Is Hoi An a City or a Market?

After the DMZ, we went back to Hue for a few more days. Then we went to Hoi An. Hoi An is a beautiful place where we went to markets, had a delicious drink called nuoc mia, and had the best desserts ever. In Hoi An all of the houses are painted the same yellow color. Hoi An is just like a big market. Walking down the street there is a chorus of women of all ages saying "you buy!" "many sizes, many colors!" "buy it for your baby!"

During the day we walked around, looking at the stuff people were selling. Night in Hoi An was so cool. As it grew dark, little by little, everything started to light up. Lanterns were everywhere. On the houses, on the shops, on the bridge, and even in the water. They were like glowing lily pads 

When we were in Hoi An, we had a really yummy drink. It was called nuoc mia, also known as sugar cane juice. When I took a sip, the sugary goodness flowed through my whole body. After Hoi An wherever we found it, we would just have to stop and get some.

While we were in Hoi An, we went to the same dessert place every night. The dessert place was called Cargo Club. Some of the things we got there were chocolate mouse, lemon tart, chocolate cheese cake, and a Black forest cake. Everyone ordered their own thing, and we sat down. I got the lemon tart. I took a bite. My face lit up. It was so good! I wanted to eat it all up, but I didn't. I passed it to the person on my left. I took one the person on my right passed me. As I took a bite I couldn't help but smile. I wanted to eat it all, but I didn't, I passed it to the person on my left again.We each got a bite of every dessert. I could never pick a favorite. They were all so good.

I had so much fun in Hoi An. And I loved eating those desserts. I love Hoi An.

The DMZ: Part Two

When I woke up in the morning I just wanted to get out of that gross hotel. We went to go get breakfast. We had Pho (pronounced fuh). Pho is a Vietnamese noodle dish. I know noodles aren't breakfast food, but Vietnamese people eat noodles for breakfast almost everyday! After breakfast, we drove to Hamburger Hill. You might be thinking, "Why is it called Hamburger Hill?" Is it shaped like a hamburger? Do people sell hamburgers up there? The answer is no. It is called Hamburger Hill because there was a huge battle on the hill, and people were shot so much they looked like hamburger meat. I know. I don't like thinking about it either. But my dad thinks it is important to learn about it so it won't happen again.

The hike up hamburger Hill was very long. It was like someone splashed me with water because I was so sweaty. As we walked, my sisters and I were singing in harmony. I guess it just made us forget all of the battles. It also helped us to forget how tired and hot we were.

At the top there was a little monument. Our guide gave us each a some incense. We put the incense by the monument and stayed up there for a little while. Everything was quiet. It was like every little thing stopped and thought about what happened there.

On our way down, of course, we were singing. And it seemed like we were down in no time.

I think that the DMZ was a good experience for me to learn about the war. I hope there are no wars like that ever again. 

The DMZ

After Hue, we went into the Demilitarized Zone, also know as the DMZ. The DMZ was one of the hardest places to go because we had to learn and see things from the war. It was hard, but I know that it is important so it won't happen again. In this post, and the next I will talk about our two days in the DMZ.

When we got there, we went to see a statue. It was of a woman and her daughter looking to the north. I could imagine the little girl watching to see if her father would ever come home. It makes me sad to look at things like that. I could never imagine how sad it would be to have my dad go to war and never come back.

After that, we went to a graveyard. There were a ton of graves that all said the same thing. Our guide told us that it meant "unknown hero".

The last thing we did that day was we went through the tunnels that the soldiers used to carry weapons through. As we walked into the entrance I could feel the temperature getting cooler. We had to bring flashlights because it was dark down there. As we turned one of the corners I saw someone! I let out a little yelp just before realizing it was plastic. Yes, I said I was scared of plastic people. A little while later we saw a HUGE spider on the wall. After that my sisters and I didn't want to touch the walls or ceiling. Although that was hard at times because the ceiling was too low.

It had been a long day  And I was glad to be at the hotel. That was until I saw it. I opened the door and saw a nest in the corner. I was not glad to be there anymore. It was the grossest hotel on our whole trip.

To Be Continued... 

The Forbidden City

After Ninh Binh, we took a bus ride to Hue (pounced way). In Hue we went to the Citadel  The Citadel had three walls: an outer wall, a middle wall, and an inner wall. It was the place where the old royalty family lived. 

You had to walk across a bridge and through a gate to get in. When we got in, I looked around, but in the outer wall was just a parking lot and a grassy field. As we walked into the second wall, I gasped in amazement. There in front of me I saw a golden dragon gleaming in the sun. I almost forget that I was dripping wet and tired in the hot sun. There were lots of rooms all around and they were all very interesting. But there was one room that stood out to me. It was the room with all of the clothes that the royalty members would wear.

In the inner wall was the Forbidden Purple City, but it's not purple and it's not forbidden... anymore. It was so pretty. There were old buildings. They were beautiful with designs on the walls. As we walked though, I thought of the old days. I pictured people walking around in the clothes I saw. It made me feel like I was in the old days, too. It was really fun.

That night when we were taking a taxi to dinner, we saw into the outer wall of the Citadel. In the grassy field, we saw tons and tons of people. The sky looked like a ballet of colors because everyone in the field was flying kites.

Hue was one of my favorite cities we went to on our trip. I hope someday I can go back there with my family.

The Golden Dragon

One Of The Clothes

In The Purple Forbidden City 

In The Purple Forbidden City 

The Little Town Of Ninh Binh

After we left Halong, we went to Ninh Binh. Ninh Binh is a little town, and they don't get many tourist. So they loved my little sister's blonde hair. It was like she was a movie star to them.

When we were in Ninh Binh we hired a diver to take us to a place where we could hike, and to two different boat rides.

The hike up the mountain was about 500 steps. I was dripping wet. It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of water on me. There was a pagoda at the top and a view that was amazing.There were amazing green mountains all around. And rice fields with people working in them. In the middle of that was a river. I almost st forgot that I felt like I was going to melt into the rocks.

After that, we went on a canoe ride on a river. A little old lady was rowing the canoe, and sometimes she would row with her feet. It was like she was peddling a bike, but her toes curved around the ores. On the canoe ride we went though tunnels at some parts we had to lean down because the ceiling was so low. The cave had stalagmites hanging from the ceiling and one of them dripped into my sister's eye.

While we were waiting for the second boat ride, we talked to a local family. It was the best part. They didn't really know how to speak English. It was cool to try to talk to them.  On the boat ride the engine kept dying on us. At one point, we got out of the boat and took a walk while waiting for them to fix the boat. It was a nice and peaceful walk. A good break from the loud engine.

Ninh Binh was fun. It was fun to be in a town where not many tourists come. It was a wonderful experience for my family and me.

The view at the top of the hike

Halong Bay the Beautiful

When we were in Hanoi we found a place were we could take a cruise. We had a long bus ride out to the bay. It was beautiful. It had beautiful green cliffs shooting out of the bay. After I was done admiring the cliffs I looked down and saw the water a polluted. It made me sad.

Our cruise was for two days and one night. The boat we were on was called a junk. On the first day, we kayaked and we hiked up one of the cliffs. The second day we went to a bat cave, and the beach.

 Kayaking was so much fun. We went in pairs of two. Since we had five people in our family, I had to go with our guide. When we were kayaking out we saw a huge jellyfish. After I saw it I got freaked out that I was going to fall out and get stung. We went through a tunnel in the cliff  and we were in a quiet cove. Tall green cliffs on all side. It was so quiet you could hear the slaps of the paddles on the water and the buzzing sound of bugs. It was so cool.

At the cliff we hiked. The hike was long. There were about 500 steps, but the view at the top was amazing. You could see the bay sparkling and the cliffs looked like little patches of green.

The bat cave was cool, both ways. There were different colored lights shinning on the cave walls. I think that they were pretty cool without the lights. I can't really remember anything more about it because I was to busy loving the bay.

Since we live in Hawaii, we just skipped the beach part. We just relaxed in the air-conditioning on the Junk.

The cruise was really fun. Even though the bay was polluted it was still really beautiful.

Halong Bay

resting on the junk

kayaking

The Bat Cave

 

Crossing the street can be scary!

After Bangkok we went to Hanoi, Vietnam. Hanoi was so much fun. But it was very hot.

In Hanoi there are mostly only motorbikes driving on the road, but every once and a while there will be a car or a taxi. Crossing the street in Hanoi is kind of creepy. All you do is step onto the curb look both ways, and when you see motorbikes coming you go. The motorbikes swerve around you. Every time I crossed the street, my heart would start racing. I would take a deep breath, cross my fingers, and go, hoping no car would come along and smash me.

One of my favorite things in Hanoi was the water puppets. The show was in a theater, but instead of a stage, there was water. As an orchestra played, the puppets came gliding on the water. It was as if they were moving themselves. It was one of the coolest things I had ever seen.

We were in Vietnam during the rainy season. One night my mom and I went out to get medicine. Most of us were sick. As we went it started to rain, but it was just a sprinkle. After a few minutes it started raining harder. If you stepped put from under the shelter you would be soaked in seconds. My mom and I ended up running across the street to buy ponchos.

Hanoi was awesome. And just so you know, we didn't get smashed by any motorbikes. The water puppets were so fun to watch, and to tell you the truth, the rain was fun too.

The Sky Train

When we were in Bangkok, we used four different kinds of transportation. We used the Sky Train, taxis, boats, and walked. The most interesting way we traveled in Bangkok was the Sky Train.

The Sky Train is like the subway, except it's not underground. To get to the Sky Train, you have to climb up a set of stairs. There is usually one station every couple of blocks. When you get up the stairs, there are maps of the Sky Train stops all along the walls. You go to a map and find where you want to go. Then you go to the person at the counter. You say how many people are going and where you want to go. You need coins to get a ticket so you give the person enough money for all of you and they will give you coins. You put the coins in a machine by the maps and it will give you a ticket. Then, just like the subway, you put the ticket in the turn stile and you can go through. There are two sets of stairs on either side. You figure out which one you go up. When you get to the top, there is a track. After waiting for a little bit, a train will come.

When the train comes you step in, pushing past the crowd. As you step in, a cold breeze cools all of your sweat. But after awhile, you start to shiver. It is very cold. You just want to get out, but when you get out you want to be back in. It is really hot.

It is really fun going to new places and having different experiences of transportation, like the Sky Train.

Bangkok Food

The food we had in Bangkok was delicious. We ate lots of new cool things. And lots of spicy things. Our rule was if one person tries it everyone has to try it too. That made me kind of nervous. I like rice a lot and I like seafood a lot, but I don't like cheese. So I was afraid that someone would try something I didn't like and I would have to eat it.

The first market we had really good red curry. When I took my first bit I thought it was so good, but then I felt something hot on my tongue. I quickly got a drink of water. It cooled my mouth,but not my ears. It felt like there was fire coming out of my ears! I jumped up started fanning my ears and stuck my tongue out. And that was my first market experience.

At Chinatown we had really good oyster in egg. It was so good. when you bit into it there was a crunch from the crunchy outside and then a soft middle of oyster and egg. That was the first time I had ever had oyster. It was the best.

After we had eaten a few little dishes we went down this little alley. It was kind of creepy. In that dark little alley we found a restaurant that served  Birds Nest Soup. Guess what Bird's Nest Soup is... Guess! Ok I'll tell you. It's bird spit! Well it's not really bird spit. It's just made of a bird's nest and birds use spit to keep the nest together. So it's basically bird's spit. But don't freak out it just tasted like honey. Because they put honey and an egg it. It was really weird eating it because I knew what it was, but after the first bite I had to eat more. The only bad thing was you could feel little pieces of the nest float down your throat.

At most of the markets there is seafood and meat just laying on ice. It's kind of weird, but I guess that's just how they do it. But during the afternoon it smells really bad. It smells like rotting meat which is what it is. And when you walk through the market it's hard to breath. You just want to run away.

                                                                     

birds nest soup

  

Our summer trip

This summer my family and I went on an awesome summer trip. We went to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. We were gone for 6 weeks! In my next few blog posts I will tell you the story of what we did.

The story will begin the morning we were leaving. That morning we woke up at like 6. And got ready to go. Each of us brought one backpack and that was all. No suitcases or anything. When we were driving to the airport I couldn't believe we were really going! 

I slept all lot on the airplane, so it seemed like we were to the Philippines in no time. The Philippines was where we had our layover. We were in that airport FOREVER! 

Finally we got on the plane, but the plane ride was like 11 hours long! I felt like we would never get there. When we finally got to Bangkok it was night, and we were so tired. While we were in the taxi to the hotel, other than trying not to fall asleep, I looked around.  Bangkok is a big city, with a lot of bright billboards. 

When we got to the hotel we were hungry. So we got some Pad Thai from a little street cart down the street. Then we went to the hotel to sleep. It was a really long day. It was as long as two days!    

nothing to write

I have nothing to write about today. So I guess I will write about having nothing to write about. But I guess that means I have something to write about. That's very confusing. Well I guess I'll just post some cute pictures of me.

ME

My sisters and ME

ME in Sound Of Music

My eye

ME when I was little

pictures of me

Here are some random pictures of me. I couldn't think of anything to post about. So I am just posting these pictures.

ME!

A picture I was drawing

ME! 

ME drawing

11\11\11

Last year on 11\11\11 at 11:11 o'clock a bunch of people came to the park and we made human pyramids. After that we raced to the end of this big field. It was fun.

My grandparents

My grandparents came in January. We went to the beach with them. But mostly we just stayed home. One thing we always make cookies with our grandpa. It's so much fun! We have done this for as long as I can remember. I  love to do it and plus we get to eat them!

My other grandparents came in February. We did lots more stuff with them. When they visit we always do lots of fun things. I think the funnest thing that we did was go to the Byodo-in temple. It's so much fun. We had fun with both grandparents.

My mom and I

My mom and I look a lot alike.  I look just like she did when she was little But my hair is a little darker. Some people say that we look so alike that it's scary. I don't know though. Here are some pictures.

My mom at 9

Me at 9

My mom and me!

The Sound Of Music

Last month there were auditions for The sound Of Music. I got the part of Brigitta. We had a lot of practices. The last three days we have done dress rehearsals. And tonight is the first performance! I am so excited. But I will be sad when it's over. I had so much fun. 

Gigi died

Last month on Jan.19th our guinea pig died. It was sad! My little sister was the one who figured it out. She went to go feed her and she was stiff. We all cried for like an hour. Then we buried her in the backyard. I miss her so much! :(

Before she died

 After we buried her

  

A New Year!

Wow! It's a new year. It's 2012. I will be turning twelve years old. We are going to do a bunch of cool stuff this year, like we are going to Asia in the summer. That will be so much fun! I can't wait to get to go. I will blog all about it. It will be so much fun!