Children’s Day and Tomb Sweeping Day brought a 5-day weekend. Suzi and Tom were in the coastal town of Da Nang, which lies smack in the middle of the country, north-to-south. From Zurich, they'd needed a layover in the capital, and then a domestic flight. From Taipei, I got a direct flight, reaching Da Nang within 2 ½ hours. I flew on Sunday because the flight was half the price.
We'd made these plans so that Suzi could avoid the troublesome UK visa. If you are among those who need one, you’ll
know that it involves a series of hurdles, and costs a painful penny. Well, both Suzi and I
needed a visa for Vietnam. Karma dictated that it was both expensive and troublesome. Tom made arrangements for Suzi. Once her application was successful, he explained the procedure
to me.
Although application and approval were handled electronically, it was nevertheless necessary to get a sticker
pasted into my passport upon arrival.
My fellow passengers formed two large groups traveling with guides. The two guides raced to immigration, and I had to wait a very, very long time for my maddening permit. Now, I have traveled just a
smidge over the years, and I can confidently say that this system is
abysmal. Electronic visas are linked to
your passport number and really do not need to be plastered onto the blooming
pages. Anyhoo, I also know that there
is no point getting cross, so I remained calm, hungrily looking forward to
dinner. While
waiting, I noticed that I was the only non-Asian wearing a mask. I pulled mine off.
I had to wait again beyond immigration. Tom and Suzi were at domestic arrivals, while I was at the international terminal. When they did eventually find me, we ate dinner, and then ambled in search of beer. What we found instead was a purveyor of coffee and other refreshments – I had an avocado smoothie. It wasn’t as good as the one I’d had in Oman, but it was fresh and refreshing. We retired to the airbnb, chatting until well after midnight. I was surprised to still be up that late.
On Monday morning,
Tom and I went out without Suzi; we’d come back for her. We hopped in a cab to Chùa Linh Ứng, a Buddhist
temple just outside the city.
Incidentally, Tom had been using a ride service called Grab, which is
the “Uber” of Vietnam. The temple offered a magnificent view of the city, though the air was either misty or polluted,
slightly shrouding the vista. Tom
exclaimed that today was the first truly hot day since they arrived in early
March. I’d been expecting the swelter,
so I was prepared, both mentally and regarding my wardrobe choices. The next couple of days, though, I would
remain thoroughly wet.
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| (Chùa Linh Ứng) |
We returned to collect Suzi and scoff breakfast.
Then we
got a Grab to Hoi An. This I really
wanted to see, and Tom delayed visiting until I joined them. Several of my friends have visited this town
over the years, and their pictures have always been so very alluring. Since this was my first visit to Vietnam, and
since we were so close, missing it was out of the question. Tom kept the airbnb in Da Nang, and we left
our bags there, but he booked accommodation for one night here. He chose a beautiful hotel not far from Hoi
An Old Town. We checked in and dropped
our bags.
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| (Hotel in HoiAn) |
By now it was already 5pm – my companions are late to rise and late to slumber, the exact opposite of me. We hired bicycles and rode into Old Town. What charm! The buildings are painted the same colour, which accentuates the vibrancy of the art and clothing on offer. Tom went into a silkworm studio to be fitted for a suit. Suzi followed. I found a gallery nearby and bought a year’s supply of birthday presents.
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| (HoiAn Old Town) |
Later, we stopped for dinner. My exposure to Vietnamese food in Taiwan has not been thrilling. I’ve never found anything that I couldn’t live without. Thai food, on the other hand, I love, love, love. I had been worried that I wouldn’t enjoy the food here. Was I in for a treat! Every morsel was delicious and fresh.
Hoi An's food and art might lead me in the future
to suffer the visa ordeal a second time and come back. After dinner, we cycled back to the hotel.
On Tuesday, I was up
early. I sank into the large
tub. It looked so luxurious, but
ultimately, the water was tepid and quickly lost all warmth in the stone tub,
so the soak was short. I waited in the
air conditioned room until Suzi and Tom were ready for breakfast. After eating, they returned to their room,
while I went for a walk away from old town.
Passing a mom-and-pop shop, I suddenly remembered that I’d been tasked
with bringing back some coffee for Joanne and Anuschka. I showed a picture to the attendant, and she
called her sister, who brought over two bags.
Networking! Grapevine
economy! I ambled further down the road,
but didn’t get far before the day’s heat reversed my steps.
When the couple surfaced, we returned to old town. Tom disappeared into a shop, while Suzi and I wandered towards an eatery someone in Taiwan had recommended. I assumed that Tom had gone off to secretly look for a gift for Suzi, but it turned out that he’d slipped into a leather store to be fitted for a jacket. Knowing that Suzi would not approve, he’d been cryptic about his purpose. Bwahaha.
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| (Streets of Hoi An) |
As we wandered, I came across a Tin
Tin in Vietnam plaque. I’d
inherited one from Leanne upon her death in 2009. Then, when our mutual friend Janice came to
visit from Abu Dhabi, she asked if she could have it, as she was with Leanne in
Hoi An when she bought it. How could I
refuse? I subsequently missed it, and
now I was finally able to replace it!
I’d leave this bloody plaque in Suzi’s shopping bag when I returned to
Taiwan. Fortunately, Tom was shipping
stuff home to Switzerland, so he shipped me the plaque.
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| (Leanne's here) |
That evening, we went to the theater… Once my visa had been approved, I’d searched for a performance. I came across Teh Dar, which was billed as a bamboo circus, being staged at the Hoi An Lune Center. I’d watched a video on YouTube and was quite intrigued by it. The creator had spent some time with a small tribe in the Vietnamese southwest highlands. He’d observed their customs, listened to their stories, and then created this piece of art as a reflection of their way of life. At first, I worried that it might be simply a disingenuous presentation of a minority in traditional clothing made to dance for travelers, as so many of these kinds of cultural activities are. However, I was soon convinced that it was a proper piece of art with a real desire to portray a culture in a healthy, respectful way. I was not disappointed.
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| (HoiAn Lune Center) |
The stage was an earthy colour. Bamboo poles were stacked vertically on the sides. At the back, there was some kind of scaffolding, ascending from right to left. Upon this scaffolding at varying heights, instruments were placed, which would be played by the performers. There was no pre-recorded audio. Magnificent!
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| (Teh Dar) |
When the show started, the performers entered slowly from either side,
in front of the stage. They were chanting a
tribal song. One played some kind of
horn. Soon they were on the stage. Those bamboo poles were arranged and rearranged
into the set. All sets were built and
changed by the performers in front of our eyes and while performing. There was no interruption to the action, no
dropping curtain, no interval with stage hands running about. The production was entirely self-contained,
and it made seamless and efficient use of the performers to achieve every
aspect. It was mesmerizing, polished and
economical. At times, the action was
fast, other times methodical and ponderous.
At times, quiet voices spoke, other times mighty, tribal yells pulled at
my emotions. At one point, a single
woman, lit by a gas lamp she held, sang a melancholic, measured lament. It was gripping. At another point, a man entered from the left,
descending along the safety balustrade on the edge of the audience. He climbed along it in the movements of a
spider, menacing. He leapt onto the
stage. The remaining troupe was
waiting. They pounced upon the intruder,
pummeling him until he was no longer a threat.
It was so raw and powerful. At
times I wanted to jump up and scream in awe and appreciation.
Exiting afterwards,
Suzi and Tom were not as moved as I.
Suzi had hoped for more athleticism (both she and Tom are healthy, fit
and energetic), whereas I had always been looking for artistic brilliance.
We ambled to the leather shop, ate, got our bags from the hotel, and hopped in a Grab back to Da Nang. I would be leaving the next morning. Thus ended my brief catch-up with the Swiss contingent of my family.