Setting Off: I was on my own again to start our fourth day in Vietnam, so I decided to tour the nearby Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, which received very good reviews online. I shared a cab with Peep and the rest of the crew and they dropped me off at the museum on their way to the exposition center. After paying admission, I stepped through the gate and onto the grounds of the museum, and headed straight into the main building located directly in front of me.
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology: This two-story building featured items related to some of Vietnam's 54 different ethnic groups. The items on display showed the diversity in dress, food, religious practices, rites, music, art and daily life of each of the groups. In addition to the items on display were short write-ups and diorama scenes, including a mock-up of the traditional stilt house of the Black Thai.
Temporary Exhibit: On display in the temporary exhibit room were the photographs of Jean-Marie Duchange, who took up photography to document the people of the highlands of Vietnam while doing public health work there in the 1950s.
Open-Air Exhibit: After my time inside the main building, I headed outdoors to the open-air exhibit, where houses were constructed showing the architectural diversity of the different ethnic groups. Houses of the Cham, Katu, Hmong, Yao, Hani and Tay groups were open for touring. There was also a Bahnar communal house, with its high, steep-sloped roof, an Ede Longhouse and even a Giarai tomb house, used to store the remains of the dead. A water puppet performance in an open-air theater was taking place within the makeshift village during my visit. I was looking at the variety of boats on display in a pavilion when Peep called, ready for lunch.
Southeast Asia Building: On my way out of the museum grounds, I stopped inside the newly constructed Southeast Asia building, which had less than half its exhibition space filled, to see items from ethnic groups residing outside Vietnam, but still within Southeast Asia. I had just completed my quick walk though there by the time Peep arrived and we headed, by cab, to lunch.
Trấn Quốc Pagoda: After our late lunch at a restaurant recommended by our cab driver, we hailed another taxi to take us to Trấn Quốc Pagoda. The driver passed the entrance, so we exited the cab at a park a short distance down the road and walked back along the shores of West Lake until we reached the pagoda entrance.
Built in the 540s, Trấn Quốc is the oldest pagoda in Hanoi. During its history, it has undergone several name changes and was moved from the shores of the Red River to an islet in West Lake. The last major restoration of the temple was done in 1815, while the tallest pagoda was remade in 2004. After our short tour of the small temple, we headed back to finish the day at the exposition center.