Eclectic Avenue: So Long, and Thanks for All the Bananas

To complete the Viet Nam story arc, I offer you some vignettes of Vietnamese experiences.

Water Puppets: This is an art form unique to Viet Nam, apparently originating with people's efforts

to entertain themselves and others during the flooding of the Red River (which flows through Ha Noi). Imagine a very large version of a puppet stage, almost a small human-sized stage in area. What in your imagination is probably a wooden stage floor is replaced by a pool. The puppets are controlled by puppeteers behind (rather than above) a woven backdrop, and seem to dance across the surface of the stage area. Both traditional and modern stories are presented, all accompanied by live musicians and singers. The puppeteers stand in water; in the past, they were subject to all sorts of nasty water-borne microbial diseases. Now, they wear hipwaders. If you're ever in Ha Noi, this is a must-see.

How Much Stuff Can You Carry on One Motorbike? Short answer - lots. This isn't a Vietnamese

phenomenon - I had noticed something similar when I was in Taiwan a number of years ago. I suspect it may not even be an Asian thing, just a country-where-most-people-travel-by-motorbike-or-scooter thing. If that's the only vehicle that you own, then that is your only option for transporting your groceries, your family, and anything else you might need for your home or business. So, you carry your kids, the shopping, the desk you just bought, your crop of greens, your workmate with the panes of glass you'll soon be installing, and your new houseplant on the scooter. I had this mental image of myself in the spring of the year with a couple of flats of bedding plants strapped to the seat behind me, and a potted rose bush wedged between my feet as I roar down the street on my 'Shark' scooter....the fantasy usually ends when I hit a pothole and the gazanias go flying.

Look to your right, and you'll see the window panes

Make it Functional and Beautiful: There are always things that are necessary. The cross-beam is necessary to make sure that the roof is supported; the roof tiles ensure that there is no leakage, Now, you could choose to put in plain but functional features, or you could choose to make them works of art. Vietnamese design and architecture always seems to manage the latter.


Cross-beam in Hoi An

Detail on roof tiles at the Temple of Literature

Incense: One of the things I'd forgotten about in the 8 years between our trips, but remembered almost as soon as I arrived was the smell of the incense. People purchase and burn incense at pagodas for their personal devotions, but the scent is ubiquitous throughout the country. No matter what religion they may be, all Vietnamese honour their ancestors, and ask the ancestors' blessing on and assistance with their endeavours. Every home and business has an altar for the ancestors, which contains food offerings and burning incense. Near the full moon of the 8th month, you'll find incense sticks burning in crevasses in power poles and trees. It's one of those 'memory' scents - smelling it years from now will transport me instantly back to somewhere in Viet Nam.

Balance: From the dance that is the city traffic to the quiet of the Central Highlands, Viet Nam is a study of balance - between the urban and rural life, between modern technology and traditional values, and between remembering and forgiving the past. May it continue to maintain both balance and joy throughout the inevitable changes to come.

And some random photos: