Page 54 - Tạp chí bonsai BCI Q12011

left: BCI pre convention tour group at the opening of
Bonsai and Stone exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City.
middle: Pattern stone in HCMC exhibition

bottom: Excellent material for this well-combined
two-color pattern stone. HCMC Exhibition

Suiseki in Vietnam

Da Canh Nguyen Ban

Article and photos by Chiara Padrini

Translation by Kathy Coffman

I

don’t want to shock the purists by using the word
suiseki, but only to simplify. Suiseki are stones from
Japan, but for so many years, this name has been
adopted in Western countries when we speak about
artistic stones. I had a chance to take a short trip
with a small group of Italian, Spanish, American and
Canadian friends before the Tour and BCI Convention
in China. Destination, Vietnam. It was a fluke that led
me to organize this pre-convention tour, but never was
it more appropriate. Before speaking of stones in Viet-
nam I would say a few words about this country which
is not so well known to the usual tourist. We visited the
southern part of Vietnam; part of the Mekong Delta and
Ho Chi Minh City and then we traveled to the capital,
Hanoi, in the Northern part of Vietnam and visited the
paradise that is Halong Bay. The bay features thousands
of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes
covered with lush green vegetation in a transparent sea.
This place took our breath away and left us silent—it was
a beauty to savor slowly during a two-day cruise.
We found Vietnam a country that exudes joie de vivre
and enthusiasm. We were amazed at the liveliness of city
traffic, that to call it chaotic is inadequate. We melted in
the kindness of the people, always ready to smile and to
help us. Long and atrocious years of war have made these
people aware of the grace of living life in the moment,
almost like a dance, exuberant yet elegant. We were also
lucky to arrive few days before the beginning of the great