It continued to rain the next day, but less constantly and less intensely. We began at the Imperial Citadel, which has a most interesting history, then continued to the Royal Antiquities Museum for meetings but no tour as they are closed for renovations (the entire building is wood, in a climate that has so much rain), then back to the Citadel for some touring and the Nha Nhac performance, then to a garden house. I don't have images of that, as it was already dark when we arrived, but they are lovely homes along the river that were once homes to the court dignitaries and mandarins. The gardens are huge and bursting with fruit trees--dragonfruit, bananas, jackfruit, coconut, fig, mango, pineapple, mangosteen, cinnamon, white tea, durian, etc.--because they were signs of prestige and helped them maintain a balanced and healthy diet. Descendants of the mandarins own most of the houses now, but they are not protected, being outside of the World Heritage Area.
At the Forbidden Palace. In recent history, these buildings were a high-end Vietnamese restaurant and a sports gym! They are being restored now to their imperial glory and are part of the Royal Antiquities Museum's charge.
The director of the museum is also a calligrapher. He presented Amar with a lovely scroll, and each of us with a character. Joycelin and I show ours off. Mine is for good fortune.
Images of the Imperial Citadel. At one time, very strict rules controlled who entered through which door. Below, from inside. I haven't given you a true Amy shot in a while.... 
Details from the architecture and grounds.
It takes a good deal of work to keep up these grounds, as it does anywhere.
A sacred temple. Below, our group's shoes at the temple entrance.
I already posted one shot from the Nha Nhac Vietnamese Court Music performance. Here is a dance, and below, the theater.
No comments:
Post a Comment