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Home Cover Feature Hanoi- Cho Gom Bát Tràng Artisan pottery village

Sandra Miller January 28, 2015 6 Comments

Hanoi- Cho Gom Bát Tràng Artisan pottery village

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This village about 30 minutes outside of Hanoi city was a perfect choice to get a good look into local life and the craftsmanship of the villagers with not a tourist in sight…other than steve and myself. Many photos are below in a slideshow with a few highlighted on the blog with descriptions

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My mom would love this place being a porcelain artist .Each little nook and cranny of the village brought about new discoveries and surprises that would delight any pottery maker or artist.  Mom, I took lots of photos of those tiles being weighted by bricks to prevent them curling!!

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Unfired pottery was drying in the sun everywhere we walked and artists in their open air shops were throwing pots on low wheels sitting at plastic stools….. and carving greenware (leather hard pottery not yet fired)   

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This was a true working village with every shop being a different small group of artisans or family creating a unique style to their workshop.   Tourists do come here but it is very evident that the village functions as a community first….and entertains tourists when they have time to take a break from their 9 to 5.

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It was lunch time and we grabbed a grilled taro cake from one of the many street vendors selling to the locals , then we went into tiny Pho shop for a great noodle soup which totally hit the spot.

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They are using Kumquats instead of limes for that last squeeze of acid before eating the soup.   Now I know what to do with those kumquats!!!!! Brilliant flavor and great color

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In Vietnam there are a number of dishes made with chicken that has black meat.  I’ve seen it but not tasted it.   Thats on our list for this trip ….the chicken  breed called  Ayam Cemani are highly regarded because their meat is believed to have mystical powers They are totally black , feathers, eyes and meat and is thought to have mystical powers

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Throughout the village we saw many of these tangled bonsai in elaborate pots.  We weren’t sure if they grown as a display garden or being nurtured for eventual sale.   They looked like the Cambodian trees we saw strangling the forest temples but in miniature and must be quite old.
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I had a blast standing on dusty street corners photographing village life as it passed us by. Hardly a word of English is spoken here but “Hi” is universal and gets an unspoken dialogue going.  This fella below indicated he was a photographer but spoke no English. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of my camera and I regret not handing it over for him to take Steves and my photo….he certainly loved that I took his….  Hindsight!!!

3H3A4424 - Version 2Below find all of the photos in a slideshow from the pottery village visit.  We also did a street food tour last night but that’s another blog post….what an adventure!!!.  We packed yesterday with so much fun and food that we slept like babies…until 3 AM which is why I’m blogging now. LOL!

 Below is a wonderful photo I had to squeeze in from our first day of a flower vendor .   We adore Hanoi!!!

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Filed Under: Cover Feature

Comments

  1. Pat Tanselle says

    January 29, 2015 at 9:40 am

    Really enjoying your vacation. Thanks.

    Reply
  2. Sandra says

    January 29, 2015 at 11:14 am

    Thanks so much Pat!!! We sooooo appreciate you following us!!!!! Big hugs from Hanoi!!!

    Reply
  3. Mary Schultz says

    January 29, 2015 at 3:09 pm

    Your photos inspire me to visit that area! I wonder how you knew where to go on your self tour? You hit the jackpot!!

    Reply
    • Sandra Miller says

      February 4, 2015 at 12:49 am

      Hi Mary. You SHOULD make it a point to visit Southeast Asia. I do a lot of research on Trip Advisor to get the real scoop on places that are rated high in the types of places we like to stay, visit, we always use private guides and find them there as well. When we do our own exploring we just hop in a taxi and go (with the business card to our hotel/motel etc so we can get back)

      Reply
  4. Urai Dutkiewicz says

    January 30, 2015 at 7:39 am

    Last year we visited Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong. I tried talking my husband into re-visiting Vietnam again, but he gets bad vibes being that he fought there during the war. Perhaps someday he’ll reconsider LOL! Anyway, we had a wonderful time and I had fun visiting my friends and family. I love your beautiful photos, keep them coming. Have wonderful safe trip.

    Reply
    • Sandra Miller says

      February 4, 2015 at 12:46 am

      Hello Urai. Thank you so very much for taking the time to read about our travels and for commenting. I can understand how hard it must be for your husband. It s so great you got to visit with family and friends in the other countries though…each a gem in their own right. So happy you love the photos!!! Big hugs from Laos!!!

      Reply

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