Nothing ventured nothing dared-and so this morning, fresh from my rooftop fruit laden breakfast, I negotiated a cheap rate to get to Chinatown, about 30 minutes the other side of town, by motorbike taxi.
Yes, I did get a helmet, and to be honest it seemed less scary on the bike than walking, though being eye to eye with a baby balanced on the handlebars at traffic lights and being buffeted by the sheer noise, let alone wind, of thousands of vehicles, was literally breathtaking.
Chinatown’s Binh Tay Market is a huge emporium of anything and everything alive and dead you can possibly imagine. Exhausting, not least having to keep my wits alert as being streetwise is the only way to hang on to bag as well as toes.
Hence no photos, no chance, I haven’t even risked taking it out of the hostel yet, which was a shame as this evening I saw an absolutely wonderful sunset over the city standing on a bridge with the locals who gather as a rite of passage to see the golden orb drop behind the city, reflecting out along the riverfront.
Anyway, to return to the heat of the day…………several hours gazing in awe at the sheer quantity and quality of market stalls, drinking in smells of spices and sugars, sipping fresh juice and Chinese sweet tea, I was in dire need of a rest.
A seat was required, and the best way to escape the burning sun I reckoned was a cyclo, a bike rickshaw –with a hood to shade me, alas, poor cyclist, pedalling in the midday sun. But I didn’t bargain down too much so I think he was fairly happy!
Off we set around the narrow roads of the Chinese quarter, great fun, at least for me.
Pagoda stops enroute were fascinating.
The first, The Goddess Mercy Pagoda, Quan Am Pagoda, run by Phuc Kien On Lang , is according to the booklet entitled ‘a few feathers about’….over 150 years old, the oldest Chinese pagoda in the city. A maze of altars full of smoke and falling ashes from prayer spirals, a young girl insisted on taking me by the hand and giving me instruction on how to pray to different Gods, especially the ones dedicated to women, As there are 16, I got a wee bit confused, but appreciated the gesture!
From there ‘we’ cycled to Thien Hau Pagoda, with the most impressive roof fresco I have set eyes on outside Rome. Exquisite colourful friezes in detailed relief circle the pagoda walls, telling complicated stories about Buddhist history.
And then the third, Nghia An Hoi Quan Pagoda, (also supposed to be the oldest in the city!) where the main wooden statue at the doorway is, somewhat confusingly, a massive horse. Apparently the temple is dedicated to a Chinese general, and his Nghai An, his groom, and given 2014 will be the Year of Horse at Tet on January 31st, lighting incense here gives good luck-so obviously I did!
Another bike transport next, this time with an engine to return to the city centre in time for a refreshing ice coffee, Asia style (15,000 v dong from the market, I’m far too mean to pay the 55,000 dong wanted by the a/c coffee shops) and a potter through the side streets to the riverside. Tonight I had time to walk along the canals behind the main river until, as the water curved away from the swirling main flow, the setting sun came into view, unhindered by the skyscrapers of the centre.
Perfect timing, I and a throng of locals, eating dried coconut and spicy wasabi beans, watched the sun set before making my way along the vibrant streets to the hostel. Too tired, alas, to join in the improvised exercise classes in the green spaces along the way, but one evening….
And it only took me three wrong turns this evening to find the door!
Yes, I did get a helmet, and to be honest it seemed less scary on the bike than walking, though being eye to eye with a baby balanced on the handlebars at traffic lights and being buffeted by the sheer noise, let alone wind, of thousands of vehicles, was literally breathtaking.
Chinatown’s Binh Tay Market is a huge emporium of anything and everything alive and dead you can possibly imagine. Exhausting, not least having to keep my wits alert as being streetwise is the only way to hang on to bag as well as toes.
Hence no photos, no chance, I haven’t even risked taking it out of the hostel yet, which was a shame as this evening I saw an absolutely wonderful sunset over the city standing on a bridge with the locals who gather as a rite of passage to see the golden orb drop behind the city, reflecting out along the riverfront.
Anyway, to return to the heat of the day…………several hours gazing in awe at the sheer quantity and quality of market stalls, drinking in smells of spices and sugars, sipping fresh juice and Chinese sweet tea, I was in dire need of a rest.
A seat was required, and the best way to escape the burning sun I reckoned was a cyclo, a bike rickshaw –with a hood to shade me, alas, poor cyclist, pedalling in the midday sun. But I didn’t bargain down too much so I think he was fairly happy!
Off we set around the narrow roads of the Chinese quarter, great fun, at least for me.
Pagoda stops enroute were fascinating.
The first, The Goddess Mercy Pagoda, Quan Am Pagoda, run by Phuc Kien On Lang , is according to the booklet entitled ‘a few feathers about’….over 150 years old, the oldest Chinese pagoda in the city. A maze of altars full of smoke and falling ashes from prayer spirals, a young girl insisted on taking me by the hand and giving me instruction on how to pray to different Gods, especially the ones dedicated to women, As there are 16, I got a wee bit confused, but appreciated the gesture!
From there ‘we’ cycled to Thien Hau Pagoda, with the most impressive roof fresco I have set eyes on outside Rome. Exquisite colourful friezes in detailed relief circle the pagoda walls, telling complicated stories about Buddhist history.
And then the third, Nghia An Hoi Quan Pagoda, (also supposed to be the oldest in the city!) where the main wooden statue at the doorway is, somewhat confusingly, a massive horse. Apparently the temple is dedicated to a Chinese general, and his Nghai An, his groom, and given 2014 will be the Year of Horse at Tet on January 31st, lighting incense here gives good luck-so obviously I did!
Another bike transport next, this time with an engine to return to the city centre in time for a refreshing ice coffee, Asia style (15,000 v dong from the market, I’m far too mean to pay the 55,000 dong wanted by the a/c coffee shops) and a potter through the side streets to the riverside. Tonight I had time to walk along the canals behind the main river until, as the water curved away from the swirling main flow, the setting sun came into view, unhindered by the skyscrapers of the centre.
Perfect timing, I and a throng of locals, eating dried coconut and spicy wasabi beans, watched the sun set before making my way along the vibrant streets to the hostel. Too tired, alas, to join in the improvised exercise classes in the green spaces along the way, but one evening….
And it only took me three wrong turns this evening to find the door!
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