Back to Kompong Chhnang

Hello

I took this photo from the verandah of my friends house in Kompong Chhnang. The walls of the house next door are made from palm leaves. They don't last a long time. After a while the walls get holes in them and they have to get new ones.

Can you see the water through the trees? Do you remember that when I was here last year there were floods? The floods went down after I left but now they have come again. They come every year. In a few months this area will be dry again.

Now, I am living in Kompong Chhnang again. Soon I will move into a house just around the corner from where I took this photo.

love from Granddad

A friendly place

Hello

I've changed countries again. Do you remember where I spent a lot of time last year? Yes, Cambodia?

I flew from Bangkok, in Thailand, to Phnom Penh, in Cambodia.

Look how friendly the people are here. My friend met me at the airport and we went into town in one of these. It's called a tuk-tuk. It's a kind of taxi that is pulled by a motorbike. I took my camera out and took some photos. When we passed these people all waved. Can you count how many people there are in this tuk-tuk? I don't know the answer because maybe you can't see them all.

Now I am staying in a town called Kompong Chhnang. I stayed here last year. I am going to learn to speak the Cambodian language so that I can talk to all these friendly people.

love from Granddad

Silk-spinning dragon

In north-east Thailand I visited a village where they make silk. The silk comes from worms called silk worms. When I was a kid we used to keep silk worms. We had to collect leaves from mulberry trees for them to eat. Do you know anyone who keeps silk worms now?

After the silk worm becomes a moth it leaves the silk behind in a cocoon. It has to be taken carefully from the cocoon and that is this dragon's job. It has to spin around and the silk is collected on the spindles that are behind its head.

The dragon must like its job because it looks very happy.

love from your Grandpa

Rope dragon

In Bangkok I met a man who makes dragons out of rope. This is one of his dragons. Do you think it looks fierce?

love from your Grandpa John

Ferry kids

One day I took a ferry across the Chao Phraya River. I like boats so it's really nice for me to go across the river on a ferry. I met these two kids. The ferry captain must be their father or perhaps their uncle so they get to spend the whole day on the ferry. Fun hey?

love from your Grandpa John

Flood in Mahasarakham

I took a bus from Bangkok to Mahasarakham. The weather was fine until the bus was almost at Mahasarakham and then there was a storm. When I got off the bus I put my feet into water about 15 cm deep that was right across the road. It took my shoes two days to dry out.

love from your Granddad

Creatures of Wat Pho

Wat Pho is a temple in Bangkok. I visited it one day with some friends. In the grounds there were many of these strange creatures. Lucky they don't bite.

love from your Granddad

Dogs of Bangkok

Bangkok does not only have many dragons, it also has many dogs. Everywhere you go there are stray dogs. Many people are kind and feed the dogs. The dogs like to sleep most of the time.

love from Granddad

River taxi

The river in Bangkok is called the Chao Phraya. If you are in Bangkok and want to go somewhere near the river there is a really cool way to get around. This is a river taxi. It is very fast, it can hold your whole family and grandpa too and it can take you anywhere you want to go that is near the river.

There are also many canals that run from the river. Many people have a house next to a canal. They can take a river taxi to get home.

love from your Granddad

Dragons of Bangkok

Hello, guess what?

I'm not in China anymore. Now I am in Thailand. Can you find Thailand in the atlas? If you can find Xiamen in China and Bangkok in Thailand you can see where I flew. I took a plane that flew from Xiamen to Bangkok.

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand and as you can see there are lots of dragons here too. Here are pictures of some that I met. If you click the pictures you can see them bigger. Do you like me to do them like this, or like a comic?

love from Grandad