Tag Archives: Vietnam

DAILY PHOTO: In the Temple of Literature

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Taken in Hanoi on December 30, 2015

Taken in Hanoi on December 30, 2015

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Temple of Literature? (Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám?) It sounds like a grandiose name for a library, but it’s really what the Vietnamese call a Confucian temple. This one is in Hanoi.

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher famous for his ideas such as the hierarchical nature of relationships and how governance is practiced morally. His philosophy provided a popular counterpoint to the more free-wheeling Taoist belief system. Both Confucianism and Taoism came to be practiced by some as religion (though other advocates of each would say that it’s philosophy and not theology.)

DAILY PHOTO: Hoi An War Cemetery

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Taken in December of 2015 in Hoi An

Taken in December of 2015 in Hoi An

DAILY PHOTO: Dragon Head Totem

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Taken in December 2015 in the Saigon Delta

Taken in December 2015 in the Mekong Delta

 

Dragons feature prominently in Vietnamese temples. These mythical beasts are one of four sacred creatures common to Vietnamese folklore. The others are the Phoenix, Unicorn, and a kind of Tortoise. The unicorn isn’t the variety seen on the book covers of 16-year-old girls, it’s a nasty beast.

DAILY PHOTO: Yellow Lotus

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Taken in December of 2015 in Saigon

Taken in December of 2015 in Saigon

DAILY PHOTO: Kayak Beach

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Taken on December 31, 2015 in Bai Tu Long Bay

Taken on December 31, 2015 in Bai Tu Long Bay

DAILY PHOTO: Yoked Veggie Vendor in Hanoi

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Taken in December of 2015 in Hanoi

Taken in December of 2015 in Hanoi

DAILY PHOTO: Cemetery Next to Thiên Mụ Pagoda

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Taken in December of 2015 in Hue

Taken in December of 2015 in Hue

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DAILY PHOTO: Boats on the Sông Thu Bồn

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Taken in December of 2015 near Hoi An

Taken in December of 2015 near Hoi An

DAILY PHOTO: Give Me A Sign, Oh Lord–Not That Kind

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Taken in December of 2015 in Saigon

Taken in December of 2015 in Saigon

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We saw this little chapel flanked by huge billboards for a vocational college and a beer. If anyone else was out on the river-walk that night, looking steepleward for answers, he must have concluded that he should settle for a career in HVAC repair and get wasted at his earliest convenience.

DAILY PHOTO: Cave Dining

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Taken on January 1, 2016 in Bai Tu Long Bay

Taken on January 1, 2016 in Bai Tu Long Bay

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One of the interesting experiences to be had on a junk boat tour in Vietnam is dining in a cave. This cave used to be employed as a shelter for fishermen during storms. Given all the rocky skerries in the bay, I suspect being in a boat in a storm here would be terrifying. However, the caves are now prohibited to those without a license. Because the fishermen took to lopping off stalactites and stalagmites because they make for impressive mountains for bonzai displays–and those displays can be big money makers when done well.

 

An example of what I’m talking about can be seen below.

This one was located at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi.

This one was located at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi.