Wandering Ha Noi, Viet Nam #4

...And I am back....

I know, I know..that introduction is unnecessary but I just can't fight it :D..maaf yaaa...

Were where we? ...Aaaah...Ngoc Son Temple...

Well, continuing my Ha Noi Saga...dan masih dalam rangka mempromosikan ASEAN Community 2015...

Seperti biasa, di tengah urusan pekerjaan dan kedinasan, aku memang selalu mencoba untuk menjelajahi setiap kota dan negara yang aku  (harus) kunjungi (dalam rangka kerjaan)...Going locals, that's what people say :D...Seringnya, waktu yang tersisa ekstra terbatas dan aku pun harus ekstra cermat memanfaatkan waktu yang ada..

And thereee...here I was...after spending some time searching in the internet...layaknya seorang turis kebanyakan, pilihanku pun jatuh pada tempat-tempat paling kondang di Ha Noi...dan sepertinya memang pusat keramaian berada di sekitar Hoan Kiem Lake...

After telling you about the legendary lake and its Turtle Tower,

It's time for me to share some stories on Ngoc Son Temple...

Well, aren't you curious to know what it means? I am :D....dan ternyata, Ngoc Son Temple itu artinya Temple of the Jade mountain...hmmm, once I found out the meaning of this, I immediately tried to find where the jade and the mountain were...Apparently, this temple was built on the islet of the Hoan Kiem Lake, making it one of the most popular as well as picturesque spots in Viet Nam's capital city..

Built as a small temple, Ngoc Son Pagoda was renovated and expanded by Nguyen Van Sieu, a famous scholars, in 1864

As I was approaching the temple, I have seen many local people pray here and there...

frankly, I don't know what it means but I found it in the middle of the rocks heading to the Pagoda...

Young and old, males and females, they all took their precious time to contemplate and solemnly prayed to God and most of Vietnamese are Buddhists and Taoists..

From the open sources I got, this Pagoda is also dedicated to Tran Hung Dao,  Prince of Thang Long of the Tran Dynasty who happened to be the Supreme Commander of Viet Nam at that time...

Heading to the Pagoda, we have to cross this beautfull and bright red bridge of Welcoming Morning Sunshine..or in Vietnamese called Cầu Thê Húc...what a brilliant name! I love it ..and it suits it fine, as I had a bright sunny day as I crossed this bridge and visited the temple....

The Bridge of Welcoming Morning Sunshine.......



Once you crossed the bridge, you will find the gate, which, according to my brochure, includes the Pen Tower  or in Vietnamese called Thap But...in my photo below, the pen part is not really that clear as it was covered by green lush trees....

already crowded in the morning....

Since early in the morning, the Pagoda and the surrounding area are already full of people....I even met some uniformed guys heading out from the temple...

As a matter of fact, the Temple is full of symbolic buildings and relics....They also have the ink-slab or ink stand (Dai Nghien), the Moon Contemplation Pavilion (Dac Nguyet) and the Pavilion against Waves (Đình Trấn Ba)...Too bad I didn't have enough time to ask more of the meaning of these parts...I suspected they were closely related to the religious elements as well as ancient wisdom dearly held by the Vietnamese people...

And once I entered, I truly enjoy my time here...looking around watching people pray and chat... joining flock of tourists with a local guide (nebeeeeng judulnya :D..) and taking pictures here and there....

one of the petit statue in the pond on the front part of the temple....

Some of the details of temple can be seen here....

the giant candle adorned with Golden Lion ...

lines of traditional weapons...

this looks like wooden fan to me :D...

preparation.....

Have a blessed day everyone.....

Well, after spending some time here....time to go...
And that's a wrap, I guess...at least for nooow....Thanks Ha Noi, for giving me a greaaat timeeee.....I will definitely come back and explore more ...Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh and more interesting cities are waiting..

cutieee lion :D....

well...till we meet again, Viet Nam...

Naaaaah...sekarang..aku punya souveniiir nih, dompet lucu dari Ha Noi :D plus 1 small ( around 59ml) bath and body works product :D...

Buat temen-temen yang udah baca et liat Ha Noi saga #1 - #4, boleh tulis di comment yang mana aja dan share kalau mau atau sudah ke Ha Noi, tempat apa yang paling ingin dikunjungi :D...

Silahkan sampaikan di comment yaaa...1 comment yang paling menarik, lucu, dan unik akan dipilih sebagai penerima giveaways ini  D:...ditunggu sampai tanggal 19 September 2013 pukul 13.00 yaaa dan hanya berlaku untuk teman-teman yang ada di Indonesia (maaf yang pada di luar negeri :D...) biar kirimnya gampaaang hehehehe :D.....Nanti pemenangnya diumumkan tanggal 22 September 2013...

cheeers.....

Wandering Ha Noi, Viet Nam #3

Still roaming around Ha Noi.....The capital city of Viet Nam....

Apparently, I have so many stories to tell, yet so little time to do so..well, story of my life :D> (aaah, jadi curcol :D)....

By the way...this series of photos should come before my Ha Noi saga #2...as I really took my freedom to have a leisure walk in the park...

By the time I arrived in Hoan Kiem Lake, I immediately took a deep breath and smiled..

Yuuup...early morning fresh air proved to be a good dose of energy to start my day..

After briefly walking around the same corner last night, my eyes captured lovely green water of the lake and realized that this very spot was as vibrant as last night..(wanna know what happened last night? Check out my previous page :D)

Families of young and old jogged and joked around....

Lovebirds with locking hands intimately sat on the bench..

Solitaires sat on the bench waiting...

who are you waiting for, girl...

Kids kicked the balls toys on the pathwalk...








Grannies on wheelchair smiled to passersby...

Mommies lined up for a refreshing tai chi sessions...sooo refreshing...

wanna go around the city, missy....

Students introduced themselves to foreigners and practiced their English...

Rickshaw riders waved their paddy-hats (not the one on the photos. tho' :D) and invited everyone to get on their rickshaws...

Tourists posed and took pictures  (including me :D )...

Sepintas, mirip dengan negeri kita tercinta yah :D....

" I hope he won't be late again this time/..."

Come on mom, a few more metres and we'll sit :)...

I could go ooon and oooon with this :D..

But one thing for sure...I really enjoy this perfect mix of culture and spirits

It warmed my heart..

Again, I tried to recall that perhaps this is the ASEAN spirit...

I was almost certain that I feel the same way as I traveled around this south-east Asian nations

The same brotherhood and sisterhood that bound us together..

Aaah jadi mellow begini :D...

Anyway...kayaknya aku punya hutang cerita deh ya....

Let's get back to the lake now and plunge deeper :p..

Wanna hear the story of the lake? What lake?
Ho Hoan Kiem or Hoan Kim Lake...that's what I'm talking about...

I know you probably have heard the same story before from the websites or else.. And the brochures said the same :D..

Well here it is..

It involved a hero, a sword and a giaaaaant turtle.. 

The telltale started when the King, or rather an Emperor, of Viet Nam,  Le Thian To, was fighting for its freedom from the Chinese. Long story short, he was bestowed by a magical fairy sword, believed to be given by the God of Golden Turtle... Wow.. Can you imagine that.. Turtle God! Then after 10 years of struggle, they won. Viet Nam was free from the enemies (of that time) and prosper. Then, one day, when their hero was cruising the lake, then this giant turtle emerged from the lake, grabbed the sword and returned it to Gods, to whom it belonged.. I guess that's where the name of the lake was originated..
Hoan Kiem Lake... The lake of the returned sword

And that legendary giant turtle ... Well, believe it or not, its dried sample was displayed inside the pagoda and I saw it myself...

So, that's the legend...
Even without such an intriguing telltale Ho Hoan Kiem is a magnet to everyone...

Calm ambience,  clear and clean greeny water, combined with pathwalk along the lake, big trees and flowers, as well as comfy benches, make people tend to stay and relax for a while...

As you gaze around, you will see Turtle Tower, stagering on top of a small island, on one side and the red bridge and Ngoc Son Pagoda on the other side..

Turtle tower....

Turtle tower is beautifully lit in the evening as well.. 

Legend said many turtles emerged in this tiny island on the lake during 1984 drought...that's why the Government and communities took extra efforts to save those creatures...

Then as you walk towards Ngoc Son Temple, you won't miss the red bridge...even early in the morning, many people already come and go passing this lovely place, either to pray or just roam around like me...

 Wanna see what it Ngoc Son Temple like? stick around then and wait for my next page :D>.....

Wandering Ha Noi, Viet Nam #2...

And there came the next day...

where you were racing with time...as the clock was ticking to bring you home....

I had one full day to wander around Ha Noi once again...

Without further due, my itchy feet took me to the center of the city...

Hoan Kiem Lake, beautifully situated in the Old Quarter...

It took me around 15 minutes by taxi from my hotel..the wet and humid weather, perfectly combined with my lack-of-sleep-night and only-God-knows-how many-kilometres-I-have-walked somehow prevented me from walking (again) :D...

So, that beautiful morning started with a walk in the park...well, strolling around the Ho Hoan Kiem or the Lake of the Restored Sword...This lake has an interesting telltale, which I have prepared on my next piece :D..

One of the loveliest and probably the busiest spots near this lake is Ngoc Son Pagoda...

Want to know and see more of this attractive pagoda? 

Check these photos and I'll tell you the story :D...

burning incense...sending our prayers to heaven...

solemnly praying to God...

classic design of clouds and dragons...captivating...

the interior adornment...lovely hand-made cloth with animals, flowers and Gods&Goddesses patterns...

the red doors...

you want your name written in Vietnamese? he's the man :D...

some of the Gos' statues inside the pagoda...

I just loveee the chandelier....

the longer you stay, the more incense burnt....

one of the spots in the temple

the red doors....

Wandering Ha Noi, Viet Nam...

Wandering around Ha Noi, alone, in one and a half day ....

A lot to see, witness, taste, feel and remember...

It all started with a one full day seminar on sharing Indonesian experiences in preparing, presenting and disseminating Universal Periodic Review report...representing my Director in fulfilling the UNDP's invitation to have a presentation on it..

As always, visiting ASEAN fellow member state is always fun...and comfortable..

Sort of a homey feeling with familiar faces, friendly gestures, great food and extremely affordable comfort :D>.. 

More stories coming, starting with this photo series....

right in front of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum...I was just squatting and my camera was just 'stepping out' of the yellow line boundary when they warned me :D...uups, sorry....

It was an early morning, around 7.30am, weekend...

Mausoleum from a far...green surrounding omits all the eery feeling :D...

This is taken in the temple behind the Ho Chi Minh Museum...

one of the intersections....forgot where exactly....

Amazing Indonesia : Underwater Paradise, Bunaken #2...

As I have previously mentioned, Bunaken is indeed an underwater paradise..

say cheeers to Mr. T....

On my 2.5 day diving visit, I was truly amazed by the richness of its biodiversity ..

Bunaken ..Fukui Point...

Alhamdulillah...I was given the opportunity to witness some of them...

We all stayed in La Rascasse hotel as well as diving center..It was very convenient...

Plunging ourselves to oooh-so-many diving site there, we tried the Molas shipwreck site...it was quite a view in 40m deep...different species as well..Too bad my underwater camera couldn't take it that deep, so I had no documentation except from my DM :D



Then we moved to Lekuan I and II. Fukui as well as Sachiko point..

Here....everything is suuupppeeeeer.....as you can see in my photos...

peek-a-boooo....

feels like having my private aquarium ....

purple anemone....

Diving along those points was giving me such an indescribable feeling....