Arriving back at the hotel later in the evening, I stopped by the CircleK with Stephen and picked up 500g of spaghetti. I crafted this culinary work from the comfort of my hotel room. It turned out great; I'm honestly pleased with myself.
The man here is burning faux $100 U.S. bills as an offering to nearby spirits. Sometimes this will be done to bribe bad spirts to leave the area. Perhaps U.S. bills are more enticing to spirits than the actual local currency?
Once again, another bonsai tree. I made note of this one with its play of a building resting on the shell of a turtle. I thought perhaps it was in reference to Turtle Lake.
Looking back across the Well of Heavenly Clarity, the center gate presented here is the first gate we went through. If you look at the reverse of a 100,000 Dong note, this is the location that is depicted. Rad.
There are a collection of these place markers with an enormous stone turtle at the base. When a scholar, back in the day, completed what they came to do at the Temple, they would have their name engraved in stone. As we can see, many of the stones have undergone the effects of nature's weathering, however, we can still see the impact of education establishing a great importance from centuries ago.
This is the view seen from entering the Temple of Literature through the first gate. The body of water presented in this photo is called the "Well of Heavenly Clarity." The Temple was a place for academic scholars to promote their education, such as with the ideas of Confucius, in addition to establish grand honour and nobility to their families.
Ticket price equivalent to $1.32 USD.
What may look like kites stuck in a tree from a distance, are actually small lights tied to a panel.
This towering home provides visitors an example of life for people who lived within jungle environments. The houses were constructed at such heights in order to maintain a piece of mind from wild and naughty animals at night, or even bothersome souls from across the way. The entrance to the home features four sets of ungodly steep stairs, which were crafted from wood. Inside, the ceiling was beyond comprehension- it went over our heads. There's more ceiling volume than floor space. Right to left: Mason, Colby, and Cody.
The outdoors section of the museum featured an open grounds arrangement of rural and past Vietnamese life. As seen in this photo, a farmer monitors the crops with the assistance of two cranes. Nifty. I thought the birds were a charming touch to the scene.
This flower cluster is one of my favourites from Vietnam. What an artistic and geometric composition of pentagonal flowers. Just look at it! There's a smart curvature among each of the petals, and the larger leaves of from the tree even compose a fan design.
As seen from a window, a badling of ducks visiting the museum as well. There was a third before the photo was taken; it waddled behind the bushes and into the water.
A collection of fish traps made from bamboo are piled on a bicycle.
With continuous heavy influence of French-style architecture, the Presidential Palace was intended to the be the residence of Ho Chi Minh himself, but he opted for more traditional housing instead. The distinct hushed saffron colour is astonishing to see in person.
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28 May 2018
As
with many vendors throughout the city, here is a fun array of inexpensive and
fruitful shirts. While they are fun in concept, the material they are made from
is incredibly thin, similar to a flour sack towel.
