My Winter Vacation

2011年1月17日 (月)

Hello everybody! Happy New Year! I hope you had a nice holiday season with your loved ones.

I had a great winter vacation. I went traveling in Vietnam and Cambodia with my mom! I hadn’t seen my mom in three years, so it was a very happy reunion. We met in Ho Chi Minh City on December 18. Early the next day, we set off on a two-day tour of the Mekong Delta with a tour group. We were able to experience the floating markets there. The scenery was beautiful, and it was really interesting to see the lives of people living on the river. Many families work AND live on their boats.

Next, we headed to the Southwest coast of Vietnam and took a ferry to the island of Phu Quoc. Phu Quoc Island is a small, beautiful resort island. The nice thing about it is that it hasn’t been developed so much yet, so there are still very few people on the beaches, and it is very peaceful. We spent five days there, relaxing on the beach, snorkeling, eating delicious food and sightseeing around the island. We were sad to leave!

After that, we took a ferry back to the mainland and boarded a bus to Cambodia. The bus ride was quite long-12 hours! But it’s a cheap and easy way to travel between the two countries. We went to Siem Reap, the tourist town near Angkor Wat. We stayed five days and six nights there. We went to see Angkor Wat three times. It was amazing! The ruins are huge and beautiful! It was truly awe-inspiring. And there is so much to see there! We spent three days exploring the ruins, and we still didn’t see everything. I’ll have to go back again someday. Siem Reap is a very interesting town with a lot of entertainment-restaurants, bars, markets and boutiques for shopping. I bought several silk scarves and some beautiful dresses there. My suitcase was full when I left!

On December 31st we boarded a bus back to Ho Chi Minh City, and arrived on New Year’s Day. There was a big celebration there, and a performance of singing and dancing on a stage in the park. It was really crowded! That evening, I had to get on a plane back to Japan. It was sad to say goodbye to my mom, but we had a really nice time together, and we were happy to have seen each other. Now my mom is traveling by herself in India! She’s so brave!

Have a good 2011 everybody!

Sincerely, Luella