Skip to main content

Hanoi - Water Puppet show


The water puppet show (Mua Roi Nuoc) at The Vietnam National Puppetry Theatre, 361 Truong Chinh, Hanoi is a unique art, performed in a pool of water with the water surface as the stage.  The puppeteers male and female, stand waist deep in the water behind the backdrop and manipulate the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface. It's performed live, very artistically done and the puppetry was done to the beat of the music.

Dialogue and narration were all in Vietnamese except for the English salutation, but you can more or less make out the act as they're rather basic.  The show lasted an hour, part of our tour itinerary, cost 40,000 Dong, very reasonable.  It's a cultural experience and we enjoyed it thoroughly.




 This is the stage, standing in water.


This is the stage for the orchestra, all traditional musical instruments.


The show started off with dragons puffing out 'fire' and 'smoke' admist the crackling sound of fire crackers


 It was indeed a beautiful sight!


The fireworks made the show very spectacular!


The orchestra in traditional costumes and the pretty lasses sang ..... but alas, all in Vietnamese!


Is this a phoenix........ not quite sure, but it's colourful


I was truly amazed by the skill of the puppeteers, they were excellent and the show well choreographed.  The puppets danced and moved to the beat of the music.

 

A scene of farmers ploughing the fields with water buffaloes.



The puppets were handmade, traditionally Vietnamese and very colourful!


Snapped this picture from the Confucius temple, these puppets were on sale.


A close up view of the puppets that were on sale, beautifully hand crafted.

Read more of this water puppet show @ Wikipedia, and Click here to watch it  'Live'!


Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2010 at 1:47 AM

    Wow what a great experience and great pictures too! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MaryMohJanuary 4, 2010 at 3:13 AM

    I love puppetry and this looks absolutely fascinating to me. I wish I were there to watch it. Thanks for all the interesting information about your Hanoi trip. Wonderful to know you enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ShirleyJanuary 4, 2010 at 12:26 PM

    I am enjoying your Hanoi posts Cheah, since I've never been there. Water Puppet Show- am sure my kids would love that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. penny aka jeroxieJanuary 4, 2010 at 12:29 PM

    Oh! So cool! thanks for sharing all this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sokehah cheahJanuary 4, 2010 at 12:56 PM

    Dear Friends
    You are most welcome, I enjoy posting them and sharing with you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rotterdam ICONJanuary 4, 2010 at 5:53 PM

    I have enjoyed travelling with you. Thanks for the trip

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sokehah cheahJanuary 4, 2010 at 11:16 PM

    Hi
    You are most welcome, ICON!

    ReplyDelete
  8. My Little SpaceJanuary 5, 2010 at 11:40 PM

    Water puppet show is very popular over there huh! So, guess you enjoy the show very much lol.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sokehah cheahJanuary 5, 2010 at 11:55 PM

    Hi Kristy
    Yes, I did enjoyed it although can't make out a thing about what they were singing, but can guess a bit from the scene they were depicting.

    ReplyDelete
  10. MaeJanuary 11, 2010 at 4:02 AM

    Wow, thanks for sharing this - I ran right over to the Wiki page to read more! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sokehah cheahJanuary 11, 2010 at 4:55 PM

    Hi Mae
    It's interesting, think it's one of its kind.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for dropping by. Please click on 'Anonymous' if you do not have a blog but do leave your name after the comment because I would like to know who you are.

Popular posts from this blog

Seasalt Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ 海盐巧克力曲奇饼

  These dreamy and heavenly chocolate chip cookies will make your kitchen smell like a bakery.  There is a divine contrast between sweet and salty for the slight pinch of seasalt flakes intensifies and brings out the chocolate flavour.  Freshly baked, these cookies are slightly soft in the centre and crispy at the edges, but if you do have leftovers, these will be crunchy, stored in a cookie jar, for a few days. Seasalt Chocolate Chip Cookies    ~    海盐巧克力曲奇饼        Ingredients 170 gm plain flour 1 tsp baking soda 113 gm butter (unsalted) 80 gm brown sugar 40 gm caster sugar 1 'L' egg 1 tsp vanilla 200 gm chocolate chips 1/8 tsp salt Extra chocolate chips or mini chocolate buttons to put on top of cookie before baking Maldon seasalt flakes to sprinkle on cookie immediately after baking Method Sift the flour with baking soda and salt, set aside. In a stand mixer, beat the butter with the sugars, till soft and smooth. On low, add in the egg. Fold in 1/2 sifted flour, mix well fol
Post a Comment
Read more

Herbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Gao

H erbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Ga o literally translated means 'Tortoise Jelly' is one of my family's favourite desserts.  It's much more economical to prepare this at home for you'll need to fork out between Rm 9 to Rm 11 for a bowl of this cooling dessert in any of those herbal tea outlets.  This soothing jelly, served chilled, is supposed to be able to help reduce our body heat, helps to get rid of toxins and is believed to be good for the skin thus culminating a healthier complexion.
22 comments
Read on for the Recipe

Durian Butter Cake ~ 榴莲牛油蛋糕

  It's the durian season again and I'm sharing with you a simple yet fragrant Durian Butter Cake.  This recipe does not use the traditional butter totally, in fact there is oil too.  Liquid oil tends to make the cake softer and stays moist longer as it does not solidify at room temperature.  This cake is soft and moist with a tinge of durian flavour and aroma.  A breakfast or Tea time snack for durian lovers. Durian Butter Cake ~  榴莲牛油蛋糕 Ingredients 150 gm unsalted butter 190 gm plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 30 ml vegetable oil 85 gm caster sugar 3 'L' eggs 130 gm pureed durian flesh 4 Tbsp milk a pinch of salt 1/4 teaspoon vanilla Method Sift flour with baking powder and salt.  Set aside. Beat butter with sugar till well blended, add in oil and continue beating till pale and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, mix well. Add in pureed durian flesh, mix till well incorporated. Sift in again the sifted flour in 2 batches, alternating with the milk.  Fold in till well inc
Post a Comment
Read more