky fishing hole); feeling my feet begin to violently mutiny and mist settle on my cheeks; and with the distinct urge to throw a tantrum in my ever-increasing frustration at being stuck around this damn lake like a rat in a maze, knowing how to get out but somehow not managing to, I called it quits.  Bested by a bus.  Ugh.  So I took yet another xe om, this time with a driver who proceeded to immerse me in the most TERRIFYING fifteen minutes of my life.  I swear he must have had a death wish or, at the very least, homicidal tendencies.

We got one of these and one of the lanterns above for Ms. Madagascar.

 

So walking in the apartment door, I was done with 'Nam and all it's 'Nam-ness.  I drowned my sorrows in a bowl of pineapple and pampered my poor pedary paws and took a well-earned nap.  And when I awoke, the clouds didn't seem to darken the sky quite so much.  My spirits were lifted further by another visit to Hang Ma, the seasonal decorations street, where Kyle and I shopped for a Tet gift for our hostess in Cambodia next week.  Gold and red tinted the night air and gleamed out of the corner of my eye.  I finished the day with a viewing of The Maltese Falcon at the Cinematheque with beer in hand.

The highlight of the week needs a small introduction.  Hoan Kiem Lake is legendarily known for its giant turtles.  There's a story of a king who received a divine sword from the lake and used it to free Vietnam from Chinese rule.  After this accomplishment, a giant turtle retrieved the sword from the king while he was out on the lake one day.  These turtles are fairly rarely seen now, but if you spot one poking it's head out of the water, you're granted good luck.  Guess who saw one this week.  ;)

Girl Time

I had the day off again (long story) and decided to spend it with me, myself, and I.  I wasn't feeling particularly well (I think I'm getting this five-week cold that everyone who comes here apparently gets), but I forced myself into the gym and afterwards decided to check out the highly acclaimed Women's Museum.  No one I've talked to has been there, but they've all been raving about it, so I thought I'd scope it out.  Let's take a nice, long xe om ride there, shall we?

Ah, the open road. Parental units, don't think about where my hands are while filming this.

Time for some seriously strategic maneuvering. Brace yourself for the part where we go perpendicular to the flow of traffic.

Wooh!  We made it.  Traffic's getting craaaaazy with Tet right around the corner.  Everyone's taking two-hour lunch breaks and returning loaded down with bags of gifts.  Drivers also seem more concerned with the impending festivities than with keeping themselves (or me) alive.  But decorations spill out of the stores and onto the streets, radiating from the shops' front doors, permeating the entire city and sneaking jubiliation into your subconscious.

From behind, it looks like the tree's driving the motorcycle. :D

The museum is elegantly designed and laid out very accessibly.  We start with marriage and the various rituals of the different tribes, depending on whether they are patrilineal or matrilineal.  The displays of wedding garments and gifts demonstrate the importance placed upon matrimonial rituals.  This exhibit is followed swiftly by one on childbearing...we're going to scoot right on through this one.

Wedding album.

Traditional wedding garments.

Bridal veil and headdress.

Bridal veiled headdress of the Black Thai.

"Master bedroom" of the Black Thai.

And then comes traditional women's roles within the family: cooking, weaving, pottery and teaching their children how to do the same.

Look at all those hoes!

Loom.

Weaving...stuff.

Next there was this really cool, slightly disturbing, somewhat awkward exhibit on women's roles during the American (Vietnam) War.  The women here took active roles in the military, on the homefront, and even as spies.  One of the latter was hailed in the exhibit for infiltrating enemy (American) ranks and praised for causing deaths within these.  It was odd to be put in this situation: impressed with the achievements of these women but slightly put off by the fact that their lauded actions killed Americans.  I felt like I was walking on eggshells through the whole exhibit, like I'd be caught behind enemy lines if I didn't tread carefully.  Despite these feelings, this was actually my favorite section of the museum.  It told the stories of heroic women, including some who'd been imprisoned in south Vietnamese camps in tiger cages, tortured with nails driven through their fingers, and still maintained hope for themselves and their political ideals.  There were also some really cool propaganda posters, many of which I've seen updated and posted around Hanoi during Vietnam's 11th Party Congress, which took place earlier this month.

This might be the scariest picture I've ever seen. But it's of political and technical training for clandestine missions, like those of the lady spies.

Brightly colored propaganda posters.

"Ever Vigilant."

I love this one! "Work well. Train well." These chicks are hardcore.

Of course, they had to put in a fashion section, and of course, I went gaga for it.  The clothes are so varied and lush, whether with complicated patterns or a simplicity that speaks of sophistication.

I'll take one of everything, thank you very much.

And then I hoofed it halfway (well, maybe more like fifthway) across the city back to the Temple of Literature to check out these amazing calligraphy scrolls, which appeared overnight and will be gone after Tet.  I'm dragging Roman along with me next time to act as translator, so I can load myself up.

I kind of really like these practice strokes on newspaper. Maybe next time I'll see if she'll just give them to me. :)

This guy was free-handing all those intricate works behind him.

This guy was awesome! He must have been a hundred and fifteen, and the coolest gentleman I've ever seen.

After my long solo day, it was wonderful to see some familiar faces.  The guys and I were invited to dinner with a lovely Australian couple (Aussie Sue and Aussie David) and their son and new Vietnamese daughter-in-law, who is terribly friendly and wears a mischievous grin when you catch her in just the right light.  Dinner was amazing and non-Vietnamese. :)  I'm greatly enjoying Vietnamese food, but I miss the variety and ease of accessibility found in the States.  At this point, I'm basically doing one Western-ish meal to every three or four Vietnamese meals.  I'm craving something homey at the moment, so I think I'm going to have to satisfy that need very shortly.

Today's highlight probably occurred during my long walk.  I realized that I distinctly recognized seventy five percent of my surroundings along the way.  It's nice to know that I'm beginning to familiarize myself with and recognize the different areas of the city.  Soon, I won't even need the giant map that glows like a neon sign reading "Yes, I'm an even bigger tourist than I might appear at first glance."

Cultured as a Pearl

The breakfast in our building cafe was not as expected.  Not bad, just not as expected.  I'm going back tomorrow in hopes that the fare changes every day.  On the flip side, work was better than expected.  Yesterday I was Mary Ward and today, after reading over my business card model, Dr. Rapoport reverted me back to my original identity.  Now I'm just me again, about which I'm perfectly happy.  He also finished writing up my job description, and I'm really excited about some of the projects he's offering me, including some opportunities to get creative with displays and advertising.  I also picked myself a helmet from Kyle and Roman's small collection to take motorcycle taxis (xe oms) around town today.  I'll let you be the judge, but I think it looks pretty rad.

I know--it's pretty badass.

This afternoon, I went back to the Temple of Literature.  It's located in a bustling area of Hanoi, and city noises penetrate the physical barriers around the complex, but one is still able to achieve a sense of calm and stillness amongst the fast pace of the metropolis.  Established in 1070 as a Confucian altar, it was opened as the Royal College, Vietnam's first university, in 1075 for those seeking to become mandarins, or government officials.  The complex is constructed around a series of gates, which represent the levels of study of attendees.  It's easiest and most eye-pleasing to tell the story of this temple through photos.  Also, here's a diagram of the temple to help with your mental geographic imaging: Temple of Literature Map.

The Great Portico and entrance to the gates and courtyards beyond.

First courtyard, called Entrance to the Way.

Entrance to the second courtyard, called the Great Middle Gate. The two carp atop the roof are making obeisance to a flask of heavenly nectar and represent the students.

Rather than going through the middle, I proceeded through this side, the Gate of Accomplished Virtue...hope it rubs off.

Pavilion of the Constellation of Literature on the way to the third courtyard (The Great Middle Courtyard).  It's also the symbol of the Hanoi. I opted to go through the side again, this time under the Gate of the Magnificence of Letters, in hope it might aid this blog. ;)

The Great Middle Courtyard is home to the Well of Heavenly Clarity and these stelae, stone slabs that list the names of those awarded doctor laureate degrees. Each represents one examination year and they number eighty two, back to 1442.

The stelae stand on the backs of turtles, which represent longevity. As far as I could tell, no two of these turtles were the same, although they were all pretty gnarly.

Gate of the Great Synthesis. I came back through the Gate of Jade Resonance...not sure what that means.

Looking through to the Court of the Sages.

Within this courtyard is the Great House of Ceremonies, where the king made his offerings to Confucius.

Confucius say...

And then my guidebook got a little confusing to understand, so I think this next series of photos is of the School for the Sons of the Nation, beyond the Courtyard of the Sages.

School of the Sons of the Nation??? Pretty awesome either way.

Ginormous drum!

Ginormous bell!

Graffiti inside bell! :(

And then I took myself across the street to the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.  The entrance fee was double that of the Temple of Literature (so $1 instead of $.50) and worth every single dong.  It was really a very impressive collection.  I would highly recommend it to anyone who'll find him/herself in Hanoi for any period of time.  They even had quite a few artifacts, the style of many of which I recognized from 54 Traditions.  I don't particularly enjoy patronizing museums with companions, but I wish my travel buddies had been there with me to zig-zag back and forth and around in circles as my eyes tried to see everything at once and my mind stretched to absorb all the information and visual pleasure it was receiving.  Here are some highlights.

Fasting Buddha.

This is the first in a series (dating to 1794) of lacquered wood statues of Buddha's disciples. They were INCREDIBLY REALISTIC!

This one's eyes kept following me. I swear! I checked!

Look at his sleeves blowing in the breeze! How cool is that?!

How'd you like this guy as your guard dog?

This Buddha Amitabha statue, in addition to being a good ten feet tall, had an enormous presence. As soon as I set eyes on it, this wave of tranquility and balance washed over me. I just had to stand in awe until I got my bearings back.

There were also watercolors and silk prints, traditional ceramics and textiles, and a LOT of artwork depicting the American War (Vietnam War, for all you Westerners).  The last set of rooms I stumbled upon held a few temporary exhibits by a sensational artist named Nguyen Tuan.  He had three groups of terracotta figures, all representing Buddha but in vastly different ways.

"Buddha from Remote Areas."

Each was slightly different, but all completely serene.

"Meditation." The proportions are just fabulous.

Makes me want to follow suit.

Today's highlight is the third exhibit by this wildly talented young artist, entitled Buddha Forest.  Think about that for a second before you look at the plethora of pictures I'm posting below.  Close your eyes and picture the most peaceful place on Earth where you have no worries or fears or obligations to anything other than your own soul...Buddha Forest is even more ethereal than that.  In the hall outside the room, street noise seems to be amplified by the bare walls and tile floor, but stepping foot through the door to the exhibit is like stepping through a wall of fog that blocks out everything you've just left behind.  It was a truly epiphanous moment.  Enjoy these shallow shadows of the real thing I've attempted to capture for you.