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.