Tuesday, May 13, 2003

saigon to long xuyen to can tho to long xuyen… oh my!

we left monday morning for can tho. the bus ride was packed but energetic. can tho is a city that lies to the east of long xuyen. it’s about an hours drive and they’re quite a developed place.

we stopped at a couple of temples that day. one temple was celebrating a festival that revolved around the idea of ancestral veneration. there were a couple of important people who had died and people were worshiping them. one person was a farmer and his shrine was massive and laden with gold. people would fall to their knees with lit incense sticks in their hands, raise the sticks to their forehead and repeat this motion three times. the man had been a farmer and had done wonderful things with rice and what not.

another man being venerated was a revolutionary fighter. he had mainly fought against the french. he was sporting a flashy suit in the portrait.

we went to a pagoda next. there were large statues of the buddha lounging in all sorts of positions. the smoke filled the room and stung the eyes. the gold statues were all in their separate caverns and people lit incense and prayed to them. i said a prayer but it wasn’t to the buddha’s. i am not sure who i prayed to.

there was a third religious site on our visit to can tho. we stopped at a khmer pagoda. we were greeted by a small monk who spoke beautiful english. he told us all about buddhism and what he believed and why he believed what he believed. he wasn’t casting his net and converting, he was offering information.

that pagoda was beautiful in so many ways. the architecture was uniquely khmer. its walls were all carved with murals that seemed to snake and drop and curl as unexpectedly as their script. it’s statues were all tall and colorful. the visit was made all the more wonderful by our tolerant, bi-lingual guide.

our schedule was packed but fascinating. we visited museums, took boat rides and ate inintersting restaurants.

i have much to say but am too tired to type. tomorrow i will relive some of those experiences.

No comments: