Kampong Pluhk

Another place we went to in Cambodia was a kampong(village). We took a riverboat on Tonle Sap Lake to get there. At the village, went to the school, were they were learning "If Your Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands" We sang that with the schoolchildren. I got asked a bunch of questions because the students rarely get a chance to practise English. We also saw big mats with THOUSANDS of shrimp on them! After exploring the village, we ate a lunch of fish from the river, vegtables, and rice. On the way back home, we passed the famous floating village. It was a wonderful day!

Temples in Cambodia

The rest of the time was mostly visiting temples. We got a three-day passes to Angkor except me because I was free. We went to the Bayon. The Bayon is a temple with many towers with four faces of Avalokitesvara, one facing each direction. We went through a gate (right) to get there that had four faces of the Avalokitesvara too. My favorite part was the bas-reliefs depicting battles and daily life.

Then, we went to another temple called Ta Prohm. It was overgrown with very tall trees. They grew while the temple was abandoned for nearly 800 years. The workers at the temple haven't removed the trees because if remove the trees, wham! It's a pile of rubble. After Ta Prohm, We went up a temple called Takeo. It had really steep steps, and looked a little like an Aztec pyramid.

That evening, we went to a restaurant that had apsara dancers (right). One dressed up as a golden fish at one point. A person dressed up as Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, tried to catch the fish and kill it with a knife. I thought that was interesting.

The next day, we got a guide and went to Banteay Srei. It was 35 kilometers away from the other Angkor temples. Banteay Srei is small but it is richly decorated. Inside the temple, there was a group of landmine victims playing music. Dad bought one of their CDs for 10 US dollars.


Finally, we went to the most famous temple in Angkor, Angkor Wat.

Silk farm in Cambodia

Today, we got back from Cambodia. On the first day, we went to a silk farm. The farm had guided tours that were free. They grow silk worms then, when they're in cocoons they kill some and boil them. The rest live to make more silk worms and the process repeats. We saw some mulberry plants for the silk worms to eat. I thought it was interesting that silkworms only eat mulberry leaves. They have 16 different types of mulberry plant. They have so many types because some grow faster,some grow easier, and some taste better. We saw how they boiled the cocoons.The silk farm also dies and makes cloth. The guide showed us the traditional materials for dyeing. He also told us that they use mostly chemicals now.

Lizards

When I walk home from the bus stop or the MRT station, I see many lizards on a covered walkway. I've counted up to 17 lizards. They are grey or whitish with black eyes. Some do not have any tails. Once I saw a bird chasing a lizard. The lizard droped his tail and got away.

Chinese opera

Today, we saw a part of a Chinese Opera. It was interesting. Before, we had seen what some of the many hand gestures in Chinese Opera meant. We also learned some of the basic things about Chinese Opera. One thing we learned is that there is no one Chinese Opera. We heard Cantonese Opera, while a famous Chinese Opera place in Beijing performs Beijing Opera. About every Chinese dialect has one, only there isn't any Mandarin Opera. If you want to find more about Chinese Opera, click here.

Instructions on a flashlight

I got a "Hand-Pressing Flash Light" in Melaka. Here are the "characteristics":

1. This product is a new science and technology product and made with high and new science and technology. It can illuminate only placing it in rhythm.
2. No need any power, no environmental polution. Low noise and health. Comparing with common torch, it can be several times on lift.
3. Constantly using this health torch, it can benefit your palm, arm and shoulder stretching and blood circulation, so as to let your hands relax and brain clever hand and brain coodinate and promote your brain memory and health composition.

Grandparents

Last night, Grandpa and Grandma McNeely arrived in Singapore. Today we took them on the cable car to Sentosa Island. We saw a Chinese Junk in the harbour that people can ride.
There we took them to Underwater World. We saw huge Japanese spider crabs, leafy seadragons, and the chambered nautilus. Chambered nautilus fossils have been found that are over 400 million years old.