Australia

 by Claudine Dolci and Evelyne Jacquier-Bret (level A2/B1)

We arrived in Sydney after twenty-one hours of flight.

We visited the famous opera house which looks like a padoga.

Afterwards, we went to a zoo with endemic animals of Australia: kangaroo, koala, walibi and a lot of birds.

Then we left to go to the Blue Mountain National Park, famous for its natural forest where dinosaurs lived.

An other flight brought us to Uluru in central Australia. This is the sacred rock of the aborigines who lived there before the white people arrived.  We saw their way of living and their customs.

We travelled through a red desert to Alice Springs where the first telegraph station was built.

Again, a flight to Darwin, a tropical region.

On Wednesday morning we went to see the reserve of Fogg Dam with its many species of birds and its giant termite mounds.

 

In the afternoon we visited Kakadu a living cultural landscape. 

We learnt a lot about the local traditions and culture through aboriginal frescoes on the rocks.

Some of these paintings are still sacred according to their beliefs. 

The next day, a cruise among birds and crocodiles. 

There are two species of crocodiles in Australia: the freshwater crocodile (endemic species) and the Estuarine crocodile.

In the afternoon, a walk to Ubirr Rock : a real open-air aboriginal art gallery.

Then  another flight to Cairns, a seaside town.

At Cairns, we took a catamaran cruise to the Great Barrier Reef.

We snorkeled above the seabed. It was magical to see all these fish of all colours and to see sea turtles.

On Sunday, excursion day to a UNESCO Heritage Park, Wooroonooran, with its magnificent trees and its waterfalls.

On Monday, the end of our trip. We went back home via Brisbane, Dubai, and Lyon. 

It was a wonderful trip!

Australia is a huge country, full of contrasts .

Too bad it's so far away!

 

 

Vietnam

by Thérèse Combet (level A2/B1)

After twelve hours of flight, you will discover this country with tropical climate and lush vegetation. Its capital is HANOÏ.

Its population is very dense: seventy percent of the population is under thirty-five. Everyone travels by moped, in helmet and mask.

Everywhere, the rice fields grow, framed by banana trees and coconut trees and other tropical fruits.

The country is open to tourism: young people must learn English. Classes start at 7.15am and at 4pm after a nap.

Vietnamese people are traders: many markets are full of goods, the most typical is the floating SAÏGON market. Craftsmen work with lacquer, silk, cultured pearls, wood, gemstones.

Vietnamese eat little at home during the week: each metre of sidewalk offers fried or boiled dishes.

Culturally all religions are practised but Buddhism dominates. Many shrines and temples are dedicated to Buddha.

If you have a chance to spend one night in a pagoda in HALONG BAY you will have the privilege of seeing the sunrise at six o'clock. 

A STAR of FIRE whose rays are gradually swallowed by the waves as the sun descends on the horizon.