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nathalie03981

A magical turtle and a ghost

Setting the scene: I just came back from the water puppet show in Hanoi. Yup, you get to see puppets dancing through water. Since the story was told in Vietnamese, I couldn`t understand the narration. Yet, I recognized one important figure: a big golden turtle. Earlier today, I joined a walking tour through the city. When we passed the Hoan Kiem lake, our guide Luna told us about the sacred turtle. Legend has it that an emperor was once given a sword by a magical turtle from this lake. The emperor used it to fight his enemy. Once the battle was won he returned the sword to the turtle. Even today the turtle represents longevity, courage and wisdom. So yeah, I did not understand the story in todays show, but I don`t think that mattered. It was cool to witness dancing puppets such as dragons, birds, fishermen and water buffaloes whilst listening to the band.  A lot of the instruments were unfamiliar to me. 


What`s my first impression of Hanoi? Chaos. But in a good way. It`s fun to get lost in the endless streets of the Old Quarter. The walking tour was also a lot of fun. Luna had a charismatic character and beamed with delight. Towards the end of the tour she asked us about our religious believes. She then went on asking us whether we believe in ghosts. This question was followed by a story of how she met a ghost when she was about ten years old (ok, spooky). But what I liked is her statement that followed her little ghost story: The universe has many mysteries. Everyone can believe in what they want. But never judge someone for their believes. 



PS: Here are some pictures of my last days in Malaysia (Cameron Highlands). 




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