Ahoy from the Mekong River in Vietnam!

I just got back from Vietnam and Cambodia! Both places were really beautiful. Everyone was so friendly, I would love to go back. In Vietnam, there is a big market called the Ben Thanh Market where you can buy everything: food, clothes, shoes, jewelry, kitchen stuff. Whatever you want, it is probably hiding somewhere. It is very crowded and full of shop people yelling “What you want to buy, lady?” My favorite thing that I bought is a big sun hat!

I also saw water puppets in Vietnam. For water puppet shows, the puppeteers stand in water up to their waist (behind a curtain) and work with the puppets while they are in the water. Most of the puppets are fish, or ducks, or even dragons that can spit water out of their mouths! The shows tell different stories about the people who live by the water in Vietnam, and they are lots of fun to watch.

Cambodia was really amazing, too. I went to Angkor Wat, which is a big temple that is over 1,000 years old! All the temples in Siem Reap- the city where Angkor Wat is- are very old and made of big stones which have grown moss all over them. My favorite was a big temple in the jungle. This temple is special because for 400 years, it had no people in it. It was left alone in the jungle. When people discovered it, big trees had grown around the stones in the temple and made themselves part of it! I can’t wait to show you the pictures.

While I was in Siem Reap, I also rode an elephant! I rode on top of it on a little seat called a howdah, which is what the kings and queens of Cambodia rode on in parades. The elephant took us all around the Bauphon temple, which has really cool faces carved into its stones!

I had a great time learning about all the history in Cambodia & Vietnam! Next I am going to the island of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is different because it is part of China, but not part of China at the same time. Technically, Hong Kong belongs to the People’s Republic of China, but the people of Hong Kong don’t have to follow all of China’s rules- they make their own. While I am there, I am flying to Beijing, the capital of China. I am going to see the Great Wall of China, which you can see from outer space! I am also going to see the places where the Olympics were this summer! I am very excited. I will tell you my stories when I get back!