Page 25 - Japan’s Cultural Treasures

Day 4 Explore Hanoi • Water puppet show puppets, which the French used to call “the
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where the atmosphere of growth is almost and depict villagers, farm animals, dragons,
palpable. A young population—often perched and more.
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brightly colored French Colonial buildings
Trip Leader for recommendations on where to
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taste a good bowl of pho (savory rice-noodle
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the beloved national leader, the Vietnamese Breakfast, Lunch
erected an impressive marble and granite
structure where visitors can view his
preserved remains. Please note: The Ho Day 5 Visit Bat Trang Ceramic Village
Chi Minh mausoleum is normally closed from
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September 4 through November 5 for preservation
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and maintenance of the building.
unique style and superior quality of ceramic
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local craftspeople have been perfecting
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the art of ceramics for centuries. We learn
about the fascinating cultural diversity of
about the process, from forming the clay to
this ancient land. We’ll then enjoy lunch at
painting the distinctive intricate designs.
a local restaurant. Please note: On Mondays,
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the Museum of Ethnology is closed. If our tour of
time for shopping and browsing the colorful
Hanoi is on a Monday, our visit to the Museum of
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Ethnology will be replaced by a visit to Hanoi’s
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History Museum or Fine Arts Museum.
We have lunch in a local restaurant before
From there, we visit the Temple of Literature,
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Chau is home to many of Vietnam’s hill tribe
several architectural styles from this
cultures. We’ll get an intimate glimpse of this
1,000-year-old civilization. Local students
small agricultural area when a local family
sometimes rub the head of the tortoise statue
welcomes us into their thatch-roofed stilt
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house where we’ll spend the next two nights.
This afternoon, we enjoy a water puppet show,
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an art form in which puppets are suspended
better when we sit down to a traditional meal
over water, directed by puppet masters who
with our hosts.
must sit semi-submerged for hours at a time.
The tradition of water puppetry is at least Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
1,000 years old, originating with peasants
in the Red River Delta of the north. The

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