Water Puppets
Every child or adult who is young at heart will love this show. I personally recommend everyone to watch Mua Roi Nuoc if they are going to Vietnam. They say the best shows are in Hanoi but you can also see the shows in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
This is where I watch the show. It took us a long time to find this place. How can we miss this huge building? If you know me, you know that it's nothing out of the ordinary for me to NOT see something. Sigh! But should be no excuse for my friend, right?
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi
After we checked in to our hotel in Hanoi, the first thing we wanted to do was go buy the tickets to watch the show on the same night. This is because we heard that the tickets sold out quite fast. So, armed with a map, we started walking towards the lake. Referring to the map, we knew that the theatre is at the edge of the lake, near the Ngoc Son temple.
This is what we did: - walked towards where the lake is supposed to be - saw the lake - crossed busy street - found the temple - continued walking without stopping at the temple coz priority was to get tickets - looked around - can't see theatre - walked by the lake - saw Turtle Pagoda - snap photos of pagoda - saw post office - uh oh... according to map, we had bypassed the theatre - turned around - walked back towards temple - saw temple but can't see theatre - turned around - walked away from the temple again - changed mind - turned around again - saw a tourist bus in front of a building - decided to check that building out - crossed street - walked towards building - saw the ticket counter for water pupper show - ticket counter closed...
What a waste of time? energy? breath?
Wait... not the end of story...
This is what we did next: - crossed street towards lake again - this time, crossed bridge to temple - now this is the part where i waited and waited and waited for the perfect shot of the temple entrance - talked to a trio of singaporeans whom i saw at ticket counter earlier - found out that ticket counter is opened - friend got tired of waiting - friend went back to theatre to buy tickets - me still wait - and wait - and wait - can't wait anymore - snap imperfect shot - at the end of bridge, met friend who had bought tickets (hurray!) for 6.30pm show - finally...
There are 5 shows per day - 4.00pm, 5.15pm, 6.30pm, 7.45pm and 9.00pm. We originally wanted to get the 9.00pm show but tickets were sold out. We couldn't even get front row seats. The show costs 40,000 dong. That's around RM10. The ticket includes a CD of the show's music. When you enter the theatre for the show, they will give you a paper fan. And you can take a program (available in English, Vietnamese, French and Chinese) near the auditorium entrance.
Feeling jubilant, we continued walking around the lake. This time we went the whole round, walking leisurely. At the end of the one round, back to square one, we looked up. I don't know what made us do that but lo and behold, there stood the building with the big big words 'Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre'. Now how did we miss it in the beginning?
The water puppet stage
After a hearty meal of beef noodles (I will talk more about food in another post), it's time to go for the show. Thank God the theatre is air-conditioned. We had read from the internet that the place would be hot and that's why paper fans were given to cool oneself. We sat at the 4th row from the front. Note the head sticking out in the picture above. Fortunately we were next to the aisle and I could get up and stand from time to time during the show to shoot the photos and videos.
Fishing
The one hour show was wonderful. The show consists of short scenes that depict the life and beliefs of the Vietnamese people. Each scene takes place in the pool of water. The music, played by live musicians at the side of the stage, was traditionally melodic. Most of the musical instruments are similar to any Asian culture's instruments. There was a particular instrument that was unique. I didn't manage to find out its name nor snap a photo of it. It looks like chopsticks. Very cute sound it produced.
Returning to the native land after college graduation
Fairy dance
Applause to the puppeteers! The puppeteers are behind a bamboo screen and the controls are under water and out of sight. Great skills, eh?
The puppeteers at the end of the show
If you want to see short clips of the show, just let me know and I will e-mail one or two to you.
This is where I watch the show. It took us a long time to find this place. How can we miss this huge building? If you know me, you know that it's nothing out of the ordinary for me to NOT see something. Sigh! But should be no excuse for my friend, right?
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi
After we checked in to our hotel in Hanoi, the first thing we wanted to do was go buy the tickets to watch the show on the same night. This is because we heard that the tickets sold out quite fast. So, armed with a map, we started walking towards the lake. Referring to the map, we knew that the theatre is at the edge of the lake, near the Ngoc Son temple.
This is what we did: - walked towards where the lake is supposed to be - saw the lake - crossed busy street - found the temple - continued walking without stopping at the temple coz priority was to get tickets - looked around - can't see theatre - walked by the lake - saw Turtle Pagoda - snap photos of pagoda - saw post office - uh oh... according to map, we had bypassed the theatre - turned around - walked back towards temple - saw temple but can't see theatre - turned around - walked away from the temple again - changed mind - turned around again - saw a tourist bus in front of a building - decided to check that building out - crossed street - walked towards building - saw the ticket counter for water pupper show - ticket counter closed...
What a waste of time? energy? breath?
Wait... not the end of story...
This is what we did next: - crossed street towards lake again - this time, crossed bridge to temple - now this is the part where i waited and waited and waited for the perfect shot of the temple entrance - talked to a trio of singaporeans whom i saw at ticket counter earlier - found out that ticket counter is opened - friend got tired of waiting - friend went back to theatre to buy tickets - me still wait - and wait - and wait - can't wait anymore - snap imperfect shot - at the end of bridge, met friend who had bought tickets (hurray!) for 6.30pm show - finally...
There are 5 shows per day - 4.00pm, 5.15pm, 6.30pm, 7.45pm and 9.00pm. We originally wanted to get the 9.00pm show but tickets were sold out. We couldn't even get front row seats. The show costs 40,000 dong. That's around RM10. The ticket includes a CD of the show's music. When you enter the theatre for the show, they will give you a paper fan. And you can take a program (available in English, Vietnamese, French and Chinese) near the auditorium entrance.
Feeling jubilant, we continued walking around the lake. This time we went the whole round, walking leisurely. At the end of the one round, back to square one, we looked up. I don't know what made us do that but lo and behold, there stood the building with the big big words 'Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre'. Now how did we miss it in the beginning?
The water puppet stage
After a hearty meal of beef noodles (I will talk more about food in another post), it's time to go for the show. Thank God the theatre is air-conditioned. We had read from the internet that the place would be hot and that's why paper fans were given to cool oneself. We sat at the 4th row from the front. Note the head sticking out in the picture above. Fortunately we were next to the aisle and I could get up and stand from time to time during the show to shoot the photos and videos.
Fishing
The one hour show was wonderful. The show consists of short scenes that depict the life and beliefs of the Vietnamese people. Each scene takes place in the pool of water. The music, played by live musicians at the side of the stage, was traditionally melodic. Most of the musical instruments are similar to any Asian culture's instruments. There was a particular instrument that was unique. I didn't manage to find out its name nor snap a photo of it. It looks like chopsticks. Very cute sound it produced.
Returning to the native land after college graduation
Fairy dance
Applause to the puppeteers! The puppeteers are behind a bamboo screen and the controls are under water and out of sight. Great skills, eh?
The puppeteers at the end of the show
If you want to see short clips of the show, just let me know and I will e-mail one or two to you.
posted by kwazy berry @ 3:56 PM
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