After a nice Vietnamese breakfast, and a couple of back and
forth messages, I finally got my scooter and was ready to explore Saigon . My first task was to become reacquainted with the
craziness of scooter riding. As I was swerving to avoid colliding with pregnant
mothers, little old ladies, and whole families precariously mounted on speeding
scooters, I couldn’t help but think on the beautiful coordination one sees in a
hive of bees or a school of anchovies. The same would be true of a gaggle of
Vietnamese going to work, were it not for the fact that clumsy little me was
right in their middle, gumming up the whole works. But what is well learnt is
never truly forgotten, and after a few close calls I regained my legendary
scooter-riding ability. At some point an older couple riding a scooter stopped
by my side and asked me where I was from. “Mexico ”, I replied. “That is what
my husband thought”, answered the woman (probably based on the boldness of my
scooter moves). “And how long have you been in Vietnam ” asked he. “Just a day”,
said I. “And you are already riding a scooter in Saigon ?”,
he exclaimed, with a real sense of awe in his voice. Fortunately the traffic
got going at that very moment, and I was able to leave him wondering what the
traffic was like in Mexico City .
My first stop was the Museum of History Vietnam , in
which the arts flourished and pottery reached a high degree of refinement. The
second half of the museum was devoted to a hodge podge of displays about the
peoples of southern Asia , largely based on
personal collections that have been gifted to the museum. A highlight was the
water puppet theater, which I had seen in one of the museums in Hanoi a couple of years
ago. I will tell you more about it later, but for now will say that a day care
was doing a visit to the museum, and the little kids had a great time seeing
the dragons come out of the water, or the fish frolicking in front of the
fishermen.
Next I wanted to visit the Women’s Museum, but I got there
just in time for the midday siesta (11:30 am to 1:30 pm) and had to come back
later. I used the time to meander around town in my scooter, getting lost and
finding myself again as I slowly developed a mental map of the downtown area.
Saigon is a bit crazy, but nothing like Hanoi ,
and I soon started recognizing parks and major intersections. Just then it
started to rain, and I had to find emergency shelter in a sports complex that
also serves as the neighborhood conservatory. People come to learn to play an
instrument, or to participate in one of the very popular ballroom dancing classes.
While I was there a group of about 30 adults was working on the intricacies of rumba
and cha-cha-cha, following with gusto the beat marked by the instructor. Also
at this complex was the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater, which was much
touted as being the best in the country. OK, I thought, now I know what I can
do later in the day.
A little farther I got caught by yet another squall, and I
thought this was the perfet opportunity to stop for lunch. I dove into the
covered garage of what looked like a nice restaurant, parked the scooter, and
found that my bad luck had landed me in a health bar, where the beautiful
people can load on fruit smoothies, yoghurt, and the latest health grains. With
a heavy heart I had to settle for a watermelon juice and a healthy sounding
baguette sandwich, for which I paid the outrageous amount of 120,000 dong!
I should at this point clarify that here I am a millionaire!
I visited the ATM on arrival at the airport and walked away with a cool
6,000,000 dong, at a rate of exchange of 1 US dollar for 20,000 dong. The thing
is, prices are generally very cheap in Vietnam , so a little money
generally goes a long way. Still, a scrawny lunch for 120,000 dong is highway
robbery, but with the rain it is hard to go stall hopping like I would rather
go.
I did get back to the Southern Vietnamese Women’s Museum,
with which I was very impressed. The first floor has displays of the dresses
and regalia used by Vietnamese women in the many ethnic groups found throughout
the country (something like 50 distinct ethnic groups), as well as of the arts
of pottery, weaving, dying, and reed weaving practiced by women. The second
floor was devoted to the crucial roles women played in the two armed conflicts
faced by modern Vietnam :
the French and American invasions. Women not only stepped in to do Rosie the
Riveter kind of work, but were also the core of the logistics operations,
combatants, and leaders of the civil resistance movement. The tasks of moving
ammunition and supply through jungle paths fell on the capable shoulders of
young tough women, but the number of middle-aged and older women depicted on
the photographs was notable. The “hero mothers” organized the people on the
town, walked defiantly at the front of peace marches, demonstrated fearlessly
in front of the armed forces of occupation, and overall maintained alive the
pride and self-determination of the Vietnamese people. I was very impressed by
this museum.
I finished the day with a performance at the Golden Dragon
Water Puppet Theater, where I was indeed treated to a highly polished version
of this popular Vietnamese entertainment. The funny thing is that the stories
told were for the most part the same I had seen at the simpler performance at
the museum! I wonder if it isn’t the same puppeteers who run both shows. In the
professional version, however, you have an orchestra of six musicians who
double as narrators, actors, and peanut gallery to the antics of the puppets,
and that makes a world of difference. The puppets pop out of a pool of water
that stands in front of a set pagoda, manipulated from behind the reed mats
that close the pagoda’s entrance. What is amazing is the incredible range of
motions they can achieve: dragons jump out of the water spraying the audience,
fisherrmen chase after frolicking fish, three boats of 8 rowers each have a
race in front of an amazed audience, and the local prince takes a leisurely
boat ride across the pond accompanied by an amazing retinue of courtiers and
musicians. At the end the whole crew comes behind the mats, and you wonder how
a dozen people managed to fit and maneuver their puppets in such a reduced
space.
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