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| Vietnamese water puppets |
If you're travelling in Vietnam with young children, a visit to a traditional water puppet theatre should be on your list.
The art of water puppetry originated in the flooded rice fields of the Red River Delta. Farmers carved puppets from water-resistant fig tree timber in figures modelled on villagers, animals and mystical creatures such as the dragon, phoenix and the unicorn. Performances were staged in ponds, lakes or flooded paddy fields.
Today, modern performances of water puppetry use a square tank of waist-deep water for the stage. The water is generally murky to conceal the magic behind the puupet peformance, with up to eleven puppeteers involved.
The puppeteers stand in water behind a bamboo screen working puppets attached to a long pole to make the audience believe each character is literally walking on water.
Traditional music, generally provided by a live band, is almost as important as the action on the water stage.
Water puppetry originated in northern Vietnam, so undoubtedly the best place to see the puppets is at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi.
In Saigon, tourists who don't travel north can watch water puppets at the War Remnants Museum or the History Museum, both in District 1.
This week, through word of mouth, we discovered a relatively new venue to watch water puppets in Saigon that is surprisingly close to our house.
Thao Dien Village in District 2 is a 12,000 sqm riverfront property with a hotel and a number of international standard restaurants. In the village is fine dining Vietnamese restaurant Ngon which has a gorgeous outdoor dining area and a traditional water puppet theatre. The restaurant holds performances every Saturday night from 7.30pm to 8.00pm.
With starters from as little as 20,000 VND and mains ranging from 110,000 up to 290,000 VND, this is certainly not the cheapest Vietnamese cuisine you'll eat in Saigon, but the food and service is superb. With a gorgeous location fronting the Saigon river and a water puppet show, this is a unique opportunity to enjoy a combination of local cuisine and traditional Vietnamese entertainment.
The show doesn't have live music, and we defintely did not see 11 puppeteers when the screen was lifted at the end of the performance (there was only one guy, but may'be the others were shy??) but this is still a worthy performance. Fueled by fabulous cocktails, an extensive wine list and tasty food, the adults will probably enjoy the experience even more than the kids!
Insider tip: there are a limited number of tables in the outdoor area, so if you know you're going to be in Saigon on a Saturday night be sure to book ahead.
Ngon - 195 Nguyen Van Huong Street, Thao Dien Ward, District 2. For bookings phone +84 8 3744 6457
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