A photo of a foreign man holding a paper horse (also known as a votive offering) at Noi Bai airport was shared extensively on Vietnamese social media on August 3.
Many people find it funny that this man bought a gift for his daughter without knowing it was something to burn as an offering for the deceased.
This man is Arnaud Zein El Din (44 years old, from Mexico), an architect and blogger. He recently visited Hanoi for the first time and spent three weeks exploring the city. To his surprise, he discovered that a photo taken of him by a stranger had gone viral on Vietnamese social media.
“I bought that horse for 100,000 VND in a neighborhood in Hanoi. Just because I came across it by chance and found it beautiful. I guess it has more meaning, like for a ceremony,” he shared.
The votive horse is part of a plan to “gather” randomly many items that Arnaud Zein El Din encountered in Hanoi. He also shared his “collection”, including a mortar hat, a plow, a papyrus mat, beer mugs, a mask, a fishing tackle, a bowl full of rice, and many other items.
“There were no suggestions, I just went for a walk and instinctively chose,” Arnaud said, adding that Hanoi is a beautiful city that “stole his heart”.
Many people find it cute when a paper horse is placed in the check-in line.
After purchasing a paper horse and other items, the male tourist headed to Noi Bai airport to leave Vietnam. He successfully passed through the check-in counter and security checkpoint with the horse. However, upon boarding the plane, the airline staff refused to transport the paper horse.
“I had to leave the horse at the airport,” he said.
The paper horse made it through the check-in counter and security but was refused to be loaded on the plane
Arnaud Zein El Din said that when he left Vietnam, he realized that his horse was a “votive item”, made and burned as an offering to the saints for good luck.
He believes that the world is filled with incredible traditions and cultural customs. Arnaud aimed to gather a collection of these authentic elements from around the globe, each unique but originating from the same planet. “It opposes the trend of globalization to equate culture”, the architect shared.
After collecting the remaining items from Vietnam, Mr. Arnaud plans to take a photo of each item and note down its weight, size, story, material, and other relevant details. He will then keep these items in his home in Mexico.
@dantri.com.vn
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Source: Vietnam Insider