Dai Nam/Water Puppets/Food

Last weekend we took a ride to the new Dai Nam Amusement Park - about an hour out of the city. It is a sprawling complex themed after the Great Wall of China. There is a stage, large hotel and conference facility, temple, amusement park, water park, and safari. After you enter you wait for a shuttle to take you to the area of the park that you want to go to. We made it through the rides at the amusement park and to the water park before we called it a day. The kids give it a higher rating than Suoi Tien and apparently there is one more park within the city limits that is supposed to be EVEN BETTER YET! I'm afraid Hal will have to venture out to that one - two in the span of four weeks is enough for me. We were quite an attraction at Dai Nam in our own right. All the tweenish girls grab each other, point at Silas, laugh, giggle and try to hide their faces when they notice us noticing them. A gentleman at the restaurant where we had lunch sat with us and had a long chat about the park, the country and the state of America. In the wave area of the water park a young man became so fascinated with Clara that she became uncomfortable and had to slip away. It made me uncomfortable too - I was on "the pier" taking pictures of Silas and Clara and had to run around to where you could enter the water to get to her, though by that time she had made her escape and mixed in with a larger crowd of kids.

Hal's parents are in and out of the country for the next few weeks. We went to a water puppet show with them Monday evening. It was pretty amazing how they make them work, all the movements they can do and the stories they can convey. Water puppetry originated in the northern part of the country and we will try to see another show when we go to Hanoi near the end of April.

You'll see various restaurants in the "fun with Gumps annd Lulli" photos. Quan An Ngon is a fabulous local eatery that is always packed. A couple of young girls brought Gumps a plate of food, wanted to take his photo with it, and asked him if it was delicious. We took their photo too. There are also pictures of the view from the restaurant Saigon Saigon which is at the top of the Caravelle Hotel. The night photos of all of us were taken at one of our local eateries - The Dragon's Nest. We can bike there and there is always a nice breeze in the evening at this rooftop quan (that means restaurant). Lulli brought a pattern and some fabric to have a dress made. We picked a tailor from the International Ladies of Vietnam guide. We'll know Friday how it turned out.

The children in the building have been sharing a virus. It began in the penthouse and is literally working its way down to our floor - yesterday Clara came home from school with a fever. She should be fine in time for our trip to Siem Reap Friday, though we're hoping Silas (a.k.a. "the viking")doesn't get it then!