Walking into the Memorial Peace Park in Hiroshima, Japan I fully expected my classmates and I to get dirty looks we were in fact Americans and our relatives may have helped in the development of the atomic bomb, that had destroyed so many Japanese lives. Instead we were greeted with smiles. A group of elementary school children spotted us and asked in English if we would help them with their homework. They were learning about the different cultures and geographical locations of people. They shared bright smiling faces with us and thanked us for our help.
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We continued walking and came upon a beautiful manmade fountain. In the middle of the fountain, there appeared to be a small bonfire on a stand. Asking the tour guide about it I found out that this flame was more than just a spontaneous burn rather a necessity to the park. This flame was a wish, a hope, and a prayer. The flame was to burn until all nuclear weapons were destroyed in every country. Unfortunately most of the Japanese around me viewed it as an eternal flame. In their minds as sad and scary as it was, the flame would burn until the end of time. That brought sadness to my heart although I hated to admit it their thoughts were probably correct. Nuclear war seems to have become the war of the future.
We walk a couple more steps and came to a small concrete arch. Looking through it I see the flame and one of the only buildings left standing after the bomb. This building’s insides were completely wiped clean yet the building still stands. A ghost of the past. A symbol of devastation. Under the arch, there are bottles of water for all the victims of the bomb because that is what all of them longed for. After the bomb, people that hadn’t suffered sudden death journeyed to the river hoping for relief of their thirst. Unfortunately, radiation poisoning was in the river and those who made it through the blast died from the water’s poisons.
The last thing we saw was the Children’s Peace Monument that had been solely funded by the children of Japan. On an architectural level, this was a beautiful monument. Made of three connecting arches it stood two and a half stories tall. On the top, there was a metal sculpture of Sadako Sasaki, a young Japanese girl that had been at home when the bomb had gone off. She survived the blast and showed no signs of radiation poisoning until she was twelve and developed radiation-induced leukemia and passed away in 1955.
Above Sadako’s head is a golden paper crane. The crane holds special meaning for the children of Japan and there is a legend that if you fold a thousand you get a wish. Sadoko folded cranes until her death but she fell short of a thousand. Her classmates folded the last of them and buried them with her. My group delivered all of our paper cranes we had made in class putting them in a special glass case where people from all around the world brought cranes in memory of the lost children. Seeing all the cranes made me feel all the love that the world has for one another even if we don’t always see eye to eye.
In this one park I felt the love and sadness of the world. The hope to no more hate and the wish for no more crying. We live in a beautiful, world shouldn’t we make it last for many generations to come.
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Grt place to visit.. This place is located after entering the Ranthambore National Park.. However, to visit this place u can evn get your own vehicle…
John, glad you liked the story. This park is in Ohio where the weather can be unpredictable! It’s warmest between late April and November, but even April has the risk of some snow. If you’re camping with kids, the safest bet is June to August, because it’s warmer and there’s little rain. Enjoy your trip.
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It’s truly magical being there. I love the art this country offers. Their wall arts and crafts are just lovely.
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The history of Cuhahoga valley national park seems interesting and must be a new experience when we observe scenes of National park from their scenic campgrounds.
which season do you think is the best time to visit this national park?
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Hello Michael, glad to hear your family is interested in a dude ranch holiday.
Since your kids are older and, hopefully, everyone in the family rides, you have lots of options. The Dude Ranchers Association is a really helpful resource in sorting through the many types of ranch vacations. For example, you can go here: https://duderanch.org/by-activity-amenity and search for ‘Advanced Rides’ and “Cattle Drives’ and that would get you some real working ranches that would have more of the lifestyle you seem to be looking for. One of our authors recommends the Hideout in Shell, Wyoming for this type of trip.
Looking for a real ranch experience with horseback riding (lots of it) and time in the open air with my son (15) and daughter (12) and my wife (49). I am 62. We live in NJ, my children have been sheltered but I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. I want my children to see another side of life.
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Of course, you can do travel freely and easily through these two countries yourself, but I enjoyed having the trip curated for me, including well-chosen local guides, comfortable transportation on call and some superb private tours, such as a Khmer cooking class or historic walking tour of Saigon, with flexibility in the itinerary for our group of five to follow their own paths, such as making an emotional detour to the moving Genocide Museum housed in the old S-21 jail in Phnom Penh.
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For Richard re: dual citizenship US-Nicaragua… can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Hi Richard, In our travel experience, this type of document should work well for your travels, but if your wife is available, it can’t hurt to download the sample forms we have online and also have her fill out and notarize one for your trip with your child. The agency responsible in your case will be the carrier — we assume an airline — and if they can make a note in your travel record that they have approved the Nicaraguan documents you should be fine on both departing and entering.
Safe Travels!
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As a signal parent, your life, world, actions are based on your childs well fair. Not your happiness or anything that has to do with you.
It should list where they are going, the dates that they are allowed to go and grant your permission for that trip. You want to include your address and phone number and probably the contact info for the adult traveling as well.
The grand archways and the paintings of Lord Krishna and his cows are a visual treat. Wander through areas opened for tourists and you shall witness the impressive aura and architecture of the Royal state of Rajasthan.
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Hello guys my wife and I have dual citizenship US-Nicaragua, I’m planning to travel to the US with our son also dual citizenship for 3 weeks, with a Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) from Nicaragua, can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Congratulations to the winners! A question to all the professional travelers here, how are you planning the route ant the places to see while visiting a new country? As for me I just google the most touristic and popular places. It works mostly, but there were a few times when I realized that I have seen only some the places this country or city is famous for, and that’s sad. On my last trip to Armenia, I decided to take a tour and it was quite productive. It’s much more informative when somebody is telling you history and some interesting facts. If someone wants to save their time – make sure to ask them to help if you’ll ever be there.
Curitiba é uma lugar lindo, além de ser considerada uma das melhores cidades para se morar em Brasil.
Realmente a muito o que conhecer por lá, como também diversas outras belezas do nosso brasil.
Principalmente as praias do Brasil que são muito procurada por inúmeros turistas internacionais e nacionais.
As Praias do Litoral Paulista, divididos entre Praias do Litoral Norte e Litoral Sul.
As mais conhecidas são as Praias de Ubatuba com mais de 100 belas praias no litoral norte paulista.
Já no litoral sul, a região mais procurada são as Praias de Guarujá, a região conta com 23 praias de pura beleza e preservação ambiental.
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Was an honour and pleasure to host you both in the Maori Whakata/Welcome to Wanaka. Welcome back anytime to this wonderful part of the world.
Kia Kaha/Stay strong
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