Flying colours - the temple flags of Vietnam

Flying Colours

Traditional flags in Vietnam

Flags have been used to communicate meanings, directions and identities for over 6,000 years. The earliest known is a bronze relic from Iran dated around 4,000bc.

I never thought much about the meanings of flags until I moved to Vietnam where flags are far more common than in my native England.  Neighbourhoods are transformed on festival and national holiday days by the brilliant  red and yellow national flags and are sometimes festooned with striped bunting which is strung from post to post in the vicinity of temples.

The National Flag with its red ground and yellow star takes its styling from the Soviet ‘hammer and sickle’ flag which also includes a yellow star. In Vietnam, the star represents the five sections of society; the farmers, intellectuals, factory workers, businessmen and the military. Yellow is the colour of the Vietnamese people and red is universally used to signify revolution, strength and courage.  In the alleys and narrow streets of Hanoi, a few scarlet and yellow flags projecting from balconies and upper story windows instantly injects a feeling of national pride and celebration.

The large temple flags with the jagged or toothed edges make a bold statement don’t they. These are Buddhist in origin but have been adopted more widely within the special blend of religion and ancestor worship practiced in Vietnam. The flags outside a large temple will each have a different colour for the central square. Blue is the colour of compassion, yellow is balance, red is for the blessings of Buddha’s teaching, orange is for wisdom and white represents purity and liberation. 

The size of the flag will denote the importance of the site, ancient temples display much larger flags than more modern or lesser temples and meeting houses. Sometimes you will see a small flag outside someone’s home – this usually indicates that there is a monk resident within. So, don’t display Buddhist flags at your house unless you want the neighbours to bring offerings to your door!

Triangular flags mark the route to the home of the deceased during the funeral week. Black and white is often used for these flags in Hanoi. In Hoi An and Da Nang I saw maroon and dark blue and ochre to mark these sad occasions.

Small striped and squared flags will lead the way to the temple door. The closer to the temple, the larger the flags become. Once inside the temple enclosure, the positioning of flags around main courtyard convey meanings about festivals or other temple events. Usually, a yellow flag representing the sun occupies a central position, Blue and green flags representing nature and sky will be in the eastern corners. A white flag for the moon and metal will be in the west and black or indigo in the north represent water.

For parades, the flags take on even more meanings. The red flag representing the Phoenix should take the lead. Behind that the dark turtle is flanked by the Blue dragon to the left and the white tiger to the right. These complex messages are easily read by locals, but I just marvel at the spectacle and now I know never to pass a massive temple flag without stopping to explore the ancient temple within.

Upcoming Christmas Exhibition

I am taking part in this year's exhibition of 'Small Things' at Vin Gallery; their annual show of smaller works of original art in time for Christmas. 

Published in the May issue of Oi Vietnam, this was my very first magazine column. 
Read the story here

This is still, probably, my favourite postcard and was originally produced to illustrated the Full Moon Festival in my book about Hoi An.

This postcard illustrated my column in the July 2013 issue of Oi Vietnam which tells the story of my first shopping experiences in a local wet market when buying ingredients for a slightly ambitious Vietnamese birthday feast!
I addressed it to Rick Stein, the chef and restauranteur in Padstow, England

Oi Vietnam Magazine

This postcard was published in my book 'A Week in Hoi An' and shows the view of the Cham Islands from An Bang beach on a spring day. This is address to a little friend who likes to visit this beach from time to time.





The story about the magic and mystery of the My Son ruins was published in the June issue of Oi Vietnam Magazine. The memory of this evocative and poignant trip still haunts me.

Oi Vietnam on Facebook

If you take the late overnight sleeper train from Saigon to Da Nang, you are awoken by the breakfast trolley at dawn just before the train arrives in Nha Trang. 

From this point on the train hugs the coastline and you can watch the sun rise over the many islands scattered along the coast of the East Sea. Oi Vietnam Magazine, August 2013 issue.

This is addressed to my friend Robert who loves travelling by train.

Addressed to the late Antoni Gaudi, architect of Barcelona, this postcard illustrates some of the lovely shop houses of Saigon. One day these shops will be as fashionable to live in as their counterparts in Singapore.

Oi Vietnam Magazine - September 2013

Vietnam skies are amazingly beautiful. the colours are off the scale for depth of hue and luminosity. because the land is so flat along Vietnam's coastal, delta and southern regions, you can see weather coming for miles and miles. If you stand on Thu Thiem Bridge on a changeable day, you can see rain storms happening in different districts of the city and feel the rush of wind that preceeds every shower that is going to drench you! Read the article

I addressed this postcard to my sister who loves changeable weather and lives under her own big sky in Lincolnshire in England.

So, pop along to Vin Gallery on Friday evening to see these little gems in the flesh. They are beautifully framed in mahogany with double glass and floating mount. they would make a lovely present to a friend or even to yourself!

Postcard from Vietnam 5

One of the greatest benefits of travelling by train in Vietnam is that it provides an excellent opportunity to view the beautiful landscape at a leisurely pace.  Trains in Europe are designed to get you from one place to another as soon as possible but to journey by rail in Vietnam fulfils the Chinese proverb which says ‘the journey is the reward’

Departing from Ga Saigon (from the French word for railway station – Gare) I was amazed at how close people live, work, play, eat and sleep to the single track that carves a narrow corridor through the tightly packed neighbourhoods of north western Saigon. One more metre to left or right and we would have been travelling through their living rooms, barber shops and bars.

After a while, the scenery opens out and we are in a watery landscape of rice paddies, lakes and small towns. Our train starts to climb to higher ground and the scenery and the light changes. This region reminds me of the Highlands of Scotland in many ways. The hills rise steeply both sides of our train and the lush green of the lowlands has given way to a starker landscape with fewer trees and villages and dusty roads that are less travelled I think. But the best is yet to come.

From the comfort of my sleeper carriage on Vietnam Railways, the landscape gently rolls past the window like a documentary film. In this seemingly idyllic land every view is worth painting and the fields and villages, themselves, seem to have been touched by the artist’s brush. 

If you take the midnight train from Saigon, you will arrive at the coastal town of Nha Trang at dawn. From here the single train track hugs the beautiful coastline which is dotted with romantic islands and purple peninsulas backlit by the rising sun. The views of the East Sea shimmering in the low light of a fresh morning are breath-taking.

On one of my journeys, this hour was marked by the arrival of the breakfast trolley carrying a large bucket of fresh, hard boiled, eggs. These delicious treats are served with a pinch of the ubiquitous chilli salt presented in a little recycled paper wrapper. Mine was part of page of an old train timetable – how apt!

As Vietnam wakes to another day, you can see people tending their gardens and allotments beside the train track. A cowherd takes his cattle and calves to pasture. A lone motorcyclist spins down a country road easily keeping pace with the train. Workers make an early start in the green and gold fields at the coolest time of day. Teams of women, in their conical hats, are gathering in the hay to make haystacks reminiscent of those in Monet’s paintings of rural France in the late 1800s.

Travelling along the single track railway that runs the length of Vietnam is truly one of this country’s hidden delights. It may be slow but I cannot think of any good reason to rush through this fascinating and varied landscape.

Published in OI Vietnam - July 2013 click here

My first book!!! 

This gorgeous little book was published last week and is the culmination of 6 month's work since my 10 day visit to Hoi An in December 2012.  It was made possible by the support of my wonderful friends who have listened, checked, criticized, praised and questioned all my efforts. They rescued me when people and events conspired against me, encouraged me, covered for me, fixed things, dug me out of holes. They celebrate with me and never hold me back.  

Thank you all.

Thank you, also, to new friends and associates in Saigon who have supported this project in so many ways, from start to finish. Your advice, prodding, promotion, pushing and encouragement have helped me feel at home.  

And, a special thank you to Jo and Mai for giving me so many amazing opportunities; for putting up with me, putting a roof over my head and helping me to find my way in this exotic, exciting, enigmatic land. FG.

A Week in Hoi An is an interactive artist’s guide to the World Heritage Town which casts a spell on all who visit with its ancient streets, colourful shops, the temples, cafes and the bustling market. Surrounding it is a verdant landscape of rice paddies and morning glory beds where people still work the fields with oxen and the buzz of dragonflies is all around.

Running through is the river that once made Hoi An one of the busiest trading posts on the East Sea. Only 3 km away is the most beautiful beach in all Vietnam , running like a silver strand all the way up to Da Nang and beyond.

This book is a collection of pages taken directly from my Moleskine sketch book, further paintings, drawings and  notes about some of the history and local culture. In all there are 60 colour illustrations recording my visit. 

Also, inside this First Edition, there are three special postcards to send, or maybe just to frame. Use this book as your guide, make notes about your own experiences as you go or just enjoy the reading.  It will make you smile.

Get your own copy from Amazon from July 17th or by contacting me at bridgetmarch.com

My first magazine column

Oi Vietnam - May 2013
Download the magazine

If you are lucky enough to be in Hoi An on the night of a full moon, you will witness a delightful transformation taking place in the streets of the old town. In the evening, a calm descends over the old town. The electric street lights are turned off and all the lanterns are lit. No traffic is allowed on the streets, not even bicycles. This is a night for promenading and connecting with Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage.

The full moon is an auspicious night all over Vietnam. It is a night for people to remember their ancestors. Families and friends will gather around courtyard or pavement altars to drink tea and wait to see the moons reflection in their cups. On these table altars are the yellow flowers purchased that morning at the market, incense sticks, maybe a little clay figure of the jade rabbit and a collection of offerings of fruit, tea and wine. Some may make offerings to Chang’e who, according to Chinese mythology, drank the elixir of immortality and floated up to the moon. Some may honour the spirits that connect this world to the past and to the future, to the spirits that run in the rivers and blow through the trees and that bind all humans to the natural and the supernatural.

Synonymous in particular with the Lunar New Year festival (Tet), that takes place in January or February, the market women sell sunshine yellow chrysanthemums and marigolds. Bunches of flowers are swept up into baskets and bicycle panniers; they are tucked under arms and squashed in with the groceries to be taken home for the evening’s celebrations. They make tributes of yellow flowers that signify hope and family happiness or, perhaps, a wish for a new baby.

Another aspect of Vietnamese life is their love of playing games. Any time of day or night, groups of men gather around card games or chess boards but on Full Moon Night you can see Chinese Chess up close because games are staged outside some of the ancient houses and temples. Dressed in traditional Vietnamese costume, men play the game by candle light and welcome onlookers. If you want to take part, they will even introduce you to the rudiments of the game.

Other full moon festivals in Vietnam are Ram Thang Bay during the seventh lunar month when families give thanks to parents and ancestors and make offerings to pardon lost or wandering souls.  The famous ‘Mid-Autumn Festival’ in the eighth lunar month, which is celebrated throughout East Asia, is a time for homecoming and harvest and is marked by the exchange of moon cakes. In ancient times, Confucian scholars used to make up poems for impromptu performances on the night of this festival each year. Now this tradition is remembered each month in Hoi An as poetry readings are staged around the town.

To find out about future full moon dates, visitwww.hoian-tourism.com

Seven months in.

These days, when it comes to blogging, I seem to spend a lot of time planning what to write and even, sometimes, starting a blog but I just don't seem to to be able to finish one at the moment.

So, I have been asking myself 'what's wrong?' What has happened to my motivation? Am I becoming complacent? Is Saigon beginning to seem so familiar that I am not as before to write about it? Am I running out of things to say? (Not possible I here you say). So what's wrong?

Well, maybe there isn't anything wrong at all. The difficulty I am having is trying to squeeze my writing into the cracks between everything else I am trying to do. The truth is that those cracks are getting narrower and narrower.

Then, it occurred to me that I haven't actually blogged about all the projects I am involved with. I write about boats, river life, history, food, flowers, culture, festivals and all sorts of other things but I haven't  written about my projects. So, here goes .....................

When I first came here seven months ago, I ran around furiously trying to draw anything that would sit still and through this the city revealed itself to me street by street, inch by inch, smile by smile and one building at a time. I got an electric bicycle to help me get around and now I whizz around these chaotic streets with, almost, the confidence of the natives. And........ I completely love it!  Why didn't I get a scooter years ago?

After three months, I thought it was time to earn some money so planned some drawing classes to start straight after Christmas. I persuaded my favourite restaurant to let me use a quiet corner to run classes during their quiet periods in the mornings and afternoons and in January my first 8 students turned up lesson Number 1.  The first course went very well indeed and the students have all graduated (!!!) and are now moving onto an intermediate course where I will teach them to understand colour and use it in their drawings.

This week I started a new group of 5 students at lesson Number 1 and I have also been approached by the family next door to teach their eldest daughter (16) over the summer holidays. Her school year ends in mid April.

Talking of the family next door................ they came knocking on our door asking for me about five weeks ago. It seems that the lady of the house had seen some of my paintings already. Apparently, our previous housekeeper was in the habit of showing off my artwork to all the neighbours when I wasn't at home!  My neighbour was in a panic because her beautiful Lotus plant had just come in to flower and she wanted to capture it for all time. She asked me to do a BIG painting! 

This was an entirely new challenge for me on a number of levels. I hadn't ever done a portrait of a flower before and I haven't painted a large canvas before either. Undaunted, I asked the people at our local artspace to stretch a 100x100 cm canvas for me and I just got stuck in. This BIG canvas on a custom frame cost me just £7 plus a courier to rush it to my easel (£3)

Three weeks later the completed canvas was fitted with a smart brown frame and delivered and hung on the living room wall next door. The family's delight was almost tangible. They paid me and also gave me a gift of sweet, sticky green rice cake stuffed with tapioca paste. Hmmmm.

In December, I went to the little town of Hoi An to do some sketching.  I took one of my trusty Moleskine, Japanese folding albums and spend my days cycling, swimming, drawing eating, walking, sketching, cooking, talking, drinking, painting, researching, discovering, learning, photographing and making visual notes.

Half way through my stay, my Japanese album was filling up and people were asking to see what I was doing. Towards the end of my ten day sojourn, I met a young Korean woman who was working as a graphic designer for an airline magazine. She was not the first one to say that I should publish my sketch book but she encouraged my by saying that her magazine might be interested in writing an article about it because it would interest her readers. 

In the spirit of 'always say yes' I have decided to publish my sketch book and am now working with a delightful Bulgarian graphic designer called Ani to prepare the artwork for the printer. It looks like it will be a 52 page book and we are aiming to print in May. So far, I have produced around 60 paintings and drawings for the book and there may be more before I have finished.

Researching some of the facts for the book took me to the People's Party head office in Hoi An to find someone with 'the knowledge'.  I confess I was a little nervous entering the compound of the Hoi An headquarters. A chained dog was barking furiously as I walked from the gate step of the former colonial house of gentlemanly proportions. I crossed the threshold into a grey interior where a fan was lazily turning and an administrator sat behind a sliding glass hatch pouring over lists of figures in a antique-looking ledger.  

It was here I met Binh, a young civil servant who took great interest in my book and was very enthusiastic about helping me with local information that I was seemingly impossible to find on the internet.  I am gradually realising that the Vietnamese do not use the internet as we do. They do not use it as a repository for information intended for open global access but I guess that may change with time. 

Back home, the next door neighbour has now commissioned a second canvas - larger than the first!  This painting which she has already entitled 'Childhood' will depict her three lovely daughters aged 7-16 years cycling along under the 'Milk Flower' tree. This tree was panted outside the house only 6 years ago but it is already over 30 feet high! 



It seems the neighbours are determined to keep me busy. They have now asked me to give drawing lessons to the 16 year-old girl over the summer holidays. In total, I will be giving around 6-8 hours of lessons a week which is probably as much as I can manage for the foreseeable future.

My latest project involves working with the local art space 'Vinspace' which is run by a dynamic young Vietnamese artist who studied her MA at St. Martins in London. Under her wing there are artists from South America, Spain, the UK  and other young Vietnamese painters. She created a new gallery for their work about 10 months ago but nobody comes to visit. I am suggesting that they run a monthly art market to get the public and more artists and makers involved in the space. They love the idea and it now looks like I will be running it !!!  I have offered to do that for the next three months to see how it goes and to establish some good practices learned from similar projects in the UK.

Of course, I will take a table at this market so I now need to make some inexpensive items for sale each month. I will make some mini watercolours and frame them in little silk frames I found in a workshop for the disabled up in Hoi An.  Hopefully, this will lead to a new relationship with the workshop. A friend at home does work with people injured in the armed forces and we would like to make links between the two groups somehow.

Last month I was interviewed by a new magazine called 'OI Vietnam'. They printed a four age article about my work and also invited me to write a monthly column for them. In the spirit of always saying 'yes' I agreed to the challenge. The column will be based on my blog and especially my 'Postcards from Vietnam'  The first column will be printed in the May issue.  I am very excited about this; I never thought I would be a columnist!! 

This magazine is competing with two other well established, free, English language magazines. I may be biased but I do think the quality of editorial, the articles, layout and the photographic documentaries are of higher quality than the others. The editor is very experienced and I wish them luck. I look forward to a long association with them


So that's about it. Each week is filled with a series of drawing lessons,  producing little paintings for my book and composing the hand-written copy. As soon as that book is finished, I will start the next ( but I will need some help withe funding from a publisher this time). 

Recently I have had two commissioned paintings to produce and there is another in the pipeline. It looks like I will be running an art market and producing goods for sale as well. Each month I will create a new piece of artwork and a 700 word column for OI Vietnam. 

Vietnam is being very good to me so far.  I said I would give it a year, but I think I might be here a bit longer than that. I have also had three lovely visits from two dear friends for which I am very, very grateful - they make everything seem more real somehow. Thank you.