The End of the Adventure

Our trip in South East Asia was so much fun. But our journey has to come to an end. And that's where we are now.

We had to get up really early to get to the airport. I was so tired, I just wanted to go back to sleep, but I didn't because I want to see our last bit of Thailand. As we rode in the taxi, I looked out the window. I saw all the lights. It was beautiful. I was going to miss that place. When we boarded the plane and took off I looked out the window to see the last bit of South East Asia.

On our trip I learned some things. I learned that you shouldn't be scared to go to new places and trying new things. I was a little bit scared to go to South East Asia at first, because it's not what I'm use to. I was scared of getting a bad sickness there. But when we got there I was glad we came.

Another thing I learned was, about wars. if you want to start a war you should think of what will happen. ask your self  "Is it really worth it?" because people will die.

The third and final thing is always try things. Even if it looks or sounds gross it can still be good.

I had so much fun on our trip, and I hope that I can go back to those places again.  

Awesome Chang Mai

After Battambang, we were done in Cambodia and then we went back to Thailand. There we stayed in Bangkok one more night before heading to Chang Mai. In Chang Mai we saw cool animals and got to go trekking in the mountains.

There I was waiting on the little wooden platform. Waiting... just waiting. And then it came. The thing I had been waiting for ever since we were planing for this trip. I was going to ride on an elephant! I got onto the little seat-like thing on the elephants back. As we went down the hill I held on tight  to the side, because the elephant would wobble. I remember reaching back to touch the back of the elephant. He was very bumpy, rough, and furry all at the same time. When it was time to get off I was sad, but a little bit glad too. I was glad because those seats were very uncomfortable.

After riding elephants, we went on a trek. We climbed up, up into the mountains. As we went higher and higher mist started  rising around us. As we were hiking it started raining. Imagine climbing up a steep hill in the rain. The mud was slippery. It was cold, rainy, slippery, and wet. That might sound like it was no fun. But it still kind of was. We got to stay up in the mountain over night. It was a lot of fun.

Even though the trek was fun, I was glad to be back down in Chang Mai. As we drove in the car to our next stop, I was jumping up and down in my seat. I was so excited for what we were about to do. When we got there I jumped out of the car, and ran in. We were going to go play with baby tigers! We had to wait in line, and it took a long time. But it was worth it. When I stepped into the cage I couldn't believe I was actually doing this. I got to play with a baby tiger! She wasn't really that soft. Her fur was stiff and bristly. And she just wanted to sleep. She kept walking away from us. I wanted to let her sleep, but when are you going to get another chance to pet a baby tiger?

I loved Chang Mai. It was one of my favorite places we went. I hope I will be able to go there again someday. After Chang Mai, we will go back to Bangkok for a few days. Then we will go home.

Battambang the Last Stop in Cambodia

Battambang was the next stop, and our last place to go in Cambodia. In Battambang we got to go kayaking, and ride on the bamboo rail.

I remember walking up to the edge of the river, and slowly getting into the kayak. It was very calm and peaceful, just floating down the river. As we past the children that were at the river bank, they all waved to us and called "hello!" Sometimes we would just float with our feet in the water. When we had to get out I was kind of sad. But I was excited for what we were doing next.

Next we went to the bamboo railway. The bamboo railway is a little bamboo raft that has wheels on the bottom so it can roll on the train tracks. I got on expecting a nice calm ride. And that's what it was... at first. It started getting faster and faster. It was so much more fun then I expected it to be. As you went along if there was another raft coming your way you would take the raft off and the lift the wheels out of the way. They would go past you and then you would put it back together.

Battambang was fun, but it's time to leave Cambodia now. Next we'll go back to Thailand. And soon our adventure will be done, and we will have to go home.

Beautiful Siem Reap

After Phnom Penh, we went to Siem Reap, where we went to the temples at Angkor, got some delicious deserts, and did doctor fish.

Ta Prohm was the first temple we went to. We walked in, and it was quiet so quiet I could hear all the sounds of the little creatures. We were the only ones there. There were trees growing on top of the temple, their roots twisting around the temples blocking some of the paths. It was so cool to have Ta Prohm all to ourselves.

We went to the most famous temple, Angkor Wat, last of all so we could see the sun set behind it. I was so excited I had been waiting all day long to see it. We walked through the entrance. I gasped. Angkor Wat, the most famous temple in all of Angkor, had construction on it! I was mad at first, but after seeing the inside I was OK. And there were monkeys roaming around everywhere.

After going to the temples we wanted some dessert, so we went to a place called The Blue Pumpkin. At The Blue Pumpkin, there were lots of delicious ice creams.After we all ordered our ice creams, we went up stairs to the lounge. There were white couches all along the walls. When I sat down I sank into the couch. It was so soft.

After dessert, we went to do doctor fish. Doctor fish is where the fish eat the dead skin of your feet. I was really excited. I put my feet in. And pulled them out. It tickled so bad! I put my feet back in and braced them, trying so hard not to laugh.

Siem Reap was so cool. I loved seeing all the old crumbling temples and the beautiful architecture. I hope I can go back someday.

Ta Prohm

Angkor Wat

Doctor Fish

Welcome to Cambodia

Welcome to Cambodia, a place of temples, dancers, weird food and much more. We went over to Cambodia on a boat, after our tour of the Mekong Delta. We were heading to Phenom Pehn the capital of Cambodia. As we cruised past the river banks I hardly saw any people, unlike Vietnam where there would always be people in boats, fishing, or even bathing.

When we arrived we were swarmed by tuk tuk drivers, all wanting to take us to our hotel. It was like we were movie stars!

My favorite thing we did in Cambodia was visiting an orphanage. When we arrived all the kids rushed out to say "Hello!" They were the friendliest people I had ever met. They walked up to my older sister, Sierra, and asked "How old are you?" She said she was 14. They looked at each other and laughed. I was confused. Then they asked me how old I was. They laughed even harder when I said I was 11. I was even more confused. Then they said that they were 14, 15 and 16. They were laughing because Sierra and I were both taller than all of them.

After talking for a while, the kids asked if they could show us a dance. Of course we said, yes. Some music started playing and the little boys jumped up and started doing a monkey dance. After that, the girls got up and did a traditional Cambodian dance. Cambodian dancers stretch their fingers so that they bend back far. It was cool to get to watch them, because we hadn't seen any real dances while we were there. After everyone had done their dances, we had to go. I was so happy just being around those kids. They reminded me you don't need expensive things to be happy. Everyone waved to us until we were out of sight. I just wanted to take all of them home.

Our first night in Phenom Pehn, we went to a restaurant. There we had fish amok, banana flower salad, and spider! To be exact tarantula! I was afraid to eat it. I opened my mouth to put it in. Then shut it. I closed my eyes opened my mouth and bit. As I chewed I nodded my head. It was pretty good! After dinner, my dad asked what was my favorite thing we ate that night. I thought for a second and said "I've got to say the tarantula was pretty good!"

The Fourth of July in a Foreign Country

After Saigon, we wanted to tour the Mekong Delta before going to Cambodia. And it was fun. We went to many cool places and ate new foods. Plus we got to spend the Fourth of July there. 

While touring the Mekong we did a home stay. That's where you get to stay at a local house. When I walked in I saw that there was no roof over the hallways. As I walked into the room my sisters and I would be sleeping in, it got darker. The only light was coming through the small slats we had for windows. It was dark and I saw something run cross the wall. What was it? It was a mouse! Soon enough we found the lights so it was brighter.

We also got to help make dinner. I helped peel the vegetables. And it was the Fourth of July. When we were in Saigon, at one of the restaurants they had sparklers so my dad got them for us. But the sparklers   were more like candles. It was kind of weird not hearing fire works, but now I can say I have spent the Fourth of July in a foreign country.

At one of our last stops in the Mekong Delta we went to a restaurant. It was an outside restaurant and when I walked in, a waiter zoomed past me. I looked over and he was wearing roller skates. All of the waiters were. We sat at a table and soon someone came to take our orders. We got baby pig, rabbit curry, and pigeon! You might be thinking "why? That would be gross!" But it wasn't. They were very good. The baby pig is one of my favorite things I ate on the trip.

The Mekong Delta was fun. I'm glade we decided to go. I was an awesome experience. 

Delicious Siagon

When we went to Saigon we went to some markets and temples, but what really stood out to me was the food. We went to two really good restaurants, an ice cream place, and had some street food.

One of our first nights we asked the hotel keeper where we should go for dinner. He directed us to a place that was off our map. When we got there, we saw a friendly, happy dog on the poster. We sat down, and soon some people came and took our order. None of them spoke English, so we had to communicate with hand motions and sounds. Now I bet you are wondering what we ordered. I will tell you. We ordered: dog! Yes, we were going to eat dog! It wasn't that good though, because somehow in all of that confusion we got boiled dog.

 At one of the restaurants we went to we got fish, that we got to cook ourselves. They had a little stove built onto table and they brought the pot with the fish. It was a dill fish. I took my first bite. I closed my eyes and smiled. I just wanted to eat more.

The second restaurant we went to, we went with my mom and dad's friend that lives in Saigon now. His girlfriend had a daughter, Ivy, who was about my age. At this restaurant we also cooked our own food. Again they had a little stove on the table. We had goat's breast and some meat with cheese in it. And after dinner my sisters and I played thumb war with Ivy!

After dinner we went to Fanny's Ice Cream, where we had some unusual ice cream flavors like young rice, yogurt, avocado, and ginger. Most of the ice creams were good. We also got some familiar ice creams, like cinnamon, lime, and coconut. When I ate my spoonful it melted in my mouth. I smiled. I love ice cream. My favorite flavor was the cinnamon.

Saigon was a nice place, and we had lots on fun eating the new foods.