Week 29 - Shanghai Sea Wall

On a glorious sunny morning, we rose early to try and beat the heat and cycle from our home to the coast.  The ride was interesting along canals, through sleepy migrant villages, shanty towns, farmland and forests, over bridges and past a number of sights we didn't expect were so close to Shanghai. 

At the end of the 46.13km round trip, we were exhausted, and spent the afternoon in the air conditioned comfort of home.

Week 28 - Fishing Village

Would you believe this is Hong Kong??  

This is a village called Tai O on Lantau Island.  The houses are built on stilts in the river, which is on the mouth of the sea and at the foothills of the mountains.  It is largely a fishing village, and the walking streets are lined with vendors selling fresh and dried produce, and the canals are the residents backyards with laundry hanging and boats moored.  

As well as walking between the houses, and stopping at a cafe with a balcony over the river, we went on a boat trip through the village which took us out into the ocean, where we were lucky enough to see wild pink dolphins frolicking in the waves.

Week 27 - Paper Cut Outs

Just outside the Ho Chi Minh City Post Office there was a lady selling greeting cards with the most divine pop up cut outs of various Vietnamese scenes when you opened the card.  You can see the post office (in orange), Notre Dame Saigon (red), a vendor with her baskets of fruit and flowers and an elegant lady near a cyclo.  Of course I bought a few... wait for Christmas or have a baby to see if you are one of the lucky recipients!!

Week 26 - Japanese Covered Bridge

The Japanese Covered Bridge is the entrance to the old town in Hoi An and was built in 1593 to link the trading communities on each side of the river.  In the 18th Century a small temple was added into the northern part of the bridge.  The entrances on each side the bridge are guarded by a pair of dogs on one side and a pair of monkeys at the other end.  It is a pretty little bridge and looks gorgeous all lit up at night!

Week 25 - Beach Holiday

This is the private beach at Le Belhamy Beach Resort about 6km outside HoiAn in Vietnam.  We are stayed here for 2 weeks, and enjoyed the beach and blue sky every day!  You can see the Cham Islands out on the horizon, and the sun loungers under the shade umbrellas to give us somewhere to relax and the kids to play.  

What a wonderful holiday spot!! 

Week 24 - Water Puppets

We are on holidays in Vietnam for largely a beach holiday but we had 2 days in Hanoi and wanted to see as much as we could in the short time.  We didn't really know what to expect when we turned up for this show.  But we had front row seats, and so walked along, tempted to drag our hands in the water which was the stage.  Roi nuoc is a traditional Vietnamese art of water puppetry, where the puppeteers are also in the water, behind that green screen at the back of the set. 

The show went for about an hour with 12 short scenes, each telling a Vietnamese folk story, myth or legend set to traditional music. The puppets 'swam' through the water, and were cleverly manipulated to struggle and transform under water.  This scene is from a folk story of a carp turning into a dragon, Thang Long, which this particular puppet theatre was named after.

Week 23 - China Maritime Museum

We keep finding little gems even after 4 years here - this amazing building is the China Maritime Museum out past Pudong Airport in Shanghai. The heat of the day was conquered by the air conditioning inside.  We spent about 3 hours exploring this museum, which was deceptively huge, there were control rooms to play in, engines to adjust, models to look at, phones to talk into, films to watch and computer simulated welding and crane driving exercises.  

It was amazing, and the kids loved it too.