Thank you for your letters! It was really nice to hear from you and I loved all the comments, questions and images. I'd love to have time to write each of you back individually but we have so much to see that I will write a letter to the whole class instead :) We will keep updating our blog as we travel to different places and we hope that you will keep reading so you can learn more about this part of the world from our experience.
A lot of people asked questions about the elephants so I want to tell you more about those and add some more photos. The place we visited was a family-owned elephant sanctuary. There are many elephant sanctuaries in Thailand and you have to do a lot of research to make sure the one that you are visiting is a good one. The place we visited was recommended to us because they take good care of the elephants and they have baby elephants. Did you know that it takes almost 2 years To make a baby elephant? Which makes sense when you think about how big elephants are! at the sanctuary there were three baby elephants each one was about as tall as me but they weighed a lot more! The grown-up elephants were huge. The baby elephants were really interested in eating and playing. One man in our group from Singapore was very confident in physically joking around with the baby elephant and the baby became quite attached to him in the short time that we were there. We also made them little snack balls and we got to feed them to them. The snack balls were designed to help their digestive system. Elephants seem to spend a lot of their day eating!
A few people asked questions about hiking. Walking is a great way to learn about a place and so we have done five major hikes in two countries since we started this trip. Often the hikes involved taking a van to the starting point for the hike and then a walking over rough paths. In Thailand we took a boat to the starting point for the heights. All of the hikes have been pretty steep and they usually involve walking for two or three hours. The climate here means that the forest is really wet if you go early in the morning and it is very tropical with lots of plants, vines and trees. A lot of the hikes we went on had stairs up instead of a pathway and you would climb up the stairs up the mountain. Sometimes there are ropes, wires or handrails to hold on to because the hiking can be quite dangerous. We have to take breaks to sip water and adjust to the outside altitude. Although the hikes can be very challenging, they are worth it because at the top you can see very far of the beautiful land and the view is incredible. Sometimes when you look down from the top the villages and people below look like they are miniature and it's hard to believe that you were down there not too long ago.
A lot of people asked questions about the elephants so I want to tell you more about those and add some more photos. The place we visited was a family-owned elephant sanctuary. There are many elephant sanctuaries in Thailand and you have to do a lot of research to make sure the one that you are visiting is a good one. The place we visited was recommended to us because they take good care of the elephants and they have baby elephants. Did you know that it takes almost 2 years To make a baby elephant? Which makes sense when you think about how big elephants are! at the sanctuary there were three baby elephants each one was about as tall as me but they weighed a lot more! The grown-up elephants were huge. The baby elephants were really interested in eating and playing. One man in our group from Singapore was very confident in physically joking around with the baby elephant and the baby became quite attached to him in the short time that we were there. We also made them little snack balls and we got to feed them to them. The snack balls were designed to help their digestive system. Elephants seem to spend a lot of their day eating!
Some classmates asked about sports so I share what I have learned about sports and school. The children in Vietnam start school a bit earlier and end a lot later than we do in Canada. They have 4 schools, one for little kids, one for an elementary school, one for Middle School and one for high school and they have to pay a little bit of money to go to school. Some kids in their schools wear uniforms and others do not, but all schools take a long lunch break. Some children go to extra lessons after school to learn English or subjects of interest. We've noticed that other kids gather in the streets to play games of soccer. It seems like mostly groups of boys and we wonder where the young girls are. We've noticed that many kids also help their parents at the market stalls and in the restaurants.
A few people asked for more details about our visit to the museum. It was a huge complex that took us several hours to walk through. Where we started you had three options of which way to go, to the right, to the left or forwards - after we had gone through another gate, we saw what looked like four long tall poles and a fancy roof, inside there were stone turtles with tablets in on their backs each stone had something written, including the names of the people who got good marks on an exam that took place every 3 years. There was also a large pond with huge koi fish. The most interesting part for me was that the large outdoor garden was filled with life-size replicas of village homes from different regions of Vietnam. We learned about how their homes were laid out where people gathered, slept and ate. We also learned about why they built the house's structure the way they did. Something that was interesting to me is that when people died their bodies came back into the house and there was a period where they were laid to rest in one of the bedrooms for people to come to pay their respects. Many of the houses were quite simple: four bedrooms and a cooking space. While we were visiting the Museum we loved seeing the local young people all dressed up taking Tett photos.
A few people asked for more details about our visit to the museum. It was a huge complex that took us several hours to walk through. Where we started you had three options of which way to go, to the right, to the left or forwards - after we had gone through another gate, we saw what looked like four long tall poles and a fancy roof, inside there were stone turtles with tablets in on their backs each stone had something written, including the names of the people who got good marks on an exam that took place every 3 years. There was also a large pond with huge koi fish. The most interesting part for me was that the large outdoor garden was filled with life-size replicas of village homes from different regions of Vietnam. We learned about how their homes were laid out where people gathered, slept and ate. We also learned about why they built the house's structure the way they did. Something that was interesting to me is that when people died their bodies came back into the house and there was a period where they were laid to rest in one of the bedrooms for people to come to pay their respects. Many of the houses were quite simple: four bedrooms and a cooking space. While we were visiting the Museum we loved seeing the local young people all dressed up taking Tett photos.
Lots of people asked questions about food and the cooking class. We already wrote a detailed entry about the cooking class because it was lots of fun. We had another cooking demonstration on the junk boat where we learned how to make fresh spring rolls. Fresh spring rolls are made with clear rice paper and inside of it you put some vegetables, noodles and a bit of me. It seems pretty flexible, you could put in it whatever you want. We are hoping to do another cooking class in Hoi Ann, with a group of kids who live in difficult situations and get help to train for jobs. Food is very important in Vietnamese culture and Thai culture, people seem to eat together a lot and often at little plastic tables and stools on the streets. They make wine from snakes, rice, and fruits! Not all the food is spicy though you can have it spicy if you like! Many of their foods are soups with noodles, vegetables and meat. often their dishes include rice. Pho is their national food and it can be made in lots of different ways depending on which region of Vietnam you are in - we will have to try to Pho restaurant when we are back in Kingston (my Mom loves this soup). For example, when we were touring the Halong Bay area my Mom got Seafood Pho for breakfast! I'm not a huge fan of soup so I leave that to my parents to eat. I am becoming a lot better at eating with chopsticks and trying different foods and sauces. Eating is almost as much of an adventure as the hikes we go on!
A lot of people asked about my favorite thing and this is such a hard question for me because everything was so amazing. When I think about my favorite thing it is probably best summed up to say that my favorite thing is being with my family to have all these new adventures and see so many different things that we don't have in Canada. I'm learning about how many ways there are to do things in the world, the incredible views and I feel very lucky to get to have this trip with my family.
Alex, I loved your detailed information about the elephants especially, and it sounds like you are all learning so much! Experiences like this really help to make us more open minded… looking forward to reading about the rest of your adventures.
ReplyDeleteAlex, A detailed and informative summary of your experiences on your amazing adventure! Well done! Your classmates will learn so much from the description of your travels. It was so sweet that you describe your favourite so far being the chance to experience this adventure with your family. You are so very lucky for this opportunity.
ReplyDeleteAlex....wonderful letter and account of your adventures to your classmates. What an amazing holiday you are having, especially enjoying this part of the world with your family. You are lucky indeed to experience these adventures! Love AUNTIE.
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