M-whY

Passing the floating village again, our guide, who told us to refer to her as Miss K, gave us some insight on the lives of its residents.

"The children here don't go to school. As soon as they're old enough, they join their parents out on the boats to help with fishing. For them, there's no point in going to school. Some of these people have never been to land before. Trading boats bring them all the supplies they need."

I don't know whether people live here by choice, or they have no alternative, but it can't be very comfortable fitting an entire family in such tiny quarters. What do they do when storms come? How are these homes still standing?

There really wasn't much to do except put my feet up and enjoy the ride. The scenery was superb, though it's one of those things that is difficult to capture without a wide angle lens or an aerial shot. Once, a fishing boat carrying a load of seafood pulled up next to us, and again, I splurged on a plate of prawns. The great early morning weather didn't hold up unfortunately. A couple times, the clouds made good on their threat of rain. Miss K asked if anyone was in the mood for a swim. No one volunteered, so it was nonstop all the way to shore.

We were back in Hanoi by 5:00pm, in time for me to catch the famed Vietnamese water puppetry. Roi nuoc in the local tongue, it originated in the 12th century, in the rice paddies of the Red River Delta. It used to be performed primarily during flood season, but nowadays, it's performed every night by the globetrotting Thang Long Water Puppet Troupe.

Bamboo screens hid the puppeteers, who stood waist deep in a murky pool. Controlled by poles and strings, the wooden marionettes danced and splashed their way through a series of fifteen short stories from Vietnamese folklore, accompanied by live musicians on traditional instruments.

I didn't get a particularly great seat. Actually, I probably got the worst seat in the house. Still, it was a magical performance, successfully incorporating humorous elements without dumbing it down for tourists. After the final act, the puppeteers emerged from behind the screens, to be showered with a well deserved round of applause.

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