Highlights of Hanoi

This was our day to see more of Hanoi. 5 members of the team that had already arrived set off for an excursion. We saw the Temple of Literature, Ho chi Minh Mausoleum and the One pillar Pagoda. We walked across town and back to the Old Quarters. During our walk, we took opportunity to get to know each other better.
One of the highlights for me today was the Water Puppet Theater. This traditional Vietnamese art form consists of wooden puppets manipulated by puppeteers whose stage is a pool of water. Both puppets and puppeteers are in the water. Musicians performed tradition style music with drums, flutes, stringed instruments and vocalist set with puppets depicting stories rich in Vietnamese folklore. Imagery included fiery dragons with seas boiling around them, to scenes depicting water buffalo and daily life in the rice paddies, and legends such as Legend of the Restored Sword and a giant golden turtle. Even though performed in Vietnamese, the humor and challenges of life revealed in a very unique manner.
I also visited a market. The colors / smells associated with the flowers / fruits & vegetables / fresh meat / live seafood are rich. As Gosia and I walked along, a catfish jumped out of its take bowl onto the sidewalk. I’m looking forward to more opportunities to visit local markets and try a few new delicacies.
The evening concluded with a kick off dinner of the whole team. We experimented and tried out a variety of dishes. The dinner afforded us with another opportunity to connect with each other.