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