I have decided roosters are assholes.
They do not crow at the break of dawn, they crow whenever the hell they please. 2 am. 5 am. 3 pm. It is now my firm belief they simply enjoy annoying people, or in this particular circumstance, they are getting even for the humans being a little too into their karaoke experiences.
It is constant and weird how devoted the people of the Vietnam countryside are to singing badly and amplifying the experience for others. Sorry, it is intriguing to think about the cultural dynamics which make Karaoke a passion of so many Asians. Ah hem. Forgive me, I’m growing.
Since it is the last day of Tet, I will give them a pass because I certainly would not want others to judge America based only on our New Year’s Eve behaviors, but I am glad I am going to the temple today and leaving the roosters and their human counterparts behind.
Bai Dinh Pagoda is one of the largest and most significant Buddhist sites in Vietnam. It is also the second largest temple in the world.
First built in the 11th century in the Dinh dynasty, it was built on the site of an ancient pagoda and dedicated to the teachings of Buddha. Over time, it was rebuilt, and remained under the radar for the most part until the 21st century.
In 2003, the major expansion and renovation project happened. They constructed several new buildings and the complex now covers over 700 ha.
That’s a lot of ground to cover. Ha. That was funny.
In the new Bai Dinh Pagoda area, the Phap Chu Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in Vietnam. The Buddha inside stands 10 meters tall and weighs over 100 tons.
So, big things spread over large spaces. Got it. They never mentioned stairs.
I knew I was going to walk a lot on this trip. I did not realize most of it would be on stairs. The Temple complex is huge, and I expected a lot of walking. I planned to take it slow and spend the whole day going at my own pace instead of the half day guided tours, but damn. Just damn.
I mention that because I did not last as long as I expected. Walking, yes, but I am now of the firm belief the whole damn country is stairs. Not Hanoi. That was flat as a pancake, but the country part of the country is steep.
I was really looking forward to this temple. To spend the day exploring and immersing myself in a spiritual experience. Sadly, it is Tet and I believe the whole of China is here… with their kids. Not a spiritual at all.
Gotta hand it to them, they run the place like Disneyland. Efficient and designed to hit the top attractions with electric trams and lines shuttling people from place to place. They could add escalators and moving walkways to enhance the process, but that might imply they were ADA compliant. They are not.
I have no issue with that, by the way. The efficiency of people movement. ADA compliance would be nice, but I would have never made it past the 2nd temple if not for the trams shuttling me up the hill. I understand the need to move mass amounts of people and I knew there would be people because this is a tourist attraction. But this was nuts.
I am learning, perhaps it is biased, but my experience is consistent so far, that there is no sense of personal space here. Perhaps I have mentioned this before, but I will give an example of the extreme.
The pagoda has an elevator to the top. Thank god. Still had to climb 2 spiral staircases to get to the elevator, but there was an elevator nonetheless.
There was a line for the elevator, but it was not a line, it was a mob. Bodies were rammed against the doors to get in, preventing anyone from getting out when the doors opened. I stood back and watched this, what I believed, spectacle of stupidity for a couple of rounds before I realized if I were to go up, I would need to do it their way. Waiting politely was only getting me shoved further back in the ‘line.’
So, I pushed my way forward and the doors opened. I moved onto the elevator as others were pushing their way out, not because I wanted to, but because a mass of people behind me were pushing me forward.
We got on, to what I believed was 100 times past my comfort zone of capacity, and they pushed harder to get more people on. I could not move. I was boob to boob with a woman and butt to… I honestly have no idea. It was tight. Understatement.
When the doors opened, the crowds reversed and I was all but carried out of the elevator on a massive wave of bodies. I immediately checked I still had my money belt and passport.
Of course, being me, I waited in line to go out on the balcony of the Pagoda. I think you know how that went, and the elevator down was the reverse of the way up.
It is no wonder they do not have elderly or physically disabled here. They would get trampled or pushed over the balcony.
But that aside, it was a nice view. Not a spiritual one, but nice.
I decided shortly after that it was time to go. As much as I wanted to stay and see everything lit up at night, my hip was bothering me and the crowds were past my tolerance, so I headed down the mountain.
Part of the distance I walked down a long set of stairs in an open air yet covered hallway known, I think, as the Patriarch’s Hall. It is lined with statues of past spiritual leaders.
Hundreds of these statues lined the walk down the hill. Several are smaller, maybe 3 foot high and encased behind glass (behind the stone statues in pics). And some are about 8 foot high and stone. As people walk by, they rub the statues for luck, (hence the black parts) and each statue has a unique face and pose. Some serious, some not. The not ones are more interesting in my opinion.
I wonder who chose the eternal pose for these people. I certainly hope they had a say in the matter. I would hate for my husband, or children, or even my friends to choose how to set me in stone and represent me to future archeologists.
First they probably would not agree on a pose, and second, I have no idea what terrifying idealization of my life they would pull out of their hat, but I am certain it would not align with the way I see myself.
I liked gardening for 10 minutes of my life. I fear I would be depicted as Snow White amongst the forest creatures and perfect flowerbeds. Or more likely a bent over gnome in bloomers scratching my ass. Please don’t put me in an eternal garden. I would be sneezing for eternity.
As interesting as the statues were, it was time for me to go, and I was only part way down the hill. The trams were wonderful and efficient. The crowds were not. Again, there were lines, and at one point, as people saw the trams arriving, they chased them down before they could get to the pickup point. Running across the drive and jumping on before the tram stopped… and once that started, it was a stampede. Finally, someone with a megaphone said something that sounded stern and authoritative. It did not stop the rush, but it slowed it enough I could get on a tram.
Yes, I made it down the hill. I made it to the welcome center, and I bought dinner. At 3 pm.
Then I tried to get a Grab, which is this countries equivalent to Uber. I have never used those aps. Yes, you may laugh at me for another quirk of my age and lifestyle not needing to hail rides when I want to go somewhere.
Of course I was having service issues. Of course there was no Wi-Fi. Of course no one spoke English who could help me.
Bring out the inner wonder woman. This is not hard. Live. Learn. Power on.
I managed to arrange one. I walked to the main gate and waited. The driver did not respond. After 15 minutes, I took the taxi driver up on his offer and cancelled the Grab. Damn proud I figured that out all by my foreign self.
Made it to the hotel and climbed the stairs – to the 4th floor – where I had a lovely view of a mountain. Not kidding, that was really very nice.
I also had a private concert given by the block party karaoke crew. Where are my roosters? I am sorry roosters. I apologize for calling you assholes.
So, what about this day can I put in the win column? I climbed another mountain. That is 2 in 2 days.
I went somewhere on my own, without a tour, in a foreign country… and I made it through without pain nor panic. Mounds of annoyance, but panic and damage free.
I also witnessed a group dancing with dragons, and some dancers telling a story I could not interpret, but believe it was about the passing of luck for the new year.
I did see amazing temples and a lot of people very devoted to their spiritual maintenance. The outpouring of offerings was stunning to be honest.
And I was reminded, that no matter how well you plan a moment, planning the moment detracts from the moment.
You know all those love stories or perfectly timed rescues in the movies which we all pine for in our lives? They are not moments. They hare hours and days of waiting, setting up, lighting, and then missing a cue. Take after take after take to get the perfect shot to edit into a sequence to tell the story the author wants us to hear.
I have spent a lot of my life trying to have the final cut without taking the steps to set up the shot. Taking the time to establish the scenery and the multiple takes to get it right. I want the final cut and I don’t do the work.
Of course, producing the final cut of a movie is an entirely different story than the story of the movie. Still must do the work.
Today I walked into this experience, knowing I had a day at this temple. 1 day left in the Ninh Bin area, and I was going to do this. It was cloudy. It was raining in the morning, and I almost stayed in. The hotel owner said go later to see the lights. I’d be fine and not need the whole day. I told him I was slow and needed more time. Then we struggled to figure out a ride. But I persisted. I should have gone later, although the crowds were worse later, and as I mentioned, it was overcrowded and uncomfortable anyway.
So, ultimately no, I did not walk away at the end of the story all enlightened and self fulfilled.
Like that would happen anyway. I know you were thinking it, so I just put it out there.
But I did walk away (or stumbled and staggard, but away, none the less). I learned a few things. I tried a few things. I decided a few things. But most of all, I did not give up and stay in the room, the closest thing to my comfort zone. I ached from the day before, but I did not stop, and perhaps that is the step I need to get to my final cut, spiritual walk into the sunset.
But first I will need to endure a night of Karaoke and roosters.
