#waterpupper

7 april 2015

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre - Hanoi, Vietnam 14/03/16 A weird but wonderful experience! Rated No.1 on Trip Advisor for things to do in Hanoi was to go and see a water puppet show. Back home, Levi and I love watching shows and performances so we were definitely up for seeing one in Vietnam. Neither of us had been to a water puppet show before and we were pretty intrigued as to how they would pull it off so we decided to go and and watch one. Tickets were sold out a few days before but we managed to get two tickets for the 3pm show on 14th March 2016. We arrived nice and early to get good seats. The theatre looked the same as any usual theatre however, instead of a stage at the front there was a pool. The show started with a Vietnamese band/orchestra playing many peculiar instruments and harmonizing together, it was very calming to watch. A few minutes later a puppet popped out of the water. It performed several dances and tricks in the water along with the music. There were many different dances and scenes included in the show, each having their own storyline and characters. Unfortunately, the narration of each story was in Vietnamese so we were unable to understand what was specifically going on. We were able to make our own interpretations through the puppets movements and tones of the music for each section. It was very clever how the actors were able to move the puppets when using fireworks and sparklers at several points in the water. The show only lasted for 45 minutes but to be honest, it felt long enough. Altogether, the water puppet show was definitely an experience. For anyone wanting to see a bit more of Vietnamese culture and do something you have not done before, we would recommend watching a water puppet show. The performances were totally different to those back home and we did not know what to expect, but we both came out of the theatre in a very appreciative and positive mood from what we had just experienced. Hanoi has allowed us to have a better insight of the culture and history of Vietnam, but now it's time to make our way down the country to our next stop - Hoi An!

Silly waterpupper