Halong Bay

We have been to visit Halong Bay. It is at sea, near Hanoi. There are lots of rocky islands, which are very beautiful.
We went to Halong Bay with our friend, Ben.

We sailed in a boat called a junk, like this one.

Around the islands there are floating villages. Most people who live here are fishermen and their families.

The children work with their parents during the day. Many help their mums to sell fruit and drinks to tourists.

There is one school. Children go to school in the evenings, after they have worked all day. This school was paid for by the British Embassy.

The children row themselves to school in boats. They go on their own, without any adults.

Vietnam

We are now in Vietnam. Vietnam is bigger than Cambodia and there is lots to see. We have seemlots of statues of dragons. This one is in Ho Chi Minh City.
In Vietnam, most people travel on scooters and motor bikes. It is very difficult to cross the road.

Lots of young people use scooters or bicycles to get to school. They give their friends a lift on the back. It looks dangerous!

There are lots of beautiful pagodas, where people pray and burn incence.

We have learnt about the Vietnam War that happened in the 1970's. This is a plane that the American army used. We have learnt that this war was very sad.

We have been to the mountains. There were lots of waterfalls. More houses have water here, but we still have to drink specially cleaned water. The water from taps is too dirty to drink.

My favourite thing about the mountains was riding on a rollercoaster! It was very fast.

Questions and Answers

This week, the students at Breakspeare have sent me some questions that I will answer:

1. What have you liked best so far?

I liked riding and swimming with the elephants in Thailand best. I also liked seeing the mountains in the Himalayas.

2. What has been hardest?

I have missed seeing all of my friends and family in England.

3. If you can’t drink water, what do you do?

The tap water is too dirty to drink in Asia. You have to buy bottled water that has been made clean. We have also bought some tablets that we can put in water to make it safe to drink.

4. What are the toilets like?

Most toilets are like a hole in the ground. They are not as clean as in England. In most hotels, we have had toilets like we have in England.

5. Have you been to the seaside?

Yes. We went to the sea side in Thailand and in Cambodia. The beach was very sandy and the sea was warm.

6. What is the music like?






We have heard lots of music like we have at home. In India they really like pop music. Every county has it’s own style of traditional music. People use special drums, flutes and string instruments like a guitar or violin.






7. Did you ride on any camels?





Yes I did. It was fun, but very uncomfortable. I rode it in the desert in India.




8. Is there snow in Cambodia and Thailand?






There hasn’t been any snow in Cambodia or Thailand. It is very warm here all year around.






9. Is there TV in these countries? And fire alarms?






There is TV. Not everyone is rich enough to have them at home, though. I have not seen any fire alarms.






10. Apart from river boats are there buses for children to get to school?




Children get to school on buses, on bikes or by walking.



11. Do you sleep on a bed or the floor?

We have slept in beds. We have seen some people sleeping in hammocks.

12. Do you have an oven to cook your dinner?

No. We have had to eat at cafes and restaurants. We have eaten lots of rice and noodles. We did a cooking in lesson in Cambodia and we cooked on hobs with pans and woks.

13. Have you been on a boat?

Yes. We traveled to a place in Cambodia called Battambang on a boat that went down a river. We went on a boat to an island that was in the sea, called Koh Chang, in Thailan.

14. Have you seen any big cats?

Yes, In India, we saw a tiger in the jungle. It was very big and very beautiful.

15. Where are you going next?

We have just got to Vietnam. We will be traveling around here for 3 weeks and then we go to China.

Thanks for your questions!