The big event of January 23 was going to see the
water puppets show at the Than Long Theatre (check link for pictures). Water Puppetry portrays traditional
stories to orchestral music (link is YouTube video). The puppets dance on a pool in front of screens that shield their handlers from view. I was impressed by the range of expression and physical humor that the players/puppets were able to convey to us, since we didn't have the benefit of understanding the narrative. For example, at one point there were to people shepherding a small flock of ducks swimming in neat lines and a cat swam in, captured a duck and ran up a tree on the side of the stage. At other points, dragons circled, spitting sparks; and lions played catch, batting a ball between them with hind paws, until the ball acquired a life of its own and chased the lions.
Food. Earlier in the day, we went to Legends Beer to taste the local microbrew.
Legend offers lager, dunkel, or weizen, and the location, just under Highlands Coffee at the north of Hoan Kiem Lake offers a view of lake and Hanoi rushing by below.
Later in the day we went to Brothers Cafe for the buffet. Brothers has a large open-air courtyard and we were among the few tables there not part of a major celebration. Bouquets were everywhere, and liquor flowed freely. The buffet included tables where they made
noodle soups to order (beef, chicken, crab), and fresh rice crepes rolled with pork. Barbequed meat and salads too. Amusingly, I dropped close to 1,000,000 on this meal -- how often can you say that? (it's equivalent to about $60)
