Afternoon Excursion (p.m): Bá Dương Nội Village annual kite flying festival – TBC
May 1 @ 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
300,000VND
Bá Dương Nội Village – kite making/flying village. The final day of the kite festival week is the kite flying competition for adults and kite clubs – its always on the 15th day of the 3rd lunar month. This year = 1 May (solar calendar). Unlike previous years it means it falls on a major national holiday weekend. So arrangements this year may be different.
FVH enjoys a long and special friendship with the bamboo flute kite making commuity of Bá Dương Nội Village ever since 2018. The programme below = if we go ahead as usual like every year. NB: it is subject to confirmation from the kite flying committee, which we may not get until a week before.
BACKGROUND
Bá Dương Nội village is a 1,000 year-old kite making village on the Red River on the outskirts of Hanoi. Generations of villagers have kept this tradition alive. The kites are shaped as crescent moons or boats, with wooden flutes attached. The wind passes through the flutes making haunting melodies. The village dates back to the 10th century Dinh Dynasty. Bá Dương Nội has a reputation as one of Vietnam’s main kite flying centres.
Week-long festivities culminate with the adult kite competition, always the 15th day of 3rd lunar month, which is when we attend. The festival attracts competitors from all over Vietnam; usually FVH are the only visitors, which keeps it lovely and local; however, in recent years some tourists** have started to encroach on this pure Vietnamese event.
AGENDA
We are honoured that Mr Ha, Chairman of the village, and our lovely friend Mr Tu, previously on the Bá Dương Nội Cultural committee, personally invite us.
Meet: at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Yên Phụ, on the corner of Thanh Niên Rd
Please have lunch beforehand and bring refreshments/drinks. In the village there no evident restaurants/cafes but the festival may have some basic food stalls but please assume there won’t be much food to buy at the village.
12.15pm-5pm-5.30pm approx timing
12.15pm: depart Pan Pacific Hotel on Yên Phụ Rd, corner of Thanh Niên Rd (NB – no motorbike parking is available at the hotel or nearby so please come by public transport/taxi)
Arrive at the village about 1pm-1.15pm (between 12noon and 2pm the kite making contestants apply for the kite flying contest). We arrive when the competitors are bringing their kites to the Miếu Diều (kite temple) ready for the categorising and entry.
From about 1.30pm opening proceedings (called by the drum and plenty of speeches)
From about 2.15pm onwards – the kite flying competition takes place. We watch the competitors fly their kites running through small fields of morning glory. We sometimes get invited to Mr Ha’s house – the Chairman – for tea
.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE
- Non-touristy -we are usually the only visitors who attend**
- Please dress respectfully (despite hot humid weather – NO shorts, short outfits, staplass tops, as we will be in the kite temple to start which is spiritual place for the kites
- It is extremely noisy and crowded in a small area
- The proceedings are in Vietnamese – almost no one at the village speaks ENG.
- Flexibility and compromise are critical. Please go with the flow. Duration at the village depends on the weather and when the competition can start as it depends on the wind. Expect heat and humidity. We don’t stay for the awards at the end as we avoid lots of hanging around as there is very little to do and see in the village. We leave 4pm-4.15pm before the judging and awards ceremony. You are welcome to stay longer but you need to make your own way back – its very hard to get taxis/grabs, but there is a public bus – the bus stop is about a 10-15 min walk up Red River dyke road
- You are welcome to stroll around the village and the nearby ones over the dyke road, mingle with the locals, sit on the edge of the morning glory field with a beer and ice cream; if you are lucky, one of the locals may show you how to the fly a kite, Mr Ha sometimes invites us to his home for tea depending how busy he is
- There is very little of interest to see in the village – its become very urban
Current estmated price pp VND 250-300k to cover mini bus hire and gifts for the village community (VND amount depends on how many come)
Numbers: Very maximum 12 people (we keep to a small group)
RSVP: to stella@fvheritage.org
Everyone coming must provide mobile number/WA/zalo
©1999 Friends of Vietnam Heritage. All rights reserved. All walks and excursions run by Friends of Vietnam Heritage are specially created by, and are the property of, Friends of Vietnam Heritage. You cannot use the ideas and content, copy, modify or publish these or any other activity without the express permission of Friends of Vietnam Heritage. Our activities are not to be used for commercial purposes.
