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What images come to your mind when you think of Vietnam? Rice, war, orchids or exotic landscapes? When I visited Vietnam, I added wonderful images that I will forever associate with this country that had its history marked by wars and its people learned to live in adversity. This is Vietnam, a country that provokes extreme emotions, offers the best gastronomic experience in Southeast Asia and has been growing rapidly since its reunification. Hanoi is an intense city. It is the Vietnamese essence in the middel of the chaos, motorbikes, insistent horns, fruit stands and stools that occupy the narrow sidewalks where people have lunch. Hanoi is the capital and face of Vietnam. In this excess of information, we can stop for an hour to immerse ourselves in the Millennial Culture of Vietnam watching the “Múa rối nước”, which can translate as “making puppets dance in the water”, the Water Puppet Show. The water puppet theater tradition was born in the villages of the Red River in northern Vietnam and dates back to the 11th century. According to the legend, in addition to serving as entertainment for riverside communities during the monsoon period, when the rice paddies were flooded, the presentations also aimed to 'entertain the spirits', avoiding damage to the plantations caused by the 'fury of the gods'. The game between peasants developed and today dolls occupy the main theaters in the city. It is unbelievable to watch the puppets that appear one after another, moving on the water like magic and presenting their stories to us. They dance, sing, interact with each other and with the audience. They tell stories moving “alone” on the water, accompanied by an orchestra and live vocals. We can see dragons that spit fire or water and it is almost certain that the people sitting in the first row will get wet, much to the delight of the children and some adults. Like tradition, the shows are spoken in Vietnamese and although I don't speak a word in Vietnamese, it was very easy to understand and I had fun with the show. As soon as the musicians started playing, I shivered. The music serves as a soundtrack for the stories and serves to take us through the beautiful Vietnamese stories. The musicians, who play typical instruments, also participate in the show by making sounds and interacting with the dolls. Water is practically the main character. Hide all tricks, highlight what should be seen and amplify the acoustics of the music. The dolls are made of wood and controlled by huge horizontal sticks. However, at no time can the public see the mechanisms and gears that control these dolls. Puppeteers work with water around the waist, commanding the sticks with the puppets attached to their ends, which can weigh up to 15kg. Even with all the international prestige and being an entertainment that appeals to all social classes, we can hardly see presentations outside Vietnam, another reason for you to know this country that treats this art as a national passion. Schools hire presentations and the government promotes public performances on commemorative dates, in addition to providing subsidies for the maintenance of companies. At the famous Thăng Long Water Puppet Theater in Hanoi, located on the shores of Lake Hoan Kiem, shows take place every day. This is the only theater that operates 365 days a year. There are four daily shows and an additional show in October and April in high season. Tickets are very cheap, as are most attractions in Vietnam. The theater is one of the few things that does not accept negotiation, because in street commerce do not be ashamed to negotiate to the limit of exhaustion. You can speak English, because the language is well spoken in commerce in general. Local money is Dong and take only a dollar. Because everything costs very cheap, make the conversion and exchange a maximum of US $ 200 at a time. And if you can, go to more than one theater to watch the Water Puppet that you will leave with the feeling of having dived and swam in the most beautiful traditions in the world.