Vietnam - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 838

WATER PUPPETRY
Traditional water puppetry , mua roi nuoc - literally, puppets that dance on the water - is a
northern Vietnamese art form that originated in the Red River Delta over one thousand years
ago. Traditional performances consist of short scenes depicting rural life or historic events
accompanied by musical narration. Puppeteers stand waist-deep in murky water, behind a
bamboo screen, manipulating the heavy, colourfully painted wooden puppets (that only last
for three months of continuous use, hence the puppet-making villages outside Hanoi),
attached to long underwater poles, to the accompaniment of a single-stringed zither, bamboo
xylophones, drums, wooden flutes and gongs. The Thang Long Water Puppet Troupe give
tourist-oriented performances at Kim Dong Theatre in Hanoi, 57b Dinh Tien Hoang (6 daily,
first performance 2.15pm; last performance 9.15pm; 70,000-120,000VND). It's an entertaining
spectacle; front row seats occasionally get splashed.

“Vietnamese people's patriotic and
revolutionary struggle” from the first
anti-French movements of the late
nineteenth century to post-1975
reconstruction. he Vietnamese Women's
Museum , at 36 Ly huong Kiet (Tues-
Sun 8am-4.30pm; 40,000VND;
W womenmuseum.org.vn), is a moving
tribute to the wartime contribution of
heroic individuals and their role in the
national struggle, as well as an
introduction to women's role in
Vietnamese society. Besides extensive
jewellery displays and propaganda
posters, there is also a display of ethnic
minority dress and craftwork, and
excellent temporary exhibitions focus on
topics such as human tra cking and
single mothers.
Further west, the yellow stone colonial
building at 1 Hoa Lo, dating back to
1896, is the Hoa Lo Prison (daily
8am-5pm; 20,000VND). Its displays
deal with the pre-1954 period when the
French incarcerated and tortured
thousands of patriots and revolutionaries
here. he exhibition includes the French
guillotine used, and mock-ups of the
appalling conditions here, prisoners
shackled to the ground in tiny, cramped
cells. Following the liberation of the
North in October 1954, Hoa Lo became
a state prison, and from 1964 to 1973 it
was used to detain American prisoners of
war, who nicknamed it the Hanoi Hilton ;
several displays are dedicated to American
pilots held prisoner here, including John
McCain. he photographs of American
POWs playing volleyball, designed to
convey a holiday camp atmosphere,

should be taken with a pinch of salt;
the experience of McCain and others
included torture.

11

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex
he wide, open spaces of Ba Dinh Square ,
their multiple flagpoles flying the red
banners festooned with hammer-and-
sickle, 2km west of Hoan Kiem Lake, are
the nation's ceremonial epicentre. It was
here that Ho Chi Minh read out the
Declaration of Independence to half a
million people on September 2, 1945, and
here that independence is commemorated
each National Day with military parades.
Cyclos and xe om will bring you to Ba
Dinh Square from the centre for 20,000-
25,000VND. he square's west side is
dominated by Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum
(year-round Tues-hurs 8-11am,
Dec-Sept Sat & Sun 8-11.30am also;
free). In the tradition of great communist
leaders, Ho Chi Minh's compact,
embalmed body is displayed under glass in
a cold, dark room, with four guards of
honour in crisp white standing to attention
around the glass sarcophagus. Huge crowds
come here to pay their respects to “Uncle
Ho”, especially at weekends: sober
behaviour and appropriate dress are
required (no shorts or vests, preferably
full-length skirts or trousers) and nothing
can be taken inside; storage is provided for
your belongings. Note that “Uncle Ho”
takes a two-month “holiday” to Russia
each year to be touched up by those
responsible for Lenin's upkeep.
Nearby is Ho Chi Minh's house , 3
Ngoc Ha (Tues-hurs, Sat & Sun
7.30-11am & 2-4pm, Fri 7.30-11am;