LookAtVietnam - Lotus is a highly probable choice for Vietnam’s national flower since it satisfies many standards to gain the title: it must grow everywhere, show the character and manners of the nation and is beautiful and durable.
Choosing a national flower has been considered for a long time. The selected flower will be considered as a cultural symbol and be used during holidays, festivals, especially in overseas events. But what id the scientific basis for choosing such a symbol?
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on June 16 organised a workshop entitled “VietnameseNational Flower: The Necessity and Standards”. This is the first workshop of its kind in Vietnam, which introduced 13 standards for the national flower. more>>
Located along Yen Phu Dyke in Tay Ho District, the market opens at dawn. In the mist of the morning, the flowers at Quang Ba are regarded as the most beautiful and freshest in town and come from many places such as Quang Ba, Nghi Tam, Nhat Tan, Dam-Cau Dien, Dong Anh, Soc Son, Me Linh, Sapa and Dalat.
A foreign tourist poses for a photo with a flower seller at Quang Ba Flower Market in Hanoi.
People sometimes go to the market just to relax on the weekend or to enjoy the atmosphere of the buyers and sellers and get away from the deafening noise and stifling smoke and dust of the traffic. The fresh air in combination with the colorful roses, daisies, orchids and many other flowers ease the soul and help make life more beautiful.
Anyone visiting the market will understand the challenge which the gardeners face. To have fresh flowers, they have to cut them at night and get them to the market by 4 a.m. The market arranges bouquets as colorful flower carpets. On holidays, a bouquet of about 100 roses is only VND12,000 to VND15,000.
This flower paradise allows visitors to forget daily stress with a delightful escape to a world of brilliant colors and fragrances.
The Apec Summit took place in Viet Nam for the first time November 18-19, 2006. We had missed it by about three weeks, but signs of it were all over Ha Noi when we arrived. This was the 14th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which President Bush attended, so in a way, I'm glad we didn't cross paths. Some of the important things which came out of that meeting was the launching of a "Vision Of A Trans-Pacific Free Trade Area", among other ideas to promote and stimulate the economies of the regions. Walking around the capital, you could sense that Ha Noi did go all out to try to impress its visitors.
First, everything around Ha Noi was superclean; there were signs to welcome the various delegates of the Apec Summit, from Noi Bai airport all the way to Ha Noi. And of course, in and around the area of Hoan Kiem Lake, since this is where most everything happens. I happened to meet a woman who was in the capital with a group of French teachers, and I don't recall exactly what it was that made her stop to talk to me. But we ended up exchanging business cards, and I did tell her about the Ha Long Bay experience , as well as the exquisiteness of the Press Club in the French Quarter.
what a splash of color!
We did learn later on in our journey that HaNoi has a flower market second to none. Though I did not personally make it to the market, as it was going to be an all-male photography event, I have pictures of the vendors, the women and men who tirelessly grow beautiful flowers and make their living at this venue. Interestingly, while Ha Noi is fast asleep around the wee hour of the morning, some vendors are hauling their goods to the Quang An night flower market in Tay Ho District. By sunrise, most of them will have packed up and gone home.
It was a spectacularly sunny day in Ha Noi, and walking around the lake was invigorating. Aside from these chance encounters which are always so much fun, we were once again reminded of the love of beauty of Ha Noians. Though the Summit was over, some were still lovingly tending to the flower display on one of the lake's banks which spelled out the event in huge letters composed of yellow mums. We would find ourselves again, at another juncture of the trip, knee deep in Viet Nam's flower culture and the quaint way they preserve rose flower buds, with newspaper cones at the tips. In fact, that is just about everywhere they sell roses.
Directly across the street from the poetry of flowers is a huge statue of Lý Thái Tổ. It's almost as if he is watching over Hoan Kiem Lake from his high post; who was he? He ruled as emperor of Viet Nam for a hair under two decades, from 1009 to 1028. If you are interested in the history of the man, click here. He stands on a very high rectangular pedestal, inside the gated area of a government official building, surrounded by a few steps, and manicured gardens. The seat of government is also at this location, and just to make sure I would not make a mistake, I went over to one of the guards outside the fenced property to ask. He was a bit bashful about this English, but nevertheless I encouraged him, and understood that this was official communist party business. Naturally the flag outside is a giveaway.
Thanh Long, Ha Noi's ancient name, will be celebrating its 1000th year founding anniversary in 2010. More specifically, it will be on October 10th of that year, and we are told that this milestone will be a cultural extravaganza like none other...is it too early to mark those calendars? No matter what they do, you can bet your life that a lot of it will be happening around Hoan Kiem Lake.
The title to the post is not meant to discourage the reader in any way, but rather invite the weak of heart to partake into some rather unusual activities. This is part of the magical, Mekong Tour, and by this time, lunch is hopefully in the process of being digested in your stomach. You can handle the bees, the cobras and anything else that comes your way.
By now, you have clearly understood that the Mekong River Delta is huge. It has more tributaries than you have hair on your head. Once you get further into this water network, expanses of water such as the one above will disappear, and you and nature will become much more intimate. The boats gets smaller as the canals do as well; take note of these canal names: Tan Thach, Thoi Son, Bao Dinh and the smaller river of Tien, Tortoise Island, Dragon and Phenix though you may not get to land on the latter two. As you can see, I am writing them down myself, otherwise, you'd never be able to get this blog entry.
Now remember this is Southern Viet Nam, and it's almost marshlands. It's very hot, but the excitement of being here makes us look normal.
This woman, on the other hand, is a native and sees no reason to exert herself unnecessarily. In fact, hammocks are ubiquitous here, as there are plenty of trees to serve as anchors.Our boat has arrived, and we are told that there are special treats awaiting us. The ground is muddy in some areas, so here again, I suggest you wear shoes that have rubber souls and that hold your ankle firmly. But out of the mud, grow some of the most beautiful fruit and flowers you can imagine: just like the lotus!
This marvelous hedge is made up solely of cacti, and they are taller than I am! You can also see the very narrow pathway which leads to the area where we will be hosted. I never stopped imagining, as I walked these narrow ribbons of land, men fighting each other, carrying weapons and heavy artillery and other loads on their backs...in the stifling heat. This beautiful pineapple is also growing out of the mud. Amazing!
We finally arrive at what I will call a "clearing". I see a very young girl holding an enormous flat beehive, as if she were playing the piano. Her tranquil face somehow does not betray any fear or emotional distress. I'm quietly thinking that she knows every bee by name. I am told that when honey comes directly from the hive, it has the most exquisite taste. So the party is about to begin. Before we can do any tasting, we are all encouraged to take part in sticking our finger smack in the center of the hive. Thoughts are darting in my mind, and I recall a day in the north of Thailand, when Chuck and I rode an elephant; the mere idea had petrified me, and yet, after the hour ride was over, I was thrilled that I had not given in to my apprehension. Well here's another one of those moments.
Ok, now take your time, and try to guess which one of these pictures is me? I know it's hard, but I later find out that the beautiful young girl is blind, and that perhaps explains her calm. I close my eyes in an attempt to gain some of that confidence, but unfortunately, the camera has, once again, caught my expression of terror. Come a little closer so you can see what I'm dealing with.
There are some rewards for this exercise. After everyone, well almost everyone, has gotten a turn, we are invited to sit at the tables, and we are each given a small cup which contains pure honey. Limes, an essential ingredient into almost every dish here in Viet Nam also appear in small plates, and this is when it gets creative. Squeeze as much or as little as you want on top of the honey and drink while warm. Believe me, you CANNOT recreate this at home, no matter how much you try. Not the same.
The choreographer of this tour must have realized that after this experience, we all really need to stay seated and be entertained. This is going to be our first exposure to authentic Viet Nam folk music. (remember this blog doesn't go in any order). Ok, get ready for a hands on - I have downloaded for you the song which is most often sung here along with instrumentation. You'll fell as if you've been there!!
Now as you listen, look at her and the strings which accompany her belong to the gentleman behind her and there was another man to the right of her; if you look very carefully at the picture you will see part of his pink shirt.
I did not do this. I was amazed that Chuck actually let the creature around his neck since he was not too keen about the small monkeys in Bali jumping around us. There were quite a few people in their early twenties in our group who were back packers, and they took to the snake like a fish in water. I prefer to socialize with reptiles when they are behind glass, as in a zoo.
I spent a few minutes looking at souvenirs, which are basically the same everywhere. However, there were some coarse embroidery pictures that caught my eye, and I decided to get one. It was my very first, and would pave the way to bigger and better ones in our visit to Nah Trang and later, Ha Noi. It hangs in my living room now, with some finer embroideries, and Chuck's photography of Ha Long Bay and one of the temple entrances in Ha Noi's old quarter.
They also had small orchid plants on display but I didn't want to take the risk of purchasing them, as they will not allow you back into the US with any kind of flora. As a matter of fact, in Thailand, they package their orchids specifically for export, so that you can purchase them and take them with you, or they will ship. We spent half a day at an orchid farm north of Chiang Mai where I took hundreds of pictures of orchids. They were stunning.
When in the Mekong, buy coconut anything. It's the coconut capital of Viet Nam.
