Hoan Kiem Lake and departure from Hanoi
We arrive in Hanoi at 5:40, still very early in the morning, but the city is already starting to come alive. In fact, as we pass through an area where the market takes place, we can see the hustle and bustle of rush hour. We stop at the hotel for a quick shower, resisting the temptation of a comfortable bed, something that the train berths certainly didn't offer. Within an hour, we are ready and refreshed to continue our journey. This time, we will make up for what we missed during our visit to Hanoi yesterday. Passing through an interesting city market, we head towards the Lake of the Sword returned (Hoan Kiem), associated with a legend of swords, emperors and golden turtles, surrounded by ancient trees. We visit the Ngoc Son Temple A peaceful and tranquil oasis. From here you have a great view of Turtle Tower (Thap Rua).
With Hàn, we discuss religion and learn about how Buddhism doesn't have formal ceremonies. The faithful go to the temple or pagoda to pray or ask the monks to pray for them. Taoism and Confucianism are essentially lifestyles that draw inspiration from respected teachers and philosophers. These serve as spiritual leaders but there aren't any formal priests or ceremonies. As always, in this country, the three religions blend together, borrowing aspects from each other, creating a spiritual mix justified only by faith, which ultimately proves to be complementary. We then talk about the theory of yin and yang: it means that there is balance and equilibrium in everything, and that humans should strive for this. The symbol of Taoism perfectly expresses this concept: a circle with two balanced colors that intermingle, but at the same time, there's a point of one color within the other, and vice versa. Yin and yang represent differences and conflicts between two feelings or materials. However, what is yin in relation to a specific yang can become yang in relation to another element.
To enter the temples and pagodas, the doors usually have a raised threshold that you need to step over. This forces anyone entering the sacred place to pay attention to their steps and therefore look down. The result is entering with your head bowed, which consequently shows respect to the deities. This trick allows anyone to remember the good habit of humility and prostration when entering a temple and encountering the divine.
Towards Hoa Lu and Tam Coc
In the heart of Hanoi, preparations are underway for the celebrations marking the city's millennium, scheduled for October 2010. This also serves as a reminder of the founding of the Vietnamese state. In the outskirts, we see butchers with animals that appear to be large cuts on display. At first, we think they are pigs. We realize that we get really excited when we see that don't have a curled tail and, above all, when we see them hanging from a hook. These are quite large animals, and our sensitivity towards the ultimate human companion makes us feel uneasy. Here, however, it is perfectly natural.
Another interesting feature is the ability to transport everything on scooters: just today we encountered a scooter loaded with an unbelievable number of computer monitors, another that was carrying live pigs in baskets, sometimes even adult pigs that somehow managed to get inside the baskets. We don't want to think they grew right there. It’s also incredible to see how the drivers can maintain their balance while moving, especially when transporting live and frightened animals – a skill that is very rare indeed. In Sa Pa, we saw bundles being transported by… logs of medium size.
We leave Hanoi and drive south towards the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, a walled city located in an interesting natural setting and formerly home to the royal family. The first stretch is on the highway, where everyone does what they want. We pass through a flat landscape of rice paddies, and our attention is drawn to the many tombs scattered throughout the fields in a seemingly random order without any precise orientation. Some are grouped together in something that might seem like a cemetery, while others are located in the middle of rice paddies or other plantations. They tell us that those who can afford it have themselves buried and build a tomb in a location determined by geomancy. Therefore, each tomb can have a different orientation than the others, even if they are close to each other. At Tam Coc, we will see a cemetery located on an island in the middle of the lagoon. Some tombs were even built by conquering land from the lagoon, according to astrological combinations that each of us should have.
The reckless traffic situation is evident from the wreckage of a truck accident that occurred the previous night, involving two trucks. Unfortunately, one of the drivers did not survive.
We visit two temples where the two kings who founded Vietnam around 980, defeating the Chinese, are venerated. The first dynasty that ruled the country had its capital right here around the year 1000. The capital was located in this place for two essential reasons: one is that the rulers came from this area, and the other is the maze of limestone formations that serves as protection against any enemy invasions. We are told about a typical characteristic of Vietnamese culture, namely that widows usually tend not to remarry. In this case, a queen, upon the death of her husband, married his brother. The origin of this tradition lies in the fact that Vietnamese society is patriarchal and, above all, Confucianism stipulates that women should be subordinate to men, but within the context of marriage. It should be noted that Confucianism is a way of life that dictates strict moral rules and has a very hierarchical vision: subjects must obey the king, wives must obey their husbands, children must obey their parents, and so on. A theory that has been useful for rulers throughout history to freeze society into an order of obedience inspired by religious purposes, but which at the same time has served as a glue to preserve national pride and family unity. With a staircase of 260 steps, we reach the top of a hill where the tomb of the first king is located. The opportunity is ideal for having a wide view from this karst system, a flat area in which steep limestone hills are embedded with vegetation. Even further south, through a magnificent landscape of rice paddies, we arrive at Tam Coc. We check into the hotel that will host us for the night and rent bicycles for an excursion to the Thai Vi temple. Before us is a charming setting between rice paddies, shallow lakes, and limestone formations that rise suddenly from the plain, making this place worthy of the name "Halong terrestrial." We visit the pagoda in a remote location, which therefore does not attract tourists. we spend time chatting with the caretaker, an elderly gentleman with a serene expression that inspires sympathy, even though we can't share a single word with him. His simple, peaceful demeanor and friendly way are impressive. He offers us some bananas, which, like all those found in this area, are at least half the size of ours, have a very thin skin, and are as sweet as any we've ever tasted.
Riding a small boat through the caves of Tam Coc
Riding my bike along the narrow paths we head towards the return route, more precisely to the harbor, from which we embark for a a trip on a sampan... a typical flat-bottomed rowing boat, which is planned to be the highlight of the day, namely for visiting the Tam Coc caves, carved into the heart of the mountain, which contain small temples inside. We row with mother and daughter, to whom I happily join, and we set off for a two-hour trip, silently navigating the shallow waters that form the lagoon. With the sampan boat, we cross three caves, which are like natural tunnels that will be about a couple of meters high at their highest point. It's interesting to see how the locals, in order to keep their hands free for other activities, have developed a skill of rowing with their feet. This is an art that they seem very proud of; for us, simply paddling with our arms is already tiring. While returning, sunset glow It appears between two rocky elevations and reflects in the water, like one of those visions that people often tell about.
The skilled seamstresses then emerge from the back of the boat, displaying fabrics and tablecloths of all kinds, a highlight of local craftsmanship. We resist the temptation to shop for souvenirs and return to the harbor, where Hàn was waiting with the bicycles. We hop on the two wheels and, after a quarter of an hour's ride, head in the opposite direction towards the Jade Pagoda, also known as Bich Dong. The pagoda consists of three levels, all situated within a gallery carved into the rock that extends upwards. The only regret is that it is now 5:30 PM and dusk is dimming the natural light.
We return to the hotel and immediately go out for dinner in an area where we encounter several shops offering fabrics. We start to get a clear idea of Vietnamese shops. The houses essentially have three walls, with the front side completely open and serving as a display window. The family that manages it lives there, so the opening and closing hours of the shop coincide with those of waking up and going to bed. Those who are financially better off have a separate room with glass windows in order to enjoy the view on the street, while others have a mattress on the floor that they can take apart in the morning. The ceiling is always very high in an attempt to reduce the summer heat, and everyone tries to create air currents to lower the temperature. The persistence of the shopkeepers puts our patience to the test, although it never turns into arrogance.
