Tho Ha Village

Recently departed friends from Hanoi invited me on a trip to Tho Ha Village, Bac Giang province. It was a really nice experience to discover another new place that I've never been. It's about 40 kms aways from Hanoi and it took us about 1.5 hours by car. It was a pleasant trip even though the weather wasn't the best and I was concerned about my motion sickness background but we had great conversations during the journey.

I had heard lots about the traditional culture in this village, a famous place for making Gốm Sành (pottery without glaze fired with dry grass and then firewood and coal) and producing rice paper and raising pigs.

When we arrived our tour guide directed us for a few minutes along a lane of very interesting and beautiful old houses before taking us on a ferry over the Cau River. What I found amazing was the fact that many families maintain their traditional trade and they are actually making rice paper for a living.

Strangely, our first stop was at the home of Mr Viet, a local man who can play four different musical instruments. He played a song for us then he helped us to practice the instrument as well and it was rather funny. I don't have much talent so I let my friend Viv and her family make fools of themselves while I sat down enjoying the music. After the music lesson, we moved onto the entrance of the house and Mr Viet's wife was ready to instruct us on the finer points of making steamed rice pancakes. It wasn't that easy but we managed it very well.

Next up we visited the amazing old Doan Minh pagoda and a very nice communal house. I loved the Doan Minh pagoda with its many statues. I thought it looked a bit similar to the Defence Pagoda in Hanoi(Chua Tran Quoc). We spent about 40 minutes wandering around the pagoda before walking back to the banks of the Cau River for lunch. During our walk through the market, I saw people grilling pig's feet and lots of children playing around. They were very friendly and happy which is a great thing to see when you visit a place.

We had lunch at a cafe on the third floor overlooking the Cau River. They served way too much food including deep-fried spring rolls, omelette, tofu with tomatoes sauce, chips, deep fried fish and a broth. I love eating in the countryside as people cook with their own authentic recipes. I felt a bit exhausted so I took a ferry back to the car while my friends keot walking through the village.

It was a great day. I had a fabulous time and I would definitely go back there again for a day. Thanks so much Viv, Sue and Michael for a brilliant day.

Dua Ca Muoi - Pickles

Most Vietnamese women in northern Vietnam know how to make dua ca (pickles) well and my mother does, too. I have tried a few times when I was in Nha Trang but just couldn't make it right. Today, I walked pass Hang Muoi street and saw an old woman making it and my mouth started watering.

When I saw the woman hanging Dua vegetables on the side of an electric stand yesterday, I thought it'd be a great shot and I took a photo. Today, when I walked past again, she was sitting there making her specialty, going through the many different processes: the dried Dua veggies are laid in the hot sun for a few hours to wilt, after which they are well mixed with warm water and salt. They should taste a bit salty (no sugar is added). Lengths of spring onion are added and the Dua is ready to eat in 2 to 5 days. If you like the pickles a bit bitter then they can be eaten in a day. If you want to stirfry them, they are best after about four days of pickling.

In Hanoi, many typical Vietnamese restaurants serve stir fried Dua veggies with garlic, a little bit of tomato or sometimes with beef. In my opinion, it's better without beef as it has enough favor; the bit of sourness from the veggies, sweetness from the tomatoes, a little salt from fish sauce or soya sauce. It's a perfect match for beer and to eat with steamed white rice. It's actually a nice option for vegetarians, too...if you can get it without the beef, that is.

Heaven Calling

In Asia, people believe in the laws of karma and that's why many people go to pagodas every first day, 15th and the last day of the lunar month to pray for their health and luck... also for their family members who have passed away.

The thinking is that dead people also need the same stuff as living people so, on these special days, some people spend millions of dong on fake paper products, from a pair of shoes to air conditioners, even motobikes. But in certain cases and for people in high positions in society, there may be different ways to celebrate. Families who have very successful businesses are known to spend a fortune paying a service to organise the praying and provide the paper goods.

Last week, on the way down to the old quarter, I saw people transporting their stuff on a small truck to the temple to burn after their prayer session and it included lots of huge paper horses, elephants, angels and fake money. This is not the first time I've seen these stuff which is mostly seen during pagoda festivals which are held early in the year. This occasion in Yen Phu street was a private one as it was nowhere near a special lunar day.

Anyway, even though it looks good and provides a great photo opportunity, I think this practice is such a waste of money and the smoke produced by the fire is an environmental nightmare, especially on lunar days when everyone in town is burning paper.

Mid Autumn Festival

Yet another mid autumn festival is coming and it makes me feel older. I went to Hang Ma street to try to take some photos last night and I could feel the great atmosphere of it. Many parents had taken their children to shop as the festval is tonight.

I always enjoy going down there to watch people shopping for cakes, lanterns, fake money and many other things. In the old days, I had to make my own lantern with bamboo chop sticks and rubber bands to hold them together. I also used colored paper or notebook paper or newspapers to put around the sticks and glued them on with glue or rice. It was a fun thing to do with friends. Nowadays, parents buy beautiful lanterns which need batteries for music and light. The whole festival has become quite commercial and I personally think that children should do something special for themselve instead of buying from the market. I must be getting old?

Weddings in the countryside

Weddings in the countryside in Vietnam are common, even if you live in major cities and most of your friends do, too. Most people who reside in urban areas have some ancestry in a rural province. ‘My fatherland’, even ‘my countryside’, is a commonly heard reference, even though they may only visit the place once or twice a year. Getting married often means organizing a countryside wedding, sometimes in two provinces, the bride’s and the groom’s. It can be quite an experience to attend these kinds of weddings.

Getting there is half the fun, though on popular wedding days, the traffic departing Hanoi in the mornings and arriving back in the afternoons can be worse than city traffic jams. Often the travel time is far longer than the time spent at the actual wedding. In my experience, finding the location of the wedding is always quite a challenge. Because maps of rural areas in Vietnam are non-existent, finding the way once the town is reached involves asking directions from half a dozen or more locals – some who may not have a very good sense of direction. I’ve been known to actually phone the bride or groom for some decisive guidance. In several cases, special guides may be sent on motorbike or bicycle to greet guests at a particular landmark. In western weddings I know that it’s common for the ceremony to be delayed because the bride is late. In Vietnam, it is more likely to be the guests!

In the countryside, weddings normally occur in the family home. Sometimes a tent is erected to accommodate the invitees, which commonly include the whole neighbourhood or village population. In almost all cases, relatives and neighbours are recruited to help arrange the event. They cook the wedding meal, erect the tent and decorations and are generally available throughout the day to deliver food, pour drinks, collect and wash dirty dishes. It’s a real group effort and the atmosphere is very warm as a result. The parents of the bride or groom are usually at the gate to welcome all of the guests before tea and candy are served prior to the wedding meal.

There is little ceremony in these weddings, apart from the official welcome and a speech or two, mostly just to thank everyone for attending. Guests toast the couple by wishing that they love each other until they are old, in fact until their teeth and hair are falling out! There is no priest or celebrant on hand, no kissing of the bride or bridal waltz. But there is normally very loud music playing throughout the occasion and sometimes karaoke. Noise is atmosphere at these weddings.

When it seems that all of the guests have arrived, people are seated for the wedding meal. Because there is a tradition to consult a fortune teller about the most auspicious time of the day for the groom to pick up his bride for the wedding, it is not uncommon for everyone to be sitting down to this meal at 9am. Numerous toasts of local rice wine or sometimes Vang DaLat are compulsory, regardless of the time of day. Chicken, beef, goat, pork, veal and dog are the most popular meats served at weddings in rural provinces but in some places they also add their local specialty. In Thai Binh, I ate cat once at my friend's wedding and I didn't know it was cat until I left the party. A range of vegetable dishes are also served and the meal is generally finished with more tea and seasonal fruit.

And then it’s over. With little fanfare, the guests start filing out little more than ninety minutes after arriving, onto buses and into cars for the journey back to town.

Bai Dinh Pagoda

Two weeks ago, my tennis club arranged a day trip to Ninh Binh to visit the Bai Dinh Pagoda. We'd heard that this new, unfinished structure will be the biggest pagoda in South East Asia. The new structure lies behind the old Bai Dinh Pagoda, a 7-minute walk away. The old pagoda is really interesting with a fantastic view from the top.

Covering an area of around 700 hectares, the exact location of the pagoda is Gia Sinh Commune, Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province in front of the lake. The best locations for pagodas are near water and looking over the surrounding countryside, so the Bai Dinh complex is lucky in both respects. Even though it isn't finished yet, thousands of pilgrims are visiting, particularly as it's still early in the new year.Being among the first to visit a new pagoda is also something to be proud of too.

Hundreds of stone statues surround the pagoda in addition to four bronze huge ones, three weighing over 50 tons and one over 100 tons. Another feature is an enormous 36 ton bronze bell. They are all sculpted by Ninh Van, a local craftsman. Bai Dinh Pagoda is predicted to become one of the biggest centres for Buddhists in Vietnam.

Despite the crowds and the fact that the pagoda is unfinished, it was a really pleasant day in a special place in the fresh country air. I'm hoping to return when it's finished.

Yen Tu Pagoda II

The weather at Yen Tu was terrible with heavy rain and strong winds on the morning of our climb. We had to buy simple plastic rain coats to keep warm. The rocks we were climbing over were really slippery so we had to climb up carefully. We were the first group at the cable car station but we weren't the first group on the top of the mountain as there were hundred of people already up there. I couldn't believe my eyes. If they were there that early it meant they had to climb during the night in the dark. They had all settled down to nonstop chanting in the rain with their raincoats on. It looked surreal. We were on the top of the mountain at the bronze pagoda and it seemed the wind would blow everything away any minute, including the chanting ladies in raincoats. It was also a little bit scary. This was truly a memorable trip for me.

This small pagoda is made completely of bronze and everyone tries to reach the pagoda then touch it hopefully to get some blessing from the gods. I tried to take some photos but it was not difficult as there were too many people and also the strong wind and heavy rain. I was quite surprised about how religious these people were, some were 70 to 80 years old and had by-passed the cable car, choosing to walk from the base to the top in such horrible conditions. Some of them may not have been able to afford to buy tickets as it's quite expensive(140.000vnd).

We stayed there for around 20 minutes and walked down again for lunch before heading to other temples and pagodas on the way back to Hanoi. I'm sure this would be a more beautiful place with amazing surrounding view if we came here on a clear day. Hope the weather is good on my second trip back.

To be continued.

Yen Tu Pagoda

Last week, I joined a trip with my friend's company to Yen Tu Pagoda, the most holy and highest pagoda in the north and in fact, the whole of Vietnam. We started our trip at 3pm the day before and arrived at the base of the mountain after two and a half hours in the bus. The weather wasn't good as we expected as it was raining the whole day before and it meant the road was very wet, slippery and dangerous. We stopped at a small temple on the way and then spent almost an hour at Thien Vien Pagoda. After that we went straight on to Giai Oan Temple for 15 minutes of praying to release whatever we had done wrong in the past year, before heading up to buy cable car tickets for the next day. We decided to sleep overnight on the chieu nghi(sleeping mats) in Ngoc Hai restaurant, right next to Hoa Yen Pagoda then take a cable car at 6 am the next day. We hired the whole second floor of the restaurant for the 39 people on the trip. A few of us stayed at the place to prepare the dinner while most of our group went to Hoa Yen Pagoda for a short prayer.

The Sofitel Plaza staff, who I was invited to travel with, were really organized and had everything imaginable prepared, including a great dinner with lots of vegetables, cheeses, ham, boiled eggs, tofu with tomato sauce, chicken, square cake, sticky rice, bread, butter and of course, lots of wine, beer, soft drink and juice. I've never ever joined such a trip like this and just loved eating and talking with them. I found out that one of the ladies works in the hotel kitchen so no wonder she did it so amazingly well.

After dinner, everyone went upstairs for a nap trying to save energy for the next day but only a few of the women went to bed as most people started playing games. I couldn't sleep very well because whenever someone won the game of cards a cheer went up. It seemed to keep going from 9 pm until 5am. It's truly amazing that they still looked fine the next day and walked so fast up to the top of the moutain. There must have been something special in the chicken porridge they had for breakfast.

Tobe continued

Perfume Pagoda Feb 2008 Part II

Finally, we arrived at Thien Tru Temple( God's Kitchen). The rules of Thien Tru Temple don't allow visitors to put meat on the offerings tray and my friends had to remove the huge chicken and replace it with some more beers, cokes, square cake, flowers, sticky rice, money some fresh fruit and and lighted incense. This is such a busy destination as most people come here before heading to the top of the hill then down to Huong Tich Cave.

Devotees spend billions of dong here at this festival in the form of fake money, and fake holy stuff which is then burnt in giant incinerators after 15 minutes of praying and offering. People satnd in queues just to burn these papers and the ash flys around in the air, into everyone's hair like a volcano has just erupted. This is a tradition that should remain but people shouldn't burn so much in the hope that they will get the same in return. It's all very superstitious. I only spent about 300,000 dong on the whole trip including food, drink and transportation but many people spent millions of dong for the same thing but with the burning of the fake papers.

Khai, my friend, had to bring the tray inside and the rest of us took a rest to take photos around the complex. I tried to get inside to take some photos and give a wish but I couldn't as too many people were praying and reading their wish lists at that time. We left the Kitchen God's temple for Huong Tich Cave which took us about an hour. It was a pleasant climbing trip as we could see the scenery around and also hear the crazy music and look at the souvenir shops along the way. People were selling all kinds of goods, from sugarcane juice to toilet services. The toilet service is popular and you can imagine what the experience was like with all those people on the mountain!!! We decided to stop for lunch on the way up at one of the relaxing areas which had mattresses. We laid out all of the food which had been offered to the gods and tried to finish it all. Some of my friends felt a bit drunk after a few beers. We ate two big chickens, two square cakes, lots of fresh fruit, pork rolls and two plates of sticky rice. I felt sleepy after all but we had to finish our trip up.

Eventually we arrived at Huong Tich Cave and my friends repeated the same procedure with the tray and more food! This time our tray was topped with a special fake money tree. Hoang, one of the boys on the trip took them deep inside the cave which has the main altars of the whole complex. We had to be really aggressive to get close to the alters to pray. This is a huge cave packed with people inside praying at the same time. Most people touched the rock called 'the golden tree' wishing for a lucky year. They also stood around waiting for water drops to drip on their hands in another place called mother's breast for the same reason.

Thanks to Khai and his friends for inviting on this journey and, even though I'm not a very religious person, I really enjoyed the cultural experience and hope that everyone who believes gets what they prayed for!

Perfume Pagoda Feb 2008 Part I

Spring is pagoda season in Vietnam but truly people pay more attention in the north than other parts of Vietnam. Almost every single man knows how to prepare for these special festival occasions and I am really impressed about that. It also means this aspect of our culture will never end. As in the past years, my friend and his colleagues invited me to join their pagoda trip to photograph the day.

We met up in front of the Sofitel Plaza Hotel at 5 am and had some noodles nearby then headed to the Perfume Pagoda in Ha Tay province. The weather was quite bad, damn cold and raining but it improved after 2 hours. The driver was excellent as we didn't have any problems at all. We arrived at the Yen River where we parked the car and picked up the boat. The girls sat in the cafe to fill up the wish lists for everyone then we took a big 35 seat iron boat to the pagoda dock. The boat trip was really pleasant and I love coming back here just to see people doing their own praying, organizing their food on trays and the scenery along the river.

We arrived at Trinh Temple at first for my friends to pray for over half an hour and I took that chance to take photos and look around. It was really crowded even though it was Monday. It was fun to see my friends organizing their food tray, everyone put some money on the tray as well as soft drink, fake money, wish lists, beer, chicken, sticky rice, biscuits, fresh fruit, cigarettes, flowers and incense. It sounds like a lots of things but it looks very nice and very organized. Some other people put even more stuff on their small trays which end up very heavy.

After 30 minutes, we left for Huong Tich Cave which is the most religious place to go. I will tell you more about this in part II. Please take a good look at my flickr website where I saved all of the photos.

Pagoda Festivals

Spring in Vietnam, especially in the north, is the time that almost every person visits pagodas wishing for a great lucky year ahead. This is a traditional side of Vietnam's culture.

Most people choose the Perfume Pagoda, Yen Tu Pagoda for destinations outside of Hanoi. Some people choose the most famous pagodas in Hanoi such as the Defence Pagoda, the One Pillar Pagoda and Phu Tay Ho for their city destinations. By going to these places at this time of the year, you can see thousands of people coming to do the same thing - preparing food, incense, drinks and very long wish lists of paper. I joined with my friends the last few years for fun and to take photos even though I don't follow any religion and I'm not a very ceremonial guy. I love to go these pagodas and temple because I like to see people doing their little prayers, talking to them and it's nice to see people maintaining their traditional culture.

I remembered last year seeing my friends spend almost twenty minutes just praying and reading their wish lists. I asked them why they had to spent so much time on these things and God cannot listen to theirs as well as thousands of people's wishes at the same time. They told me that's the way it is and just smiled. Maybe I should do the same thing instead of just lighting a few insence sticks:). It's also not easy to reach the altar as hundreds of people are crowded in with their full trays of fruit, food and a huge cooked chicken on their heads. There is a very special service where people can change big notes to small notes - 500 dong, 1000 dong, 2000 dong and 5000 dong. Most people put the money on their food trays and on the altars or give it to beggars in the hope that some of it comes back during the year.

I will join with my friends again to go to some pagodas on the weekends and hope that I can take some good photos and show you guys some new stories about these pagoda festivals soon.

My good friend's Wedding

Cong, one of my good friends from Hanoi decided to get married 3 weeks ago, just before Tet. My friends and I hired a car and went to his wedding in Thai Binh, a small province near Hanoi. It took us over three hours to get there due to the crazy traffic and the pre spring rain. This weather is pretty good for young married couples - the cold and rain means they will have more time together inside the house :).

Finally, we got to the bride's house in Nam Dinh for the celebration. Everybody was expecting us as my friend had mentioned to them that some of his western friends were coming with me. This maybe was the first time some of these villagers had ever seen westerners before and they were all staring, talking about them and touching my western friend's arms. It was really fun and we didn't expect that many people in the party. They were dancing, drinking tea and eating watermelon seeds. The ceremony included relatives of my friend's wife giving her money, jewellery and making speeches. There were lots of old people in very old traditional dresses who looked really nice and they were very friendly.

We stayed at the bride's house for twenty minutes until the ceremony finished. Then my friend and his family took her to his house in a very nicely decorated car. We all followed that car and headed to Thai Binh for another set of speeches then party time. We lost the group because our driver was driving so slowly and couldn't follow them. We had to make many phone calls and asked people on the street for thirty minutes and eventually Cong had to sent his friend to meet us on the main road. Anyway, we got there and after twenty minutes we started our meal. We were served cat meat, pork, beef, chicken, squid, crab, dear, sticky rice, shrimp and fresh fruit. It was really a treat as all the food was yummy and had been well prepared by his friends and family.

Cong and his wife looked so happy and they smiled the whole time and, especially in their eyes, we could tell it was true love. We all wish them happiness and a great future. Thank you for inviting us to join such a great party. Also thanks to your families and friends who have treated us so sweetly and provided such great food. All the best from Vietnamese God and his friends!!!

Nha Trang - Happy New Year 2008!!!

Chinese New Year in Viet Nam is called Tet. All over Vietnam, Tet is the family reunion time where everyone is supposed to return home for a few days. That includes me. I went back home for two weeks to be with my mother and my sisters and brother. Back in Nha Trang for two weeks isn't really enough as I couldn't try as much local food as I would like but at least I had such a great time with family and good friends.

My family and I chose the Sailing Club to welcome the new year. This is a really beautiful bar right on the beach BUT it is a bit of a rip off place as well for beer as it's almost double price compared to other places in town. They have really good music, a great location right on the beach and everyone seemed to come here on New Years Eve for a drink or two and to see the fireworks. They also charged a $4 entrance fee that you can exchange for a small bottle of beer, soft drink or an awful jar of cocktail. Anyway, we had a great new years eve and I was a bit drunk at the end.

My mother was preparing lots of food at home waiting for us to return home. In Vietnam, it's very important that the first person to enter the home after the new year is someone who will bring the family good luck for the coming year. It also depends on that person's year of birth and normally the family choose. With my family, I am usually the first person every year because I always come home earlier than other people but not this year as my brother came home first. I hope we will have the greatest year this year.

Happy New Year everyone and best wishes for the coming year. Welcome to 2008, the year of the Rat!!!

Huong Canh Ceramic Village

I got an invitation from my good friend, Michelle to join her on a trip to Huong Canh village for a weekend trip. We met up and joined a group of about 15 people most of who are housewives and people associated with the group, Friends Of Vietnam Heritage. It sounded like an interesting day, something different. Anyway, we headed by bus to Huong Canh village, one of the oldest ceramic villages which I hadn't heard of before. It used to be really famous for Chum: earthenware or Vai:stoneware, specialising in water jars and cylindrical jars which are used for water and rice.

Nowadays, they have stopped making those famous Chum and Vai products, turning to a craft village like others around to focus on fine arts and decorative roof tiles. Huong Canh village used to have a lot of red brown clay but it started to run out. Then their product prices dropped to almost half price because everyone was making the same stuff in large amounts and demand for the traditional tiles stopped. Making the tiles also caused a lot of pollution with 70% of the villagers having some kind of health problems especially lung diseases.

We went to visit the Thanh Nhan workshop which belongs to Mr Nguyen Thanh. He told us lots of interesting facts about the village and his work. There are so far three generations of his family who have practiced the ceramics craft. They dig clay from under the lake in the village and let it sit for six to eight months then use a mix of 70% green clay and 30% brown clay so that it won't crack or split and also won't shrink when fired. He also told us that there are only four families left doing this kind of craft out of 103 families in the village. Most of the stuff they make now is for export with special orders from foreign companies in places such as Korea, Japan and even from Europe. His family has about 50 clay products to choose from and a certain amount of interaction between the family and some enterprises in Bat Trang Ceramic village.

Also, people living in this area also use their traditional products in strange ways such as using clay coffins to make fences or house walls. For us, these coffins are usually only used for the bones of dead people. The village also contains many old houses with small gardens including lots of fruit trees which reminds me about my hometown. The people in Huong Canh village are really sweet but the streets are a bit smelly because of all the dog poo around.

A small funny story occurred on our trip when we bought a few small ornaments for the house. Some of the couples on the trip bought some big pottery buffalos and they said they were too heavy and they couldn't carry them to the bus. The ceramic family said, no problem, they would bring the buffaloes to the bus. We all walked out of that shop to look at the little pagodas and temples around and as we stood in front of the pagoda, an old lady about 60 years old walked past carrying 5 huge clay buffalos. I said, wasn't it funny that the big strong western men couldn't carry them! They didn't say much of course!!!

Anyway, we had a great day, saw a very interesting new place and bought some nice and good stuff. Thanks to Michelle for inviting me.