Korea's Marriage Migrants

Doing research for an upcoming project, I stumbled across a fascinating piece of research presented at the International Conference on Border Control and Empowerment of Immigrant Brides held in September 2007 in Taipei. Marriage Migrant Women in Korea and Attempts to Organize Them was presented by Lee, Inkyoung. She uses case studies and statistical data to highlight the problems faced by women, mostly from rural China and Vietnam, who come to Korea to marry with the promise of the wealth of a more powerful country. Unfortunately, the reality of such arranged marriages rarely live up to the promise of "The Korean Dream."

Some excerpts:

“There were many people who went to work in Korea from my hometown. They became richer and built nice houses when they came back. I envied them a lot. I was keen to work in Korea. But it was quite difficult to get a working visa. One of my acquaintances introduced me to a Korean man. I just thought that I would marry him and as soon as I arrive in Korea, I would run away from him and work somewhere. But the guy was quite gentle to me. We just fell in love with each other after several meetings and I gave up running away from him. But you have to know it, most foreign brides come to Korea because of poverty. If they are well-educated or if their family has a lot of property, they never come to Korea for marriage especially to men old enough to be their father. Our family does not have much money and could not give us education so I came here. Even Korean men who are married to foreigners don’t have money like us. If they are tall, well educated, or have good jobs and good salary, they never marry us. We were poor there but we are poor here in Korea.”? Related by a Chinese who has lived for 3 years in Korea.

It’s a story from my Chinese coworker. I believe she explained well the situation at home, their motivation for marriage migration and the method they use. I already gave up academic value in this paper. I think it’s beyond my ability. I am using many cases to understand the situation of marriage migrant women in Korea.

...

Usually Korean men who want to marry Vietnamese have to pay around 10,000USD to 15,000USD to the brokers. The brokers take the men for marriage trips for 5 nights and 6 days on the average. I would like to describe in detail what they do during the trip so that we can understand how quickly marriage is conducted by the brokers. The first day, they reach Vietnam. They attend a marriage meeting and select their girls. If the girls agree to marry them they meet the girls' parents and date with the girls and prepare documents in seconds. They apply for spouse visa to the Korean embassy and take a medical check-up and go shopping for their brides on the third day. They have the wedding and sleep together on the fourth day and go on honeymoon trip on the fifth day. Korean husbands take a medical check up and come back to Korea on the sixth day. I think it's quite a short time for someone to meet and decide his/her spouse within 6 days. Brokers' interest is getting higher by the success rate of marriage. So the brokers never provide real information to either party but only the image of Asian women to Korean men and developed Korean society to foreign women. This kind of marriage has potential problems due to lack of information and time. We receive many complaints from migrant women towards the brokers such as domestic violence, confinement, and other severe human rights abuses.

The statistics she pulls are also enough to knock some sense of perspective into the English teacher K-blogging circle who complain about Korea's reaction to their relationships with Korean women. Of the 39,690 marriages between a Korean national and a foreign person registered in 2006, almost 70% were between a Korean man and a woman from China, Vietnam, Philippines, Mongolia, Cambodia, and Uzbekistan, countries known to have marriage brokering services for Korean men.

People who complain about E-2 visa regulations in Korea may not be wrong, but they really should realize that there are bigger immigration fish to fry in this homogeneous and sometimes xenophobic country. Do some good and educate yourself about these things.

Floating Village near Siem Reap

The Floating Village moves with the tides.
One afternoon, our tuktuk driver, Tee, offered to take us a few kilometers out of town to see the floating village on Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Southeast Asia. Originally founded by immigrants fleeing Vietnam during the war who were unable to afford land in Cambodia, the village is completely self-contained, with a school, church, basketball court, and alligator farm.


Yes, that's right. An alligator farm.
Unfortunately, pollution in the lake threatens the livelihood of these already impoverished fishermen, and tourism (and the begging of tourists) has become one of the few sources of income needed to sustain their way of life. Perhaps my awakened interest in simple living recently was partially inspired by what I saw in Southeast Asia--people living lives with so few of the amenities that we believe are "necessary" these days.


Children paddling home from school.
On the boatride to and from the village, T and the boat driver spoke with us about the economic situation in Cambodia. The government is viewed as very corrupt by the people. One example of their corruption is that they don't allow independent tour boat operators; they will only allow certain companies (who probably bribe the government officials in return for huge kickbacks) to operate the boats and while they collect a huge fee from the tourists, the boat operators make a pittance.

To see the rest of the pictures along with some I took from around the town of Siem Reap, click here:

Floating Village Tour and Around Siem Reap

It would not be until we got to Phnom Penh that we would understand how recent and deep the wound the Khmer Rouge cut through the heart of this beautiful, once-supreme Khmer kingdom of Cambodia truly was. I wonder how long until she can recover and when my country, the U.S.A., will recognize its own horrific contributions to the nightmares that people living in Southeast Asia still remember...

Korean Hive-Mind.

Perhaps that's extreme. But Koreans have a kind of group-think mentality that is difficult for individualistic Americans to understand. I've blogged about it directly before: once about being accepted by my swing club and another time when showcasing my students' opinions about Korea's core values.

Well, of course, naturally, Koreans also have a difficult time understanding the concepts of "rugged individualism" and "alone time" as positive things. They think if you are alone, then you must be lonely.

Recently, fellow blogger Liz of I'm no Picasso, encountered this culture clash in a very direct way and tries to make sense of it in her latest post. She has been planning a lovely solo trip to Vietnam (highly recommended, btw) when her co-teacher decided to join her. Although she remains torn over what to do about the situation because she likes her co-teacher, but that streak of independence is what kicked in at first:

When it first happened, I was infuriated. Who does something like that? I've been looking forward to this vacation for an age, with visions of me playing Thomas Fowler in a gorgeous hotel room overlooking a main road, waking a little late in the mornings and drinking strong Vietnamese coffee at a table outside on my imaginary hotel's imaginary veranda overlooking an imaginary busy, scenic Vietnamese street. I would then spend the day wandering around and taking in the various cities, not bothering with anything too touristy or pressurized, basically just trying to soak up the place in whatever way struck my fancy that day. Time alone. To unwind and decompress from the continuing uphill pace of life in the ROK.

Now I've got a middle-aged Korean tagalong. What in the hell am I going to do with her?

And, more importantly.... I.... it's vacation, okay? Who doesn't look forward to the potential, while traveling abroad, of meeting a cute little local and having a bit of what-happens-in-_____-stays-in-_____ fun? Or just meeting new people in general? Which is a lot harder to do when you have a travel companion.

Later she reflects on her difficulties adapting to this culture:

I hope it stops after this, though. I get a little tired sometimes, in Korea, of the group mentality. It's the one thing that's really hard for me to cope with about Korean culture. I like doing things alone, and I like doing things my own way, and I don't always want other people jumping in. Sometimes I don't want a ride to _____, because I had my own plans about how I was going to get to ____, and a whole schedule worked out for the day I was going to _____. Sometimes I don't want someone to join me going to that museum, or that temple, or that store, or that movie. I just want to go and enjoy it on my own, without the stress of it becoming a social situation. I don't need help with everything and I don't always need (or want) company. Just because I mention my plans to do something doesn't mean that you're invited.

Does that sound really bitchy? Well. Whatever. I'm trying my best to adjust. But some things about me are not American or Western -- they're just me. And they're not likely to ever change. That doesn't mean I'm wrong.

I love Liz's style of writing, btw--so full of voice and character, even while exploring some very complex cultural issues in an honest, personal, raw way. However, I have to disagree a little with her last statement. The ability to even conceive of yourself as separate from your culture or any other group, to make bold claims like these qualities are "just me" is a distinctly Western and American approach. Not that she's wrong at all--just that this kind of thinking is more culturally based than we realize.

Anyhow, I've struggled with all this myself and so I commented to her about my own frustrations:

I had a really hard time at first planning the wedding because I had NO control over the guest list. In Korea, if you mention an event, it means the person is invited. Foreigners often take YEARS to realize this, so they wonder (I've wondered) why they're not invited to the company dinner, yet asked why they didn't attend the next day. Why a casual mention of your weekend plans suddenly means your co-teacher is taking you out to the family farm for Chuseok.

I've finally learned, after much trial and even more error, that if a party is talked about around you, you're invited to it and that co-workers find it completely acceptable to invite themselves into your plans (especially if you'll be alone--who would WANT to be alone? they think) if you mention them at work. There was also a very interesting (not at all sarcastic this time) thread when Liz posed her problem on Dave's ESL Cafe. I highly recommend that you read it!

(Many thanks to Liz for sharing her experience and--hopefully--not minding my re-bloggering of it. Yes, bloggering is totally a word.)

Pictures from Saturday.

I finally had an excuse to wear the green silk dress I had made in Vietnam.

With my pal Gina, who visited me in the hospital and was in an AWESOME Charleston performance.

With my (getting tipsy) future husband.

Courtesy Dung-ee

Arrived/DC Memorials Near the Mall

Yes, we have safely arrived in America, after a difficult 22+ hour day of travel and then delicious Mexican food, and are enjoying the relaxing time in my parents' nicely remodeled home. I will update more about family for another time.

Our first day in America, we drove down to La Plata, where I used to do community theater, to see the final performance of Port Tobacco Players' Sweeney Todd. The play was amazing--the special effects and choreography created a great background mood for standout performances from the actress playing Mrs. Lovett and the actor playing young Toby. All of the other cast members were wonderful as well. I know the director and the producer well and have worked with them before, so I had high expectations for this production, but they were definitely surpassed. Bravo to everyone involved!

I also got to say hi to many old friends and introduce them, if briefly, to Min Gi. I miss this group of people so very much; I often reflect on how much I miss doing theater work, but the truth is that it is working with such awesome folks that makes the theater stuff so fun. I'll definitely get involved again when I'm back in the U.S. to live.

After the show, we headed to Northern Virginia to meet Amanda and Good Man for Chinese food. It was a great time, but too bad Amanda has to start teaching again, so she can't come play during weekdays. However, we did convince Good Man to join us the next day for shenanigans on the National Mall.

***

This morning, Min Gi and I headed down to the National Mall to meet Good Man and Peter, a friend of mine from high school. We started out at the Air and Space Museum, which is still pretty cool, even if some of the exhibits are now slightly outdated.

Models of Missiles--from an exhibit on the role of the military in space and flight development.

In another note, the Smithsonian Institute has sold out--the cafeteria now features overpriced McDonald's instead of overpriced generic Smithsonian cafeteria food. How tragic. We moved on to the memorials after checking out exhibits on aerial photography, the Wright Brothers, and the role of computers in space and flight technology.

Peter and I at the (relatively) new World War II Memorial, with the Washington Monument in the background.

Today was the anniversary of the armistice for the end (sort of) of the Korean war, so all the flags at the memorial sites were at half-mast, and the Korean War Memorial was decorated with funerary bouquets from the various embassies whose soldiers participated (and died) in the war effort on behalf of the UN.

Korean Soldiers in Rain Gear

Reflected Min Gi at the Korean War Memorial, carved with the faces of soldiers.

Finally, we worked our way around the reflecting pool, past the tidal basin to the Lincoln Monument, the Vietnam Memorial, and the White House (from a distance).

Vietnam War Memorial

After that, we walked up towards Metro Center to find a bar for a happy hour toast to our day's adventure. Good times and good fun for everybody! Check out the rest of the day's photos:

DC Memorials Near the Mall

Imperial Capital, Hue

Hard to believe it, but I'm finally on my last blog post about my trip to Vietnam. I hope you enjoyed reading about another country. I'll return to discussing the interesting things about Korea very soon.

So on my last night, I took a bus from Hoi An to Hue, the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty. I stayed at the best hotel of my trip--a guesthouse called Sunny Fine. The owner spoke English pretty well and the rooms were very clean and spacious for the $7/night price. If you plan to visit Hue, I can send you the e-mail information for the hotel.

I arrived in the early evening, so I just went out to a little bar down the street and treated myself to a full body massage at a nearby spa. The next day, I visited the ruins of the Imperial Citadel, nearly destroyed during the Tet Offensive. They were really spectacular. Plus it was so early in the morning, that I had the grounds largely to myself to explore.

Fisherman in front of the Citadel, with reflected flag. My favorite picture I took the whole trip. Something about it just captures the spirit of Vietnam.

Emperor's entrance. Only the emperor and his advisers could use the center passages. Everyone else had to use the sides.

Detail of the entrance gate in the previous picture.

The ruins were in various states of restoration. Here, through the hole in the wall, you can see one of the gates to the emperor's mother's private residence. The Forbidden Purple City was destroyed, but you could see accents of the color used on the restored gates.

Of course, any emperor's citadel is incomplete without your random elephant.

I wish I'd had time to see some of the other ruins around Hue that in conjunction with the citadel make it a World UNESCO Heritage site. View the rest of my photos from Hue's citadel below.

Hue

And so, I bid adieu to my Vietnam series. I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and the stories.

Tomorrow night Anne is coming to Korea for a week. And Monday is my birthday. I am beyond excited. For now, I'm off to taekwondo. My 2단 (second degree) belt test is set for April 26, so I've got a lot of work to do! 와이팅!

Hoi An Ancient Town

I'm a little behind on blogging about my last few days in Vietnam due to my massive bout of homesickness and follow up remedy. I will try to catch up now.

The day after my motorbike tour of the countryside, I decided to explore the town of Hoi An, itself a UNESCO site. Hoi An's historical background is as an international port trading town for Vietnam. The ancient part of the town has been carefully preserved as a kind of living museum. Nearly all the businesses in town are custom tailors or traditional craftsmen. This makes Hoi An a kind of shopping paradise, and I must confess that I went a little overboard. I bought lots of custom-made dresses, pants, shoes, and even a winter coat. I also got some presents for friends and family at the local craft shops.

A potter hard at work in the local handicrafts workshop.

You can purchase a walking tour of Hoi An ticket that allows you to see several of the main sites. The weather on the particular Sunday I did this was absolutely spectacular.

The Japanese Covered Bridge is a kind of symbol of the city, being a gift from Japanese traders.

An elaborate fountain sculpture in the courtyard of the Cantonese Assembly Hall.

The best part of Hoi An, though, was the laid-back vibe in the town. Although obviously economically supported by tourism, the vendors here were much less aggressive than in Hanoi and everybody was a lot friendlier. Heck, even the lizards lived in comfortable peace with the locals.

One of many geckos that roamed free in restaurants around the old town.

Finally, I ended up relaxing in the afternoon on Cua Dai beach, where I met some awesome folks and had my cool encounter with Moon Magic.

Stunning.

You should absolutely check out all of the photos I took around this picturesque, internationally influenced town.

Hoi An Ancient Town

My Son Holy Land; Motorcycle Touring

I met Hai, my motorbike taxi tourguide from the day before, at my hotel after an early breakfast in Hoi An. We set out for My Son Holy Land, a UNESCO site, and the central highlands of Vietnam to view some gorgeous scenery along the Ho Chi Minh trail, meet some local farmers from one of Vietnam's many minority ethnic groups, and learn a little about traditional farming and food preparation.

This is what I got to look at all day.

My Son was in the middle of a jungle paradise. They called it a "sanctuary," and it certainly had an amazingly verdant jungle smell and air of peacefulness about the site, despite the numerous tourists already arrived by the time we got there.

Evidence of the early influence of Hindu architecture on shrines in Vietnam

The brick structures at My Son are somewhat of a mystery, as they have endured for so long with no mortar to hold them together.

From Hai, I learned and practiced most of the Vietnamese that I picked up while touring the country. I learned that pineapples grow in bushes, not trees. That gold is mined from rivers using barges designed especially for that purpose. That Vietnamese bury their families in grave sites in active rice fields (the ancestors protect the rice?). I went on a motorbike ferry across a river and crossed a bridge on the motorcycle that seemed like it was going to give out at any moment.

I witnessed that motorcycles can be adapted for ANY farming/transportation use you might need.

I made a tasty "rice paper" snack.

I met some of the families who, despite their extreme poverty, are unbearably beautiful when they smile.

Overall, I got just a small taste of the "real" Vietnam, and I loved it. If I came back again, I would definitely take a full tour with Hai. Even though the tour was by far the most expensive day trip I went on while in the country, it was worth the extra cost. If you travel to Vietnam and will be in the Da Nang region, I will happily give you Hai's contact information.

Please do check out the rest of the album from my best day in Vietnam:

My Son Holyland; Highlands Motorbike Tour

Travel to Hoi An; Marble Mountains

After the trip to Perfume Pagoda, I took an overnight "express" train from Hanoi to Da Nang (en route to Hoi An). I got the most expensive "soft sleeper" car, which had four beds in a room. In my room there was a couple from Sweden travelling to Hue (a stop before my stop) and a gruff Vietnamese man who kept talking loudly on his cell phone and smoking right outside the cabin (there is no real ventilation in a train car, so while I appreciated his effort to not smoke in the cabin, it didn't really make that much of a difference). The food on the train was pretty good (though not dreadfully vegetarian-friendly) and the bed comfortable. The views along the coastline were pretty spectacular, though not photographable through the dirty train windows. I will not write about the bathrooms so as not to ever have to think about them again. Ever.

I arrived in Da Nang well-rested, but very dirty (between the day at Perfume Pagoda and overnight on the train with no shower, I'm amazed people were not running in the other direction at my approach). I decided to take a taxi to Hoi An, because although it was a bit pricier than the bus, I needed the luxury at this point. So when a man approached me and offered to take me there for $5 (I had assumed I'd have to fork over $15), I agreed.

Then he escorted me to his motorbike.

I had avoided these in Hanoi because I was terrified of them. I hesitated as Hai, my driver, took my bag and started to strap it on the back, responding to my admitting to being American by telling the story of how he was shot twice during the Vietnam War as a South Vietnamese (the ones who helped the US) soldier. He even pointed to the front of his bike that had a "Proud to be American" eagle sticker on it. He was so friendly, and I had already agreed to go with him, that when he handed me the helmet, although I must have been completely white with fear, I hopped on the back, assumed a death grip on the handlebars and prayed for a quick, death-free voyage.

Once the ride started, I saw that the traffic in Da Nang was nowhere near the nightmare that was the capital city. Hai explained that he'd take me out to the coastal road because we could see some of the war sites along the old DMZ and My Khe beach(popularized by the television show China Beach) and then around the Marble Mountains. He said it would take longer, but assured me that it was still the same price. He noticed my camera and asked if I wanted to stop and take some pictures around the beach. His driving and relaxed, straight-forward manner started to put me at ease.

Along "China Beach" Hai, standing, speaks to his friend; both are members of the Da Nang Easy Riders, a licensed motorbike tour company.

When we arrived at the Marble Mountains, he encouraged me to go explore them for as long as I wanted. He said he'd wait at the base while I took a hike through the park and took some photos. I felt bad for making him wait, but I was very excited because I'd wanted to see the Marble Mountains while I was in Hoi An, and wasn't sure I would have time to make a side trip out to them. Plus, as it was already mid-afternoon at this point and I thought I'd have to waste my whole day in transport, the opportunity to turn the journey into a sight-seeing excursion for no extra money (except the generous tip I was now planning to give him), delighted me.

The mountains (five of them in all) are, in fact, made of marble that, until recently, was mined for some of the most famous, popular marble sculptures crafted in Vietnam.

The Buddhist carvings and temple sites were intricate, beautiful, and well-maintained with bright, fresh paint.

The mountains also have numerous caves with Buddhist shrines inside them

I was trying to go quickly because I didn't want Hai to have to wait too long, but in the end, there was just so much to see that I took over two hours, including the time I spent purchasing a very nice present for my parents from one of the marble craftsmen at the base of the mountain.

Finally, as we headed through the countryside towards Hoi An, I began to relax completely. I realized that this more rural, traditional part of Vietnam was what I had been yearning for after months in the concrete jungles of Daegu.

In Vietnam, the year of the cow is the year of the buffalo. (This man reached out his hand for a tip after I took the picture, but Hai was already pulling out of the area where he'd stopped).

I arranged a day tour for the next day with Hai, wishing I had enough time and money to do one of his week-long central highlands tours. I had discovered the true joy of solo travel--that unexpected opportunity, that chance you can seize upon without consulting another who might balk at the time or the expense of the unplanned undertaking. As I settled into my first night in the lovely town of Hoi An, after a much needed shower and relaxing dinner with some girls I met on my trip to Ha Long Bay, I was bursting with excitement about the next day's voyage. Feeling for the first time in a long time, truly free.

Check out the rest of the day's album:

Marble Mountains

Perfume Pagoda Bus Trip

Warning: This post contains some graphic images of dead animals. The photo album has some worse ones.

After I got back from Ha Long Bay, I decided to take a bus trip to visit Perfume Pagoda, which is one of the more important holy sites in Northern Vietnam. The trip, including lunch, was only $16, so even though The Lonely Planet told fellow travellers that it wasn't worth it, I figured it couldn't be all that bad. (As a side note, I'm mildly disturbed by how many people I met who seem to be married to their little blue guidebook. I understand that one does need some advice when in a foreign land or a new area, but really people. Let's take our eyes out of the books and look around us while on a trip, mmmm kay?)

I was unimpressed with our guide for this trip. He was maybe 17 years old and rather disorganized. On the bus, though, I met some cool folks from Scotland and England. They were friends from back home and traveling together, but we hit it off alright. So when we got to the village on the Perfume River where we caught our boat rides to the pagoda, we shared a four person boat.

Behind me, you can see my boatmates and the AWESOME tiny Vietnamese woman who hauled ass while rowing us.

Ok, to be honest, the complex at Perfume Pagoda was the dirtiest place I went in all of Vietnam. It may actually be the dirtiest place I've ever been in my life, not counting the detritus-filled swamp fields on Wallops Island I played around in for Biology class in tenth grade. It was a teeming tourist trap (though almost exclusively for Vietnamese tourists; besides our group I saw very few other non-Vietnamese visitors) and had the only toilets I've been to in Asia where I actually turned and walked out again saying, "I can hold it. The trip back is just four hours..." (and I've used an outdoor squatter located on a 400-year old farmstead with no hot water).

One of the disturbing things was the sight of all the recently killed animals in various states of preparation for feeding hanging around the restaurants on the docks. Especially disturbing were the dogs and ocelots (who looked like my kitties--boo hoo).

Animals ready to be cooked.

After lunch, we had only a short time to explore the areas around the base of the mountain and head up to the pagoda. I had to take the cable car to the pagoda because of the short time (too bad!).

They seemed the be having some kind of lantern festival in the temple.

Lord Buddha loves his Choco Pies.

Entrance of the pagoda, inside a large cave.

I had a really good time exploring on my own. I could take all the pictures I wanted at my own pace. The Vietnamese tourists in my cable car kept trying to speak to me in English. And some ladies I met in the pagoda wouldn't let me leave until I'd washed my face five times with the cave water (this is supposed to bring me luck... and I complied even though I was already feeling really dirty). Honestly, if I went back again, I'd go just on my own, not through a tour company.

The pagoda itself was a small disappointment without a full understanding of its religious significance. Our tour guide wasn't much help on this subject. The boat ride and temple at the base was worth the trip, though, and I had a fun day overall. Then I ended up meeting the boys in my boat again for drinks one night in Hoi An (coming up in future posts).

Check out the album from the day (remember there is a more graphic pic of the animals in the album):

Perfume Pagoda

Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island

A little east of Hanoi is UNESCO World Heritage Site and new seven world wonders contender, Ha Long Bay. After exploring Hanoi, I took a three day/two night tour to the area which included one night on a junk boat, a smallish-cruise ship about four stories tall, with about 35 other travelers from all over the world.

My on board roommate, from Malaysia, and I in front of some of the island formations on the bay.

We went kayaking around some rock formations, like this one, and explored some caves and very peaceful areas.

Then, we went swimming off the side of the boat. It was a little scary to jump from three stories up, but the water was definitely worth it.

The next morning, most people returned to Hanoi, while the 10 of us who wanted one more day in this paradise stayed in a hotel on the largest island in the chain, Cat Ba. At the center of the island is a huge nature preserve and park. We went on a short, but very steep hike up to this scary-looking rusty, old, metal tower that was missing some steps and part of the roof.

But of course, I still had to climb up to the top of it. Here I am looking down at the less-brave hikers relaxing at the base of the tower.

The view was definitely worth it!

During this part of my trip, I was pretty social as there wasn't much to do but relax and chat with people on the boat and the island. However, the scenery was spectacular, the kayaking and hiking fun, and the company pretty decent, so it was a great side trip, even if I didn't learn all that much about Vietnam hanging out with Germans, Danes, Australians, and various others.

You should definitely check out the other photographs in the album:

Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island

Hanoi, Vietnam

I began my Vietnam trip in the capitol city, Hanoi. Hanoi has beautiful architecture (which was quite a relief after Korea's bland, concrete monotony) characterized by narrow, long houses--influences from when the French taxed residents based on the width of buildings. The city is also a traffic nightmare, since there are more motorbikes and bicycles than cars and the motorbikes do not stop for pedestrians--you simply look forward and walk at a slow, steady pace and trust that they'll drive around you. I found it best to cross with a local.

More evidence of Hanoi residents' insane apathy towards the risks that motorized transport entails. Yes, this rail track is active daily.

My first full day in Vietnam, I took off with a girl I met at my hostel (highly recommended if you're traveling to Hanoi) to explore the many museums and monuments in and around the city. Everything was beautiful, but crowded with tourists (and of course, the people trying to sell things to the tourists).

I visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the museum and sites around it. Then I went to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's oldest university which was very beautiful, and I found myself making comparisons between temple/palace sites in Korea and the same in Vietnam (Vietnam's always have water; Korea's art is more linear and clean, Vietnam's more intricate suggesting a more direct Hindu influence on its Buddhism). After lunch, I took in the Hoa Lo Prison (otherwise known as the "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam war). The exhibits all focused on the French colonists' imprisonment (and torture) of Vietnam national activists under French rule. Finally, I ended my day at the Museum of Vietnam History, near Hoan Kiem Lake.

Me in front of the One Pillar Pagoda (notice how it's surrounded by water).

All of these things were interesting, and you should definitely check out my photos from the album linked at the bottom of this post, but nothing from my day compared to the evening. I had tickets to the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater.

Now, I am a former theater techie and have a huge thing for puppets and whatnot, so I was already really excited about seeing the water puppets in Vietnam. It's a unique art form to the northern half of the country, developed as a way to appease the gods and entertain villagers when the rice fields overflowed (which happens a lot in a country that is essentially at sea level). The program featured 17 songs, each with unique puppets and motions. It was difficult to get pictures because the puppets moved so quickly and naturally, but that didn't stop me from taking a lot!

The musicians concentrate as they play on traditional Vietnamese instruments.

An excerpt from the story of Hoan Kiem Lake (the legend of the restored sword)

The puppeteers take a bow. They used to get diseases from prolonged exposure to the dirty water, but nowadays they wear waders.

Finally, one of the excerpts I filmed, the "Dragon Dance":



I was completely mesmerized by the performance. I want to try it! Maybe next time.

Check out the rest of my pictures from the day's adventures. There are photos from most of the museums (though not of President Minh because cameras were not permitted inside the Mausoleum) and the lake as well as some random propaganda seen around town and other fun pictures:

Around Hanoi (museums, etc.)