Hanoi, day 2 sightseeing

Seizing the opportunity that meeting with IBM Vietnam General Manager and others representative from IBM Vietnam was schedule for the evening we have spent day sightseeing and wandering around old town. And to my surprise I still remember pretty well the old town and was able to “guide” our group. So we started with visiting the Temple of Literature - Vietnam’s first university established in 1076 to educate the sons of mandarins, than we continued to see from outside Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex – the holiest of the holies pilgrimage place for many Vietnamese, place where there is sarcophagus with the body of Ho Chi Minh.

Than we went to glimpse at One Pillar Pagoda –

Hanoi landmark built of wood on a single stone

pillar that was designed to resemble a lotus blossom, the symbol of purity, rising out of a sea of sorrow.

And being in Hanoi we couldn’t permit not skip seeing the Water Puppet Show (http://www.thanglongwaterpuppet.org/) – the ancient art of water puppetry show, originated with rice farmers who worked the flooded fields of the Red River Delta. The farmers carved the puppets from water-resistant fig-tree timber in forms modeled on the villagers themselves, animals from their daily lives as well mythical creatures as the dragon, phoenix. Contemporary performences use a square tank of waist-deep water for the “stage”. Additionally to the show, there is live music performed by the band allowing to get know a bit Vietnamese traditional music.

The day was finishing with lovely team dinner in Highway4 Restaurant ( http://www.highway4.com/) in the company of IBM Vietnam General manager as well as other ‘s guests and we are all time so warmly welcomed here and we are sure that our projects are so strongly supported.