My journal by Le'Anna Zavala

Wuzhen Water Town, China

26lsz01 — 2023-11-21 15:01:45 UTC

Wuzhen Water Town got its name because it has always been a fertile land with abundant rice, fish and silk. We visited lots of cool museums, shops, restaurants, saw many street performances and went on a boat ride under the Renji Bridge. We stayed from March-May as this was the perfect climate and the best time of the year to visit. We also found that the East area was a lot quieter and peaceful than the West area; better for us to stroll around. Wuzhen was one of the oldest towns South of the Yangtze River. It's origins date back to over 1300 years ago.

China’s Temple of Heaven

26lsz01 — 2023-11-21 15:02:05 UTC

The Temple of Heaven is said to be a very holy place and represents Chinese ritual architecture. This was where Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1420-1900) worshiped the god of heaven and prayed for good harvests. We were told that this whole site is the size of central park in New York. The tourist said it was built in 1420 because the Jiajing Emperor believed that Heaven and Earth should be worshiped separately. That's why they built the temple of Heaven as a circular temple in opposition to Earth because they believed Earth was square. Then it was expanded in 1711 and then used in 1900 as a command post by foreign allies and bits of the temple were destroyed during battle. Now they have it open to the public to visit.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

26lsz01 — 2023-11-21 15:02:19 UTC

The first thing we noticed when visiting here was how big the site was, stretching over 400 kilometers. The architecture and the location was meant to portray and represent the symbolic cultural significance. It also even dates back to portraying the high level of social order within the Khmer Empire. Angkor Wat was meant to emphasize the importance of architecture and power. The Khmer Empire ruled from the 9th-14th centuries and encompassed much of South-east Asia and played a formative role in the political and cultural development of that region. Now we see that it is preserved though visitors are still allowed.

Royal Palace, Cambodia

26lsz01 — 2023-11-21 15:02:30 UTC

At the Royal Palace we're only allowed to visit the Throne Hall and some of buildings surrounding it. We also need to wear shorts that reach to the knees, and a T-shirt or blouse that reaches to the elbows; otherwise we'll have to buy an appropriate sarong as a covering at the ticket booth. The palace gets very busy on Sundays so we might not choose to go this day when countryside Khmers come to pay their respects, but we were told being among crowds of locals can be a fun way to experience the place. The coolest thing we saw by far at the Royal Palace was the Throne Hall, where there was a 59m-high tower inspired by the Bayon at Angkor. We found out that it was originally built for the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869, before being shipped to Cambodia in pieces.

Asakusa: Temple Senso-Ji, Japan

26lsz01 — 2023-11-21 15:02:43 UTC

We're also very excited to visit the oldest temple in Japan. In 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River, and even though they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. So, Sensoji was built nearby for the goddess of Kannon. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple.

Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, Japan

26lsz01 — 2023-11-21 15:02:55 UTC

Lucas and I are very excited to visit this beautiful site. Lucas believes that Ice Spice will eventually perform here and awaits her divine arrival. It has been a holy place of Shintoism since the earliest times. The shrine displays contrast in color and form between mountains and sea that illustrates the Japanese concept of scenic beauty, which combines nature and human creativity.

26lsz01 — 2023-11-28 15:30:53 UTC

image of itsukushima shrine

26lsz01 — 2023-11-28 15:31:48 UTC

image of the Asakusa shrine