Boardwalk Hike

We went on a boardwalk hike in Leigh, New Zealand. We walked on a narrow trail where if you take one wrong step, you will be wet. Zoe, Gianna, and I were the adventuring people. We went the tricky way when there was one.

The water was clear and beautiful. There were houses on the side. We hiked and found a nice place to sit down. Zoe and I found a cool place nearby and made a house. Then we hiked a different way back than when we went. It was uphill and down. I slipped two times and my legs hurt a lot.

Noir - Dining in the Dark

In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, there is a restaurant where you do not know what you are eating. The name of the restaurant is Noir - Dining in the Dark.You do not know what you are eating because it is pitch black. When you get there, the staff seat in you a waiting room that is lit. In the waiting room, you choose a set menu that does not tell you what the food is. They only tell you if it is Eastern food or Western food. In the waiting room, you also play a puzzle game where you are blindfolded and have to put the shapes in the right spot. Then, you have to put all things that make light (phones, tablets, etc.) away in a cabinet. After that, the staff take you to a room that is pitch black; there are no lights except the smoke detector. That is the dining room.

You eat in a room that is pitch black because if you see your food you will estimate how it will taste. If you estimate and it is worse than you thought you don't like it as much. When you are done they show you what you ate. My eyes were closed almost the whole time because it would not make a difference if my eyes were open. I guessed almost everything I was eating. My favorite part of each course was the chowder for the starter, the vegetables for the main, and the ice cream for dessert. I felt very tired when we were finished because it was so dark.

The restaurant is special for another reason. The staff who meet you in the waiting room are deaf and the staff who take you to the dining room and serve you the food are blind. It is really hard in Vietnam for people who have blindness or hearing loss to find jobs. This restaurant hires them.

I would go back to that restaurant so I could try the other meals.

Wat Po in Bangkok

We got to the Wat Po Temple and entered a room with the biggest gold Buddha I have ever seen. It is called the Reclining Buddha. The temple complex is very big; you might get lost. There are multiple rooms. On the outside of one room there were sparkles! There are three towers with many colors. Another room we saw had a Sitting Buddha made of gold, with flowers at the bottom. People sit with no shoes, and the room is very quiet. There is a separate area for monks. It is totally awesome. P.S. I recommend going there.