Southeast Asia Program group in Chaing Mai

The Southeast Asia group with the team from Chiang Mai rockclimbing.

Amazing Thailand

Sawasdee,

We are all sleepy in Chiang Mai this evening. It has been a long 12 days! Where to start the story is always the hard part...so I guess we will begin at the beginning. We all arrived in Bangkok safe and sound and began our journey together adventuring around the city. Bangkok is amazing, a city of contrasts, smiles and so much good food. We traveled by boat, train and tuktuk, saw Wats, Buddhas and modern shopping malls. After a few days in the major metropolis we headed out to Sukhothai, the ancient capital of the Siam empire. We arrived on a hot afternoon and decided that the day would be best spent at the local public swimming pool. We played frisbee with some children and enjoyed ice-creams of unusual flavors. After an excellent dinner we collapsed in our beds and woke up as the sun was rising.

The next few days were filled with bike riding around sandstone ruins, eating foods of the spicy nature and playing games with each other which always seemed to end with a few people laughing so hard that they cry and make funny snorting sounds. We loaded into vans and set our sights on Mae Sot, a small town on the border of Thailand and Burma. Here we stayed at the lovely Ban Thai guesthouse and got to know Thein, the man who runs it. He is an amazing man who introduced us to a Burmese Monk named Askin who took time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about the Saffron Revolution and the Peace Movements in Burma. He told us of his peace walks around the world and how he has been teaching and organizing for peace and democracy in Burma. An amazing experience that really got us in tune with the environment.

We then headed into the jungle for a 3 day trek through amazing bamboo forests. We camped by a waterfall that is 5 football fields wide and swam in the crystal pools below. We trekked through rivers and into a Karen hill-tribe village, met the chief and drank local rice-wine with him and our guides. After a not-so good sleep due to many roosters that decided to crow at about 4 am, we climbed on top of elephants and set off down the mountain. Elephants are amazing but after 3 hours on the back of one you have pretty much reached your elephant-riding limit. However, the ride is somewhat more comfortable when the Karen Mahouts (local villagers who "drive" the elephants) hop off and let us take over. We sit on the heads of the beautiful mammals and steer them through the forest.

After our jungle adventure we arrived in Chiang Mai, a lovely city in the far north of Thailand. From our base here we went rock climbing and caving in the northern mountains. We repelled 60 meters into a cave that has live stalactites and flow stones which sparkle when exposed to light. We spent the last 2 days crawling our way in and through the earth to emerge on top of peaks that only bats usually see....

WOW, and this is just the beginning! We have a few more days here in Thailand then we are off the the lovely mountains of Laos to float down the Mekong river and eat as much sticky rice as we can!

Until next time...

SE Asia Crew!

Bring on the south!

Weeks one and two have passed in a torrent of fun, laughs, hard work and a little rain. It was obvious from the start that this was going to be a great group who would enjoy our time together and make the most of everything.

Urupukapuka Island in the Bay of Islands, North Island, was our first stop. A week spent working hard for our meals for the Department of Conservation taught everyone solid camping skills (had to survive an unseasonal thunder and lightning storm in tents), new cooking skills and also taught a lot about ourselves and each other. This was a truly beautiful place and everyone enjoyed the sun and gorgeous surroundings.

Back to Auckland next for a night cleaning ourselves and our clothes, then off to Taupo, via Rotorua, where we rafted the Kaituna River, and Zorbing; where most of the group were rolled down a grassy slope in a huge inflatable ball - fantastic! At Taupo everyone in the group decided to challenge themselves and we all went skydiving. This is hard to describe, mind-blowingly fun, and was an amazing experience I will never forget or regret.

After Taupo we started our four days paddling the Whanganui River, still in the North Island. Rain on the first night seemed nothing compared to the storm we weathered during the first week, and yummy meals, planned by the everyone, made for some new cooking skills and new tastes. We celebrated Tony's birthday at a campsite all to ourselves, by filling his tent with lots of balloons and then tucking in to a chocolate mudcake. Everyones favourite night and day of the trip.

The last night of the canoeing trip and the following night were spent at Maraes (Maori home/community centre) and enabled everyone to learn a bit about native NZ culture and experience the Karanga - the haunting, beautiful cry of the Kuia (respected woman) calling to welcome us onto the marae. Koriniti was a chance to dry out all our gear, have hot showers and spend some time alone, as well as reliving our experiences as a group.

An early morning today saw us driving to Wellington, the capital of NZ, where we took a tour of the Beehive - the New Zealand parliament building and learnt about NZ government. Tomorrow is the first fully free day of the trip, and most have chosen to take a ferry out to a small island in the harbour that has ancient Tuataras, the smallest penguins in the world, and the ugliest little wetas you ever did see! Off to the South Island in a few days. Yeehaa.

Leo

Southeast Asia Program: Safe arrival in Thailand

The group have just touched down in Bangkok, have met Hillary, their program leader and are now on their way to the group accommodation to meet three other participants who arrived over the preceeding days. Hillary will suggest the new arrivals email you once they've freshened up, so expect to hear from them soon. This afternoon Hillary will run a comprehensive program briefing and orientation before the program kicks off tomorrow morning. The group will traverse the city by river ferry, canal boat, sky train and tuk tuk, to immerse the group into the contrasts that Bangkok presents, before they enjoy a traditional Thai massage to unwind jet-lagged muscles.
Scott Burnett
Program Director

New Zealand Australia Program: Beaches, camping and volunteer work

Just back to the office after spending time with the New Zealand Australia group. They are currently spending time on beautiful Urupukapuka Island in the Bay of Islands Maritime Park, camping and doing volunteer conservation work. Everyone is getting along great and enjoying themselves. Here are a few photos I took:

Jumping into the ocean before our program briefing on day 1

Trust and bonding activities

Whole group after our first day of volunteer work.

You'll hear more from the group when they return to Auckland at the end of the week.
Scott Burnett

New Zealand Arrival

All participants on the New Zealand Australia program have safely arrived in Auckland to a sunny 80 degree evening. Everyone is excited to be here, to start the program and to start getting to know their fellow travellers.  The program offically begins tomorrow morning, with a Pacific Ocean swim, picninc breakfast and an extensive program briefing.

Kind regards, Scott and Leo

Haiti Earthquake

Family close to the directors of Pacific Discovery have been caught up in the earthquake in Haiti. Director Rachel Sanson is flying over to assist where and if possible. Please bear with us over the coming days if we are a little slower than usual in getting back to you.
With thanks for your understanding and patience,
The Pacific Discovery Team.

Fantastic finale!

[Hillary] From the rooftop bar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, we sit and enjoy the moonlight dancing on the water below us; the Brazilian bossanova behind us and the ladder to the partial moon setting the tone for the evening. [Leo] Gazing down at street level, the contrasts with home are obvious – a barge painted with a giant fluro coloured chicken, fake deer grazing on its deck. Closer still, Cambodian couples on motorbikes stare, equally amused at the foreigners looking down at them as a dried squid vendor passes yet another dried squid vendor on a bike-cart. [Scott] The last few days in rural Cambodia have been awesome. Homestaying amidst day-glo green ricefields and building a house for a needy Cambodian mother have been fantastic and rewarding. It has also been a nice escape from the intensity of Vietnam.

One week later and we're sitting at the airport in Bangkok, waiting to fly to beautiful Southern Thailand. Coming back to Bangkok felt like coming home for many people, recognizing places from before and planning the next exciting streetfood meal kept us all busy. As we drove into Bangkok, we were also excited reminiscing about how we all met and how far we've come as a group.

Our time in Cambodia was absolutely beautiful. From living briefly in a rice paddy to the majesty of Angkor Wat, we are all in agreement that Cambodia is a very special place. Our group is smiling, sunbaked and ready for scuba diving. As our trip is coming to a close, we are excited to spend some good quality time on the beach.

Touring the Khmer Rouge killing fields and Tuol Sleng prison, where many of the 2 million Cambodians were killed and tortured during that time, was sobering. A sad, yet important history for us all to see. I (Leo) was particulary affected by the bits of clothing and bone sticking up out of the soil where people were brutally murdered – Choeng Ek Killing fields, one of hundreds discovered in the late 1970's.

Siem Reap was a humbling and interesting time. We visited many beautiful ancient temple ruins. The many gorgeous sunrises and sunsets we shared as a group meant that we avoided the hot part of the day. Walking around these beautiful, crumbling creations evoked wonderment and awe at the time and effort taken to produce all the temples. Its hard to imagine the people actually living in and using the temples back in the day. A visit to the landmine museum provoked sadness and thoughtfulness about what hardships people have been through. The visit to the Angkor Childrens hospital in Siem Reap left some people with less blood, as most of the group donated blood to this worthy cause, helping save a childs life (don't worry folks, totally sterile and safe) felt awesome.

We are off on our final adventure as a team! Some of us are staying in the south after the trip, others are embarking on new adventures, and some returning home. Time to board our flight, see you soon!

Hugs
Leo and Hils

Lucky me!

Lucky me; to start off where the last blog left off – in Halong Bay, is a good thing indeed. Halong Bay was the stuff of dreams – amidst a busy port of hundreds of beautiful junk style boats, our excited group boarded two elaborately beautiful wooden boats owned by brothers. While motoring out to our first stop, we were served an amazing seafood feast, bird-shaped napkins and all (doesn't take much to impress me). The thought emerged "how will they top this next meal?" I'm not the only one who professed to be in food heaven – fresh morning glory, whole stuffed fish, fried squid, chicken nibbles, to go on would be inviting trouble as I'm making myself too hungry.

Over the two days our trip guide, Khang (pronounced 'hung') took us out on some fun kayaking tours of some Halong Bay islands. There are over 1000 in all, beautiful karst cliffs soaring into the sky. The rock climbers in the trip were salivating eagerly. The two days passed in beach visits, swimming and games on the beach and numurous gastronomical celebrations – the crew did manage to top every meal, every time. The days wouldn't have been complete without jumps and flips off the top level of the boats. The Halong Bay experience was a great group relaxing and bonding time, with the inclusion of our newest buddy, Sabrina, who met up with us in Hanoi to join us for the remainder of the trip.

Hanoi followed Halong Bay. The capital of Vietnam, this is a city on the move. Shared bunkrooms and group meals both nights ensured more ammunition for the 'not so quotable quotes' page – where things you said without thinking first, end up recorded for others to laugh at, often. Hanoi saw us busy soaking up the many things this city has to offer – morning runs round the lake, with locals joining in the exercise – running, badminton, tai chi, people watching. Excellent bars were on offer for celebration of Jeffs birthday. Shopping, shopping and more shopping for some. Mothers, your daughters will be well dressed when they get home. Delicious feasts – one group dinner at a busy restaurant specializing in street food from all around Vietnam, which was fantastic. A walking tour provided exciting insights into Vietnamese life, taking us around the different themed streets (decorate your temple street, holiday street, silk street, tools and hardware street, hair product street?) and bringing, for myself, more opportunities to try crazy, unidentifiable but mostly delicious Vietnamese food.

From Hanoi we traveled to Hue, a quieter, beautiful town flanking either side of the perfume river (named for the 'perfume' smell when the flowers along its banks are in bloom). Here we all jumed on the back of a moto with a local driver and did a moto-tour of the sights. I found the Citadel awe-inspiring, with its old buildings being restored, beautiful columns and statues, as well as the gorgeous pagodas and tombs with their crumbling ruins.

Today the team is enroute to Hoi An, on the coast. I have come to Saigon a few days early with Emily Robin to sort out passport issues. This has brought with it the unexpected joy of discovering 15 cent yoghurt and deliciously, but ridiculously cheap meals next door to the guest house. Oh joy of joys!


Leo signing out.

SE Asia adventure!

Greetings from the lovely town of Sapa, Vietnam! SE Asia 2009 is still trekking, moto-touring, river running and experienceing life to its fullest. It has been a while since we posted and we wanted to update you on some of the highlights of our trip.

Prior to our arrival in Vietnam 2 days ago, we spent 10 amazing days in Laos. We began in the north in the little town of Luang Nam Tha. The Boatlanding Guesthouse was the perfect place to relax along the riverside and regroup after our 17 days in Thailand. We reminisced over the elephant rides, time spent in Karen villages and caving/rock climbing adventures in Chiang Mai. After relaxing and enjoying some of the best food Asia has to offer we were off again to trek into the hills. Our Laotian mountain stays were exciting and very different from the villages of Thailand. We enjoyed spicy jeows (an amazing local cuisine), rice wine that the chiefs love to share, and leeches that were a fun and not-so-fun suprise for many of us. After trekking it was off on a 3 day river journey. We began in long boats down the Nam Tha river then out to our big Mekong boat. Chilling out in the sunshine and bunkering down in an attempt to stay dry during the tropical down pours, it was a journey of contrasts that lead us to the ancient city of Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is beautiful, old and modern all at the same time. A totally chill enviroment that boasts the oldest temple in Laos. At 6am every morning the monks walk through the streets collecting alms for the day, a beautiful site to behold as their bright orange clothing contrasts the rising sun on the stone streets. Many of us enjoyed renting bikes and visiting local markets and everyone has thus far agreed that Laotian food is by far the best.

Our arrival in Vietnam was exciting, the fourth country in 27 days! We have been trekking and mountain biking in Sapa, a steep city on the edge of Mount Fanispan. Many of us have already fallen in love with the local culture, great food and adorable girls wearing some of the most elaborate and skilled textile clothing. They spin the cloth, dye it and then sew and embroider it into such phenominal outfits. It is hard to escape their charm because they are all so kind and their english skills are impressive! I think that we will all leave with a piece of their handiwork. Tonight we head back on the night train to Hanoi and then out to Halong Bay where we will spend a few days sea kayaking and soaking up some sunshine before continuing south.

SE Asia 2009 is sending our love to you all! We must say goodbye for now...but our adventure continues!

Hillary

Homeward bound

Here's the second and last trip missive - from Singapore airport as it happens so we are winging our way home already...when I last wrote we were staying in the Old Quarter of Hanoi which the students enjoyed exploring - streets that sell one thing each - shoe street, tombstone street, shirt street etc - quaint but a bit of a labyrinth and very easy to lose your way! Another early morning start saw us heading to Saigon, where we visited the war remnants museum and the graphic images chronicling details of the Vietnam War and especially Agent Orange were a sobering reality check for students. While in Saigon we also visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, which is just outside the city and a fascinating tribute to the ingenuity and resilience of the Viet Cong. Thousands of metres of tunnels on 3 different levels where people lived and hid during the war - there were babies born there and mini hospitals - small underground villages where people hid for up to 4 years. Remarkably inventive and stoic conditions to exsist within. A highlight for students was a visit to the Wildlife Rescue Centre where they got to hold pangolins and see endagered gibbons (their call is outrageous!), otters, lizards, bears and turtles. The bear bile trade is particularly cruel and unneccessary and the Australian manager informed the students of the inhumane conditions that those animals exsist within. Our trip leader had a close call with the resident leopard, which grabbed her bag through the cage and it wasn't letting go easily. We figured it was after Janine's money but the scratch she sustained on her arm was enough to give her large cred with the kids, who I think are all a bit jealous of her scar.

We farewelled the madness of Saigon's tooting streets for a day's sedate cycling through the pretty Mekong Delta - small lanes lined by coconut palms and quiet villages - it was great doing some exercise. There was a hairy moment when we 'mislaid' a couple of students, but happily we found each other again without too much drama. It did mean that students had to cycle in hot conditions until 3pm before reaching our lunch destination but not a complaint was heard. We did look longingly at the row of resting hammocks they had set up for us as we hot pedalled it back on track to try and make up time. Our final night in Vietnam we stayed on a floating homestay bodies weary and tummies happy.

Arriving in Cambodia the following afternoon was a contrast. The geography was quite different and the roads strangely quiet in comparison to Vietnam. The homestay in rural Takeo with Siphen and Mach was a relaxing haven and an antidote for weary travellers. Nearly everyone had run out of clean clothes so we quickly had the lines full before relaxing in hammocks or wandering around the rice fields.

The next day was unfortunately raining all day in Kampot where the students assisted with building a simple home for a mother and her twin daughters. Everyone got muddy and wet, but the satisfaction was high as the building came to fruition. Others visited Epic Arts, a facility that promotes and trains disabled and deaf youth in performing arts. The students donated money towards a long needed new set of traditional drums and watched rehearsals, conversing and sharing with the deaf students. There was a stretching session where some of our kids achieved positions they never thought possible with the harsh task master slapping their limbs into position. In the eveing our host Siphen, shared her personal story of the Khmer Rouge time with the students. Many found this an inspiring and moving day.

Our time at the homestay was too short and we left sadly for Phnom Penh the following morning, farewelling our gracious hosts.

Visiting the Genocide Museum, Toul Sleng, in the afternoon had students in a sombre mood. Hard to believe that nearly a third of the population of this country was killed during the Khmer Rouge time - numbers that compare with the Holocaust, but only 30 years ago. A last shopping visit to the Russian market was intense in a different way and most of us were struggling to accept that we only had one day left.

Our last morning was spent visiting the Killing Fields - one of 380 across the country - and paying witness to the horrific crimes that took place there. We also spent time at a school that is funded mostly by the french and assists poor children to achieve both basic and vocational education. There was lots of playground interaction here and our students enjoyed joining in games and showing pictures from home to curious Cambodian kids. After having a sumptuous buffet lunch at the training restaurant we crossed town to spend the afternoon at an orphange that houses and educates children rescued from living at the dump or from being trafficked, in very basic and crowded conditions. We were all touched when they greeted us with rousing renditions of The Wheels on the Bus and If You're Happy and You Know it before breaking into groups (20 kids per 2 Hagley students) for games and play. It was super hot and very intense noise and space wise. Our students were great, being human jungle gyms, teachers, facilitators and friends to a hugley smiley and excited bunch of kids living in very difficult circumstances. The students donated close to $1000 of fundraised money to this organisation as they struggle for funding but do such an important job trying to improve life and prospects for these children.

Students especially enjoyed their time in Cambodia and felt connected in a way that meant they could happily have stayed longer - heat, scoop showers, squat toilets and all! But last night saw us walking through flooded streets to have our farewell dinner and today we sift around Changi airport waiting to return home to our surreally privileged lives.

I believe they have learnt enormously - not only about the lives of those in this part of the world, but also about themselves and their capacities. They've coped well in some challenging moments and been a great group to travel with. Read their experiences at www.pacificdiscovery.org.

They've certainly earnt a week's holiday before returning to school in chilly NZ!
Cheers,
Rachel and Paul

In Phom Penh

We haven't been in the path of any typhoons, though sadly a lot of people in other areas of Cambodia and in Vietnam have. We did have an extremely wet day in Kampot, though, where we helped to build a simple pole house for a very needy family. We certainly hadn't expected goose bumps in Cambodia, but a few of us had them! And 2 hour's drive away, back at our homestay in Takeo, our washing was happily drying on the line. ( By the way, a few students commented on how much fun it was doing the washing, so parents take note!!) It's been full on since arriving in Phom Penh early this afternoon. Experiences ranging from the sombre to the hilarious. Dinner and the lure of cheap pedicures just around the corner from our guesthouse have probably put other bloggers on hold until tomorrow. The sight of a row of students reclining in comfy seats with their sweaty, wiggling little toes extended and being pampered was really something to behold.

Janine

We have a bit of a limerick competition going, that a few students have dabbled in. This one harks back to our time in Sapa, in Vietnam:
There was a H'Mong woman called Mi // who invited us all round for tea // First she offered us dog // then cat, snake and frog // and to wash it down hog-blood for free.

Dodged the typhoon

Our Hagley College group sucessfully dodged the recent typhoon that went through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The group were in southern Vietnam, the Mekong Delta, and on the South Coast of Cambodia when the typhoon went through Central Vietnam and North East Cambodia. I phoned the group at their homestay this morning, and heard that it's dry - not even a drop of rain in Takeo. The group are loving Cambodia, spent the day volunteering on the South Coast yesterday, and head to Phnom Penh today in great spirits - though I am sure all are a little sad their trip is almost over. The group haven't had internet access since Saigon, but will be able to email once they arrive in Phnom Penh, so I'm sure we'll hear from them later today.

Thanks,
Rachel Sanson

Southeast Asia Program - Beginning the adventure!

We've arrived!

The adventure begins; wandering the streets of Bangkok, sampling the local cuisine, leaping onto canal boats that don't stop - only slow down, and marveling at a city so grand in its contrasts. Our tour on day two highlighted the life in Bangkok, Thailand, where one fifth of the country's people live, from homeless people sleeping under bridges, to huge malls with Hermes scarves draped decadently on mannequins, to shining golden Wats (temples) exuding a peaceful vibe. Bangkok truly is the city of smiles.

The Southeast Asia Fall 2009 trip is underway and we've begun our journey into the mountain; ancient ruins, trekking with hill tribes and a rafting trip beckon. Our group of 16 enthusiasts are already having a ball together. Some silly games on the first day forced us into each other's personal space and shared experiences promise to bring us even closer.

Hillary and Leo

Some more memorable moments

The Hagley student group are about to set off for the Mekong Delta to test their cycling legs. Goodbye Saigon.

- Tash: A touch of blindness. Did she not SEE the 7-11 lady on the little boat below her as she bombed Halong Bay from the junk roof??
- Ben slept like a baby throughout the water puppet theatre performance.
- Louie strolled the aeroplane aisles sporting various whacky but oh-so-cute hairstyles.
- TK. First time blood donor. You rock!
- Dean summoned by security at the airport in Hanoi and whisked away behind closed doors.
- Mick: One of the pioneers of the woolly hat treatment. His sentence was for losing his train ticket which had to be shown at the Lai Cai exit to prove you weren't a stowaway.
- Alison and Janine for both managing to extricate themselves from bag snatchers in Saigon.
- Dean's underground grin at Cu Chi tunnels demonstrated that he was probably a mole or a bat in a past life.
- I love rice paddies I want to take a rice paddy home with me I want my boyfriend to buy me a rice paddy for Christmas: Alison.
- Buying weasel coffee at Ben Thanh Market. Coffee beans are fed to weasels who pass them and then they're harvested by people who know what really good coffee should taste like. Wicked!
- Negotiating prices with cyclo drivers in crazily busy Saigon. Some were stung. Ouch.

Janine :)

Cu Chi & WAR

This moring was an early wake up between 5:00 - 5.30am as we had to be down in the lobby at 6am. Breakfast was served with a massive bread roll including jam, butter and bananas. After breakfast we hopped on the bus and travelled for an hour and a half to the Cu Chi tunnel site - I think a lot of people learned something! It was very interesting and the majority of people chose to go through the tunnels and the lucky few left behind had to hold all the bags! We also went to WAR (Wildlife At Risk), a wildlife refuge center - it was inspiring, the work that they do. We all enjoyed seeing lizards and pangalins (look them up) and we got to hold and touch! It was awesome! A real highlight! I have to g0 now as it's getting close to 11! Will write a better blog soon!

Alison

Hanoi to Saigon

Day 10 started off early, with two wake up calls at 5.25! We all jumped on the bus at about 6 for an hour long ride to the airport. We sat around at the airport for a while and finally checked our stuff in, but just as we were about to head to customs, an attendant came over and started looking for some one from our group with brown hair! I knew I wasn't in trouble because I have red hair :) Lucky Ben got taken out to the "back room" and we were all pretty worried, but he returned moments later and Dean was ushered away. We got a little nervous when the door was locked, but we needn't have, because it was only a miscommunication. Phew! Off we went through customs and all was well. Once we had boarded the plane, we discovered that not only does Vietnam Air have old and very wide planes, but the most uncomfortable seats in the world! We think they were posture correcting, but they were horrible!

When we landed in Ho Chi Minh City, we had to wait aaaages for our bags, but we had a huge downpour to watch that kept us occupied. We all then piled in to taxis that could carry five, but acutally it was four passengers so we had to squeeze a bit! At our guesthouse, we were warmly greeted and offered refreshing drinks. We all then gladly dumped our bags in our rooms and headed out for lunch and a little shopping before our 1.30 deadline at the guest house. We then had a quick briefing about the museum we were about to go to and then headed off to The War Remnants Museum. A lot of us were nearly in tears as we saw pictures displaying the horrors of the Vietnam War, but it was interesting to learn about and many poeple gained some knowledge. We then walked (the long way) to the Reunification Palace and when we got there, no one decided to go in, but we saw the tanks that had helped break the gates, and be part of ending the Vietnam War. Most people got taxis or cyclos to the guesthouse and then hit the town for shopping! It was bargains galore and to chill at the end, we all had noodle soup and spring rolls for dinner!

Ali

Hanoi experiences

Woke up after a fantastic night sleep at the Gold Spring Hotel, very relieved to be on dry land and not be surrounded by water and not soooo much seafood! The hotel is lovely. I had breakfast with Laurentel at around 7 - juicy watermelon, potato, french toast, toast and a selection of other foods were available. The bus was a hour late, shock horror! But made it to the Museum of Ethnology, randomly walked around and saw displays and sculptures from different ethnic groups. A dragon dance was very entertaining - you could tell from the happy smiles on the children in the crowds faces :) Once we got back we were allowed free time. For most people this meant shopping. For me however I had to wait an hour for a pizza which luckily was amazing. Then I had to try explain to a non-english speaking lady at the drycleaning place that I didnt get my top back. This was a very difficult thing and after 20 mintues to my surprise she understood me enough to go get my top which had been misplaced. During this time Allison, Lewis, Lauren and Aimee waited while Hanoi decided to pour down! We tried to be fine with the rain and shopped, got soaked in the process though :( Tea was with the whole group at 69 restaurant which was quite good - a beef burger and fanny icecream went down very well. Then we went to the water puppet show which was entertaining for the people that didn't fall asleep (cough cough BEN, MICHELLE Hahaha). I found it really interesting though! Well yes that was friday the 25th waking up early for a flight tomorrow soooo bye!

Evy Schofield

Random memorable moments in Vietnam

Take a bunch of senior Hagley students to Vietnam and what do you get?

- TK, Casey and Annie leaping and dancing in a Hanoi downpour, much to the amusement of the locals

- Alison wearing an incredibly glamorous banana leaf hat on the trek in Sapa

- Jules, managing..somehow..to get himself locked in the bus at a toilet stop, all the while dying to do number 2

- Evy discovering her life's calling as a street vendor

- Michelle using her expert bargaining skills to get, after considerable negotiation, back to the original price. Duh!

- Simon being stung by the only jellyfish in Halong Bay. (But was it just a ploy to get a Vietnamese female staff member on the junk to rub lime juice all over his arm??)

- Aimee being stung by the same jellyfish which Simon had inadvertently cast off his arm right at her!

- Annie rising to the challenge and negotiating with a cyclo driver to swap places at Lake Hoan Kiem in Hanoi.

- Paul, on his birthday on the junk - walking the plank in the morning and treating us all to his rendition of 'Daddy Cool' in the evening.

- Rachel jumping of the junk in her glasses. (Did she possibly think that she would be able to see the fish better???)

More to come! :) Janine

Hello from Humid Hanoi

Hello there from insanely busy Hanoi. As I sit and write a chorus of toots accompanies me and a light monsoon drizzle adds to the humidity outside. It is hard to believe that just a week ago we were in Singapore which is definitely "Asia lite" compared to Vietnam - more like one big shopping mall - the kids loved it! We spent only 12 hours there, breaking up our flights. The second day saw us arrive in Hanoi and visit the Temple of Literature in steamy heat, before eating at KOTO cafe, an NGO that provides education and employment to Vietnamese street kids. We caught the night train north to the mountain town of Sapa (as described by Michelle and Casey on the Pacific Discovery blog - just go to the website for student updates). The cabins were small, the toilets were dodgy and the sleep was slight. Once in Sapa, half the group took off on the trek and the other chilled for the day and evening wandering the streets of quaint Sapa and practising their bargaining and fending techniques. The following day we flip flopped. Both days were extremely hot and the students really suffered trekking in those conditions - i was proud of their tenacity. The homestay had great food and marae style sleeping. A monsoon deluge with lightening and thunder in the night meant our return journey a bit cooler, and much more slippery. Day 5 saw us back together and catching the night train back to Hanoi, arriving before 5am to see the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake pulsing with locals out walking, stretching, and dancing getting their daily constitutional. After breakfast we had a 3 hour bus ride to UNESCO World Heritage Site, Halong Bay. Rising from the waters of the bay are around 2000 karst limestone islands - picturesque and pristine. We boarded 2 junks, our home for the next 2 days. The junks have 3 levels - sleeping quarters below, with en suites, dining in the middle, and a viewing, lazing deck up top. Diving off the boats into the ridiculously warm waters was our first mission! In the afternoon we took to the kayaks and cruised around some islands as a group. Unfortunately quite a lot of us took ill at one point or other on the boats - whether it was a virus or travel catching up with us I'm not sure, but it really took its toll on some. X-fingers for healthier days ahead! Those who were up for it did some more kayak exploring the next day into a cave and swimming off a beach. This morning we walked through an enormous cave before heading back to land and the bus ride back to Hanoi - where we stay in a lovely hotel for the next two nights before flying south to Saigon. Hard to believe it's so cold back home when we drip in the humidity here. Last day of term for you all - enjoy the beginning of your well-earnt holidays and I'll send another update before we leave.
Squeezes to loved ones,
Rachel and Paul.

Trekking in Sapa, Vietnam

We were finally in Vietnam. The doors of the bus swing open, and within seconds we were befriended by the local women of Sapa. Doesn't that sound nice...more like bombarded! And when we say bombarded we mean 10..no 20...might have been 30 women and little girls all vying for your undivided attention to buy things from them. They weren't afraid to be ruthless. One of these little girls, Jew , took a shine to Mick. And when someone takes a shine don't expect to be walking down the streets without them by your side - into shops...out of shops..up the street...down the street..you get the jist. The only way to free yourself is to purchase. But to tell you the truth, Mick seemed to enjoy it more than he should. After all Mick "can't say no to the girls" - ha ha.

At about 10 am half the group (the lucky group) set off on a nice afternoon walk to our homestay. About 3 minutes into our 'hike' we all had sweat patches the size of the Pacific Ocean. I don't think either of us had dry patch on our shirt, so you can imagine how smelly it may have been. Ew. Who ever said treking was an enjoyable sport?? Obviously never trekked in Vietnam. Trek? More like a death hike. So now we're an hour into our mission but thank goodness we were able to go for a swim in the local river. Mm. You can just imagine the look on the locals faces when they saw 9 students crawling their way to the river bank, ripping off their clothes and piling into the water. Sigh. The single most satisfying swim in our lives. But that was short lived. We thought the worst was over, but then after 4 intense treturous hours uphill, downhill, climbing we finally started emerging at the top of the hill (ha, mountain more like), and one by one we collapsed. Overheated, sunburned and half eaten alive. We slowly drifted back into conciousness to the sound of laughter. We look over and see a man in his rice straw hat (Alison looks amazing in a rice hat) chuckling at the sight.

After ariving at our homestay the only thing we could think about was getting into the nice cool shower, getting clean and refreshed. It was a fight to the death for the luxury of getting the first shower. We were stopped in our tracks, shocked to find that our highly anticipated shower was a scoop bucket under tap in a shed. Wasn't exactly what we were used to but AMAZING all the same. Things were looking up when we were served a traditional Vienamese dinner overloooking the village. Delicous. Meanwhile in the upstairs bunk Michelle was spending her evening throwing up in a bowl.

We had the most AMAZING experience of our lives. There might have been a teeny bity of complaining but overall we handld it pretty well. :)

Michelle and Casey

[A wee note from Pacific Discovery: The young minority girls in Sapa are amazing in that they often make this trek both ways in a day just to go to their nearest market to exchange goods and buy food]

First day of our adventure through Cambodia and Vietnam

Aimee here. I am with the group from Hagley Community College and as we speak I am standing at a computer with swollen feet and red face from the heat. Walking out of the Singapore airport terminal and onto the footpath I walked into the surroundings of what felt like a sauna. Most of us wanted to head back into the airport and onto the plane because it was so much cooler. But we had a bus to catch. Everyone loved the bus ride to Habitat hostel where we slept, 8 to a room! Back to the airport this morning for our three hour flight to Vietnam! Update soon! bye bye.

Thailand volunteer summer program launched!

Our new Thailand summer program has just been launched and registration is open for July 2010.

It will be an amazing month in the 'Land of Smiles' with two fantastic volunteer projects as well as a ton of adventures and cultural immersion.

Participants spend a week at the Elephant Nature Foundation caring for elephants and learning an enormous amount about elephant care and conservation. This is followed by a week at Chiang Mai's Migrant Learning Centre, a non-profit educational facility established by Burmese refugee teachers to provide free education and vocational training for Burmese migrants and refugees Participants assist in English language and computer skills classes.

The program also includes: Two days of rock climbing and caving in Northern Thailand; a three-day expedition into incredible Khao Sok National Park, hiking, kaykaing and staying in floating houses; time exploring historic Sukothai, Chiang Mai and Bangkok; and finally wrapping up on the island of Ko Phra Ngan, staying in amazing beach houses, snorkeling and swimming.

For more information check out the program page online, or contact us for an information booklet.

Farewell to Saigon and SE Asia

Just one night to go before our group flies home to their soft beds, their favourite pizzas, their boyfriends..or whatever it is they are most craving. In Alex's case it's the 11 shower heads in her bathroom. I hope she doesn't drown!!

 

The last part of the trip seemed to go very quickly, as is so often the case. We've compared Hanoi to Saigon, and unanimously we prefer Hanoi. It's certainly much harder to cross the roads here. Our stops in Hue and Hoi An, in central Vietnam, seem like a long time ago. The Hue moto tour was great and Michelle and I had our palms read by a lovely old woman, dressed immaculately in white silk, beautifully made up and sporting a conical hat over her white hair. She was sitting under the roof of the covered Japanese bridge, no doubt to lure travellers into their future. So, as I'm apparently going to live to a ripe old age, I guess I shouldn't be too concerned crossing the Saigon roads after all. Except that she also mentioned my three children. And I can't for the life of me work out where I put the other two!!!!  Hoi An, with its relaxed pace, lovely historic buildings and riverside lit up with soooooo many lanterns is a favourite with us all. And we've all have had our wardrobes enhanced.

 

A visit to the War Remnants Museum in Saigon, the Cu Chi tunnels just out of Saigon, and ( over the border into Cambodia ) the Killing Fields and Genocide Museum in Phom Penh, were all sobering and emotionally challenging reminders of the insane cruelty we humans have shown ourselves to be capable of. It's impossible not to be appalled and upset, but also impossible not to wonder at the recovery communities and countries are able to make and the way that people are able to live side by side again and the pervading strength of the human spirit. 

 

We all loved our brief foray into Cambodia, and many are talking of returning some time. Our homestay was incredible - such lovely people and warm hospitality. I did hear a couple of the girls say that Ly, one of the family members who accompanied us around town and to our last stint of voluntary work, was quite hot! Always a bonus. Helping to build a very simple pole house for a needy family, alongside the family who would be living in it and a few helpful neighbours, was an awesome experience. We had to demolish the old one first and it mostly just came apart in our hands (along with a host of creatures!!)

 

Mekong Delta - what we thought would be a simple homestay turned out to be a sumptuous French era guesthouse. Nobody complained.There are always surprises here so it pays to be prepared for anything - treats included! Cycling along narrow paths around an island in the Mekong was great fun. Jordan tried to bring the power lines down. Or was it a house? Anyway, we all missed it! The prang of the day. Just when you need an audience there's no-one in sight. Everything was so lush (we just had to stop for a feast of rambuttans) and "Sin Chau" was heard around almost every corner. Well, there are plenty of anecdotes which come to mind but there's a queue for this computer so those can wait.

 

Janine

Vietnam is da BOMB!

Hey all,

This is Alex Woodcock and I am currently on the Vietnam summer trip and having the time of my life! Been avoiding getting hit by crazy little vietnamese dudes on motos, jumping off junks, and making friends for life!

Just some amazing memories to talk about:

1. Night trains (you really don't sleep on them) - a sleeping pill is advised.

2. Hannah got stung by a JELLYFISH in Halong bay - CRAZY stuff.

3. "You buy from her, but why don't you by from me." - One of the classics quotes of our group. The Hmong girls may look sweet but they are stalkers...it's SO TRUE!

4. Indian food in Vietnam is KILLER GOOD!

5. I am especailly stoked about the Cat Ba Langur project. I really enjoyed my time there, and the woman in charge of the project, Daniella, was very inspiring...I think her job in general basically rocks!

6. GO LANGURS!

7. I am super excited to go on the moto tour in Hue. At first I was so scared when we went in Cat Ba, but it turned out to be the most exhilerating part of that day...hydro-planing just doesn't get any better than that!

Hope this is informative for people reading at home! I think most of us are having an AMAZING time (missing sanitary bathrooms) but otherwise...TRIP OF A LIFE-TIME!

AL

New Zealand Program Week 2

This week started off with some free time in Auckland. Diana joined us from Australia, and a few of us went out to the airport to meet her. The next day we travelled from Auckland to Waitomo. In Waitomo we went on a very adventurous caving expedition. We spent about five or six hours in the caves, climbing, repelling, and crawling. After that we went to Castle Rock where we spent the next two days mountain biking and rock climbing, followed by soaking in the hot tub in the evenings. Then off on a road trip, in which we saw a giant multi-coloured kiwi bird, to Rotorua where we saw some boiling mud. Since Rotorua is on volcanic ground, there are pools of boiling mud everywhere and it smells like sulphur (or rotten eggs). In Rotorua we all got to go white water rafting. We went on a hour long adventure, complete with going down the worlds highest commercially rafted waterfall. After getting out of the chilly river we drove to some natural hot springs and soaked in those for a while. Then we continued down to Taupo where we spent the night. The following day we drove about five hours down to Wellington. On our drive down, we got to see a giant gum boot (a.k.a. rubber boot or rain boot). The next day in Wellington we spent the morning at the Te Papa Museum on a private tour going indepth in Maori culture and history followed by a Maori meal. And in the afternoon we went to the parliment building and got another private tour in which we learned about New Zealand's political system, which was more interesting than you would think!

Catba Island volunteers' close encounters

Our group weren't lucky enough to spot any Catba Langurs, but they're all sporting 'Save the Catba Langur' t-shirts. And hopefully the signs they painted and helped place will contribute to a decrease in people entering the areas within the national park where the remaing 60 to 70 of this species live. It is certainly not a magic solution, but a step along the way to better protection. Sadly, although the capture, killing and eating of the Catba Langur is illegal, there are still poachers willing to risk fines and imprisonment for the substantial monetary gain to be reaped from black market sales. If the Catba Langur becomes too accustomed to human presence, it won't retreat to safety when it most needs to, and will become an easy target. The next major task the Catba Langur Project will undertake is the relocation of a small all-female group of langur , closer to a group which has a roving male. So hopefully Pacific Discovery will be receiving emails about an increase in baby Catba Langurs before too long. This species is found only on Catba Island and the numbers are dangerously low, especially in a country where its people are accustomed to eating virtually anything that walks, crawls, slithers, flies, swims or just hangs about. Whilst mealtimes in Vietnam can be a real gastronomic adventure for travellers - especially carnivores - education is important to ensure that the recipes no longer include endangered species. And we're sure that with good nutrition, a healthy lifestyle and perhaps lots of good luck crossing the roads, it will be possible for both Vietnamese and their Chinese neighbours to live plenty long enough without partaking of Catba Langur steak for their longevity!

 

So, having survived a few mornings of scheduled 4.30am awakening (yes, even without the roosters) followed by long work days out on the national park boat in Halong Bay and on an inland walking trail, to erect the finished signs and touch up a few old ones, our group boarded a luxury junk for a bit of well-earned R and R. We even got to see the signs we'd put up again.

 

Some highlights and lowlights: 

 

Hannah drew the short straw and got to be stung by a jellyfish. And no, we're not going to add this experience to future itineraries.

 

We paddled seakayaks through a dark cave, its ceiling adorned with hundreds of little bats.

 

We all ate far too much on the junk. Dish after dish just kept appearing at mealtimes. We had to work hard to convince our cooks that not eating everything on the table didn't mean that it wasn't good!

 

A power cut while in the national park - with the threat of no fans all night in the monsoon heat and stickiness - sent a few of the group into a spin. If only they'd spun a little faster they could've provided the needed air movement!!

 

A deluge held off until we reached a little fishing village - and our lunch spot - after the long hike carrying poles and bags of cement and sand. Travelling light is overrated. Ho ho ho ho it's off to work we go. We hopped on the back of some local motos to get to the waiting park boat quicker -  to outrun the worst of the storm -  only to turn a corner and find a big fallen tree blocking the road. No problem for the local lads. Out with the machetes and, before you could say chopstick, we were on our way. The road became more of a river, and between the water below and the water above, the sweat from our labours was thoroughly drowned.

 

Dogs and chickens were everywhere. Humungous spiders, worm-sized mud vipers, stick insects with thumb-fat bodies and mosquitoes the size of the palm of your hand just added to the menagerie. Not all creatures were looked on with love :)

 

Just joking about the size of the mozzies.

 

Janine :)

 

 

First week in New Zealand

Kia Ora!

New Zealand is awesome. Here's the breakdown of what we're done so far...

The group met up on Friday and had a great time getting to know each other with a scavenger hunt throughout Auckland before heading north of the Bay of Islands. We started heading to the Bay of Islands on Saturday and stopped at a couple places along the way. One place we went was the Waitangi National Reserve which is where New Zealand's Founding Document was signed. We also got to see this sweet Maori dance, the haka, which was the male war dance, and the poi, which was a dance that the women did. Alex got chosen to be the chief of our group and had to rub noses with the main guy performing the dances. The whole performance was intense and emotional with a lot of yelling, slapping of arms, and the guys sticking their tongues out (apparently it's just way for guys to intimidate each other). It was a cool way to see some of the traditions of native New Zealanders, especially when, in appreciation, a guy from the audience stood up at the end and started dancing alone. It was impressive and left us all speechless. The next day we went to Urupukapuka Island to get set up for our conservation work. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We took a boat out to the island and got to see a lot of the other islands along the way. New Zealand is very hilly and very green. It tends to rain quite a bit but with sunshine too so rainbows are frequent. Once on the island we had to get used to living with no electricity and no hot water which was quite a feat for some of us. We had a lot of fun cooking over the stove we made out of cement blocks and had many laughs while playing Cranium. There was also the greatest climbing tree ever on the island which was definitely my favorite part. This place is really beautiful and the people are great. Everyone is friendly, and I love learning their new words. My favorite so far is chilly bin for cooler...what a logical name. We're back in Auckland now and heading off to caving tomorrow. I'm excited for the upcoming adventures!!!

Love,
Kate {and Nicole}

Morsels

Thought I'd better do another blog entry because it may be the last chance I get. Ever. We're just heading out to a Karaoke bar across the road from our guesthouse and I'm not sure that we'll be allowed out alive. If only more parents sent their children to singing lessons...

Here are a few noteworthy morsels.

Alex: As the tracks got steeper and muddier and the weather became muggier and muggier, and litre after litre of sweat rolled down our faces, her grin just got wider and wider :)

Michelle: Has been sporting some sort of cross-cultural turban and eyeballing every weird-looking bug or beetle she discovers.

Rikki: Doesn't love roosters.

Erika: Stops every 5 seconds to photograph something. Just as well she had her own personal umbrella-wallah, Hayley, to shield her camera from the rain.

Jordan: A frustrated ballet dancer. Combined descending slippery muddy trails with doing the splits. And, having been given a tip on exactly where to put her feet to avoid calf-deep mud she proceeded to put a foot exactly between those two points. Clearly loves mud.

Rikki: Hates roosters.

Hayley, Alex and Me: The mean keen running team (soon to be joined by Michelle?) Turned back at the swingbridge because we had no money in our pockets to pay the toll to the village on the other side.

Rikki: Did I say she wants to personally strangle every rooster in Vietnam?

Emily and Rikki: Quick to capture a bargain foot massage on their return from the trek.

Hannah and Rikki: Ultimately the winners of the 'muddiest trekker' competition. Recipients of a well-earned dessert prize.

Rikki: Has given me instructions to make sure her room in guesthouses is pre-booked to include no roosters in the vicinity. Needs special treatment :)

Emily and Rikki: Have yet to master the squat toilet.

Daniel: Held up with study commitments, now waiting in Hanoi to join the group when we arrive fresh as daisies off the night train at 5am on the 8th of July. Wasting no time in embracing local delicacies, the last we heard from him was that he was just heading out to eat dog. We await his verdict.

Many of the group: Would question my use of "fresh as daisies".

Hannah: After the first sleep in Vietnam - ready to roll !

Erika: Bought hand-dyed and embroidered cushion covers from the shortest, cutest old woman in Sapa.

Hayley: Loves everything. Even roosters.

Janine :)

Mud glorious mud!

Our group have just returned from the muddiest trek they've ever done, from near Sapa (northern hill town) down to the little village of Thanh Phu. Unfortunately the much looked forward to swim in a warm spring In Ban Ho, our lunch stop on the way, was thwarted by an earlier landslide. But at least the monsoon rain was warm !! And to think that some people pay a great deal of money for health-enhancing mud wraps..we could enjoy head to toe mud for hours on end at no extra cost. Our homestay was fantastic. After a quick wash and change into dry clothes, just sitting on the verandah and looking out over rice terraces and other equally lush vegetation, we all felt human again. It was fun watching our meal being prepared over an open fire and a few of us perfected our spring rolling techniques. Dinner was absolutely delicious and there was so much of it. Lucky pigs that scored the leftovers! The whole group are pretty keen on Vietnamese food, overall, and willing to try new things, so mealtimes are a breeze. Nobody has even hunted out a hamburger or pizza yet (or if they have they've kept it secret!) Our H'Mong guide was funny and, as a bonus, really seemed to appreciate a sense of humour from the other side of the world. It would be interesting to know what she tells her family about us when she returns to her own village!

Janine

Reflections on leading the Southeast Asia Program - Melissa Raftery

Melissa is stepping down from leading our Southeast Asia Semester Program after five years and here shares some thoughts and experiences. Enjoy!

Melissa on a Bangkok river ferry

Today is day 47 out of 60 on our group tour in Southeast Asia. It’s morning in Siem Reap, Cambodia, but the sun has not yet risen. As I lean over to tie my running shoes, I can hear footsteps thumping closer and closer. A few participants have awoken to join me for morning exercise. This morning we will venture out before the crowds, just as the stars dim in the first light of day, to begin our jog around the treasured Cambodian icon, Angkor Wat.

I greet the group and immediately see Tet and a small gang of moto drivers cruising around the corner. Tet pulls up with a smile, revealing he’s just had a good breakfast of noodle soup and with the engine still running we hop into the back of the three-wheeled taxis to begin the 20 minute ride into the countryside where the Angkor temple complex begins.

My introduction to Pacific Discovery began as a participant in 2002. I traveled to New Zealand and Australia on a two month program. My leaders, Rachel Sanson & Scott Burnett (the founders of Pacific Discovery), led me to places I could only venture to in my dreams. From caving underground amongst glow-worms, to sleeping in a traditional Maori meeting house, to rafting over the world’s largest commercially rafted waterfall—the adventure left me hungry for more.

Cooling off while trekking in Laos

Now in the role of a trip leader for the Pacific Discovery Southeast Asia program, I often re-visit my first experience as a participant. I am forever questioning what exactly made the two months of memories and relationships so monumental? What changed in my deeper understanding of the world? How can I share this with others?

A participant once came to me and said: “Today I trekked into the world’s 5th largest waterfall, sampled my first wasp larvae during lunch, and sang in a circle with Thai teenagers in a new language. All of this in one day!”

It would be a slight exaggeration for me to classify all days of the program are filled with such excitement. Of course, there are the days where we ride in a cramped minibus, shifting and shaking on a dirt road in Laos for 8+ hours. And there are group dynamics that need to be carefully recognized and dealt with. More often than not, there is a participant who is experiencing a harder time adapting to the faster pace of group travel and missing the familiarity of home. As a leader, knowing when to devote more time to a certain group member is key.

The summit of Mt Fansipan - highest point in mainland SE Asia

What I have gained from being a program leader is immeasurable. In the beginning, my largest fears dealt with not having all the answers. I learned it was okay to tell a participant “I don’t know” and get back to them the next day with a response. Assertiveness also factored into my need to be the ‘leader’ and not always the ‘friend,’ a role that can sometimes be fuzzy as the gap in age is often no more than a few years. But most of all, I have gained confidence. Over the years, sticky situations have arisen that could not have been otherwise prevented. I gained the ability to deal with each event in a calm, focused manner and trusted that my training and intuition would remedy the situation.

During the ‘Orientation to Pacific Discovery’ I tell all of my groups that an event, a discussion, or a circumstance that would never occur back in the relative safety of ‘home’, will occur every day while traveling in Southeast Asia. These interactions are not always obvious at first (sometimes you forget entirely until you re-read your journal one winter evening five years later), but with an open mind and heart you can challenge your framework of thinking and re-shape your greater understanding of the way humanity functions in the world.

As an example, I can remember a participant commenting to our Cambodian home stay hosts, the Meas family, about how beautiful the lily pond was in their side-yard. The mother and wife of the family, Siphen Meas, casually answered, “Oh, thank you. That pond was created by two B-52 bombs dropped from American planes bombing eastern Cambodia” …the paradox of destruction turned into beauty.

Former Emperor's palace, Hue, Vietnam

On the Southeast Asia program, we spend our last four nights relaxing on the beaches of southern Thailand. On the final night of program, we have a special evening where we conduct our last group debriefing as unified travelers and family. After sharing a meal of Thai curries and noodle dishes, each person presents a homemade gift in the honor of their ‘Secret Buddha’—the name of a group member they chose from a hat 55 days earlier in the trip. The gift usually reflects funny moments shared by the gift giver and receiver, with a personal touch. For me, as a trip leader, this commemorative time often highlights the brilliance of what participants have gained—courage, the bond of friendship, an ‘awakened’ creative mind, and insight into one of the most fascinating pockets of the world. Most people vow to travel to Southeast Asia again and, of course, we will never forget the bond of group travel.

On a personal note, the time has come for me to ‘hang up the Southeast Asia hat.’ I consider the relationships that I have built with local guesthouse owners, tour operators, even the old man who sells the best Thai coffee on Thanon Prah Athit in Bangkok. I consider the reward of being invited to share such genuine experiences with young people who are on the brink of transformation. How lucky I am to find such a meaningful and fulfilling job position in such a spectacular location on this Earth!

Enjoying her coffee in Saigon

Philosophic author Kent Nerburn writes, “When I am old, and my body begins to fail me, my memories will be waiting for me. They will lift me and carry me over mountains and oceans. I will hold them and turn them and watch them catch the sunlight as they come alive once more in my imagination. I will be rich and I will be at peace.”

During this time of transition, I do not worry. Such sights, sounds, and smells as the temples of Angkor, the fresh exotic fruits being sold on every street corner, and the thousands of motorbikes honking in Hanoi, Vietnam will forever stain my mind. I will always have my memories. I will always be at peace. And there’s a good chance this won’t be the last time I set foot in Southeast Asia. Melissa Raftery

Gifting photo's to Phnom Penh's KDFO orphanage

A huge THANK YOU from The Pacific Discovery team Mels for all your hard work over the years and belief in what we're all about!! We wish you all the best with your future plans.

Books for Cambodia website launch!

Books for Cambodia supports education and libraries in rural school communities in Cambodia. Books for Cambodia sources books, facilitates access to librarian training, and renovates or establishes libraries, in rural schools, with the support of the school community. The trustees and Pacific Discovery cover all administrative costs associated with Books for Cambodia so that 100% of funds donated to Books for Cambodia is spent on purchasing books, training teachers as librarians and establishing or renovating libraries in Cambodia.

The Books for Cambodia website has just been launched, so please take a moment to visit: www.booksforcambodia.org

A Cambodian Casting Call!

I think today was a lesson for me on why my sister is studying drama and I am not...but will definitely be remembered as one of my highlights and most entertaining moments in Phenom Penh, Cambodia. This afternoon, eight of us gathered in the cool AC relief of the office for Equal Access, the home of "We Can Do It," a popular youth radio program. Originally a community development project funded by the US State Department, Equal Access is now in partnership with UNICEF to record fun, innovative, and educational programs for ages 15-18. The program is recorded with several parts: interviews, drama skits, call-in question and answers, and contests to reach out to Cambodian youth about lifeskills, community awareness, HIV/Aids and drug education, and other important challenges faced by the huge youth population.

However we didn't just go to Equal Access to learn about their work...We became apart of it! After meeting with the Cambodian script writers, they proceeded to split us into groups to cycle through two stations, one to interview about our impressions of Cambodia and thoughts about youth challenges in our home country of the US, and one group to try a little script reading just like they do in their programs! Except in English of course. Who would have thought we'd end up in a Cambodia recording studio! All I can say is I hope our skits don't end up on YouTube. We might have laughed our way through, as we did our best to express the scenes of motherly love and tragic despair between our characters, but we knew that the ultimate message behind the dialogue was very important.

Overall, being able to visit an organization that is actively working with the Cambodian community today was an essential part of understanding their history. I feel like I will never be able to fully grasp the hardships faced by its people during the Khmer Rouge but now appreciate how far the country has come since then.

Taylor Sandelius

Hoi An high fashion

High fashion city meets beach town in Hoi An! Not their fashion, not
the Italians fashion, but Your fashion. This small beach town has
hundreds and hundreds of tailors and tailoring shops with every
cotton, silk, linen and polyester known to man and its up to you to
point to something you like in one of their catalogs, bring in your
own picture of what you want, or just design it yourself. From
suits($60) to shoes($20) to boardshorts($15), they make everything,
and quick, usually a day maybe two with alterations. From the
beautiful and elegant dresses of the ladies, including Sam's long silk
dress and Emily's chic black skirt, to the Men-in-Black suit of Jeremy
and Colin's all-white suit, Pacific Discoverers came together to form
a pretty stylish bunch, and made quite a scene in the lobby of the
hotel preparing for the fashion show. After all was said and done the
awards are...Taylor Sandelius for Best Dressed Female, Jeremy Coleman
for Best Dressed Male, Emily Meader for the Wearable Art Award,
Mckenzie Cook for the Most Elegant Award, Jack Crestani for Hoi An's
Next Top Model Award, and Audrey Campbell for Best Overall Modelling
Award.

Enough about that though, Hoi An as an awesome beach town is much more
interesting. From luminescent waters at night to some guy I watched
herding buffalo by bike, it doesnt really get boring. The
bike-herding was a peculiar sight I saw while sitting in a cafe having
a drink, wasn't able to snap a picture but yea, it was quite a shock
for someone not used to seeing water buffalo being herded through a
city. That night was another annual event, 'guys night out'. Craig,
Jeremy, Will, Colin and I ditched the ladies (they did their own
thing) for a night of beer, pool, beef, and biking. Awesome times.
And all this combined to have us end up late-night on the beach. But
not any beach. The waters at Hoi An possess a special type of
plankton that lights up like a starry aura around you when you swim
through it. The plankton react to movement so that when you swim in
it, splash it, or move a part of your body through it, a thousand
bright tiny stars immediately illuminate. Truly the most magical
experience of my trip so far and one that I will never forget.

Jack Crestani

Hue moto adventure

After Hanoi and northern Vietnam, our Pacific Discovery group headed
south to warmer waters in Hue and Hoi An. After a long bumpy
overnight train ride from Hanoi, we finally ended up in beautiful Hue.
A welcome change from the grit of Hanoi's streets, Hue's clear open
sky, beautiful riverside parks (complete with ancient and modern
sculptures), and less congested streets helped lighten everybody's
mood and help us relax. After a nice jog along the river and a little
sight-seeing, I returned to the hotel for the afternoon 'mystery
activity'. It was a motorcycle tour of the city! 14 Americans riding
around on motorscooters woohoo. And we were off.

We toured around two Buddhist temples, a monastery, an incense making
area, French gun-turrets and a royal palace now tomb. Truly too many
places to show pictures of here, though I chose to post up the picture
of the sticks incense are made from to the left, and a picture of a
Buddhist pagoda is shown at the top of this entry. Pagoda's are built
at some but not all Buddhist temples and are always seven stories
high. The French turrets were quite interesting because they were a
very new attraction, it had only been two years ago that they finished
clearing the landmines from the site. The turrets were used on ships
of the Vietnamese traveling up the river back in the 50's and 60's.
One theme was common among the separate sites; the endless rice
paddies that stretched in between every one of them. Vietnam is one
of the largest rice-producing nations and it shows. After Hue, we
would travel another 3 hours across endless stretches of rice fields
to the beach and resort town of Hoi An.

Jack Crestani

Trekking in Sapa, Vietnam

The group split up for the adventures in Sapa. Kenzie, Emily M, Jeremy, and I (Emily L) chose to go trekking into Thanh Phu Village for an overnight hometay. Our Guide, Mi, was excellent, and very friendly. After a half hour jeep ride, we started our trek... straight downhill. The loose gravel and dirt made it very difficult to walk upright, and I spent much of my time sliding down on my backside, unfortunately.

This trek was much different from the others we've been on thus far, because it was out in the open instead of through the jungle... and if you've ever been to Vietnam, you must know how hot it gets! We trekked for a good 5 hours in the middle of the day, under the blistering sun. The trek itself was challanging, but do-able, except for the intense heat, which made it twice as hard! But it was fun! We had a good time talking with the guide, and learning about her people and her village. She told us about how she was forced to marry someone she didn't like at age 15. A year after her marriage, she still didn't like her husband, so her mother gave her some "magic rice" (she put a spell on it to make her love him) and they've been happy ever since! Very different worlds we come from.

She was asking where we were from, and we took turns telling her, Utah, New York, and Maine in the United States. She asked how long it took us to get to each other's villages, and was very confused and shocked when we explained that it takes days driving to get to each other's "villages."

We got to our homestay, and were surprised at what we found. The family we stayed with had multiple televisions, a three level bamboo house, and a flushing toilt (a squatter, but hooked to a pipe with a wooden handle to turn to let water run through.) I guess I expected it to be more like the other villages we've stayed in. I'm always surprised at how different each village is from each other. The family was very welcoming, and excited to have us stay.

We wandered into the village, where there were smaller, more simple houses, no running water, and no TVs. We stumbled upon some kids playing what we assumed to be pirates, or something of that sort, running around with bamboo swords and pails full of who knows what. They had fun trailing us through the village, stopping to see what we were up to before running off again. I held up my camera and raised my eyebrows to take a picture. To my delight, they threw up their peace signs, giggled, then ran off.

We were the only "white" people in the village, other than one couple we passed. The villagers all waved and smiled, some pointing to our skin and laughing mumbling what i assumed to be the word for "white" or "pale." That's my favorite part about the villages... when there are no other tourists around, and you really get a feel for how these people live. One of the highlights of the trip, for sure. We broke out the bubbles for the kid's playing near our homestay, and they went nuts! Kids love bubbles... almost as much as getting thier pictures taken! We had fun playing with the kids, and interacting with the homestay family.

Dinner was an event to remember. I have never eaten so much food! They made sure we always had rice in our bowl, and practically forced us to eat more. Mi laughed at me when I said I had eaten too much and was full, and pushed more rice my way. We had a feast of vegetables, chicken, rice, and a special treat of pig hooves for the New Year. Accompanied, of course was the rice wine... man do they love their rice wine.

We enteratined them as they watched us play an intense game of cards. They laughed when we laughed, and had a great time. We all slept soundly in our mosquito nets after our day of trekking. Breakfast was just as grand as dinner... I was stuffed to the brim! After our farewells, we said goodbye to our family, and began our trek in the hot sun. It was pretty difficult after eating so much for breakfast, and poor Emily's knee was not working well after the downhill the day before. Jeremy and Emily jumped on a motorbike for the last half of the trek, while Kenzie and I trudged on.

For every down, there must be an up... and up it was. We climbed the dry rice paddies and hills under the hot sun...I almost didn't make it. Thanks kenz for pushing me through that one! We reached the top drenched in sweat, and extremely tired, but we made it! We met up with Jeremy and Emily for lunch before our exciting jeep ride back to the Cat Cat hotel. What an adventure!

Emily L.

Nam Ha Valley Excursion in Laos

100% pure unbridled nature. That's what we got trekking through the beautiful Nam Ha Valley in northern Laos. Two full days of rigorous trekking (most of it seeming to be uphill) brought our group through three Lanten villages and up, down and across more hills and jungles than I can count. But with natures glory bursting with joy out from the ground, and beautiful mountain vistas awaiting at the top of every hill, things weren't so bad.

The end of the first day of trekking up/down/around hills left our group (Shannon, Sam, Jack, Emily Long, Mckenzie, Jack, Jeremy, Craig) staying at a lodge in a Lanten village near the Nam Tha River. The Lanten are an animist tribal group in Laos who still live off the land as hunter gatherers, and now to some extent, traders. To give an idea of how remote we were, the village had no road, power of any sort, and the closest town was a 5 hour WALK away (this village could only be reached by walking or on the river during the wet season). So we were 'out there'. Although ethnically Tai, the Lanten are animists, meaing they believe in nature spirits, and are very superstitious. Some examples…they throw a bit of food into nature each time they have a meal as an offering…all their houses face down-stream…married women shave their eyebrows…water buffalo guts and other oddities are hung from the ceilings in the houses to ward off evil spirits. Kinda eccentric huh? Although you have to wonder what they say think about us 'crazy Americans'.

People may grow up and start expressing themselves differently, but our senses of joy and happiness inherited from childhood are all the same. I'm pretty sure that's a profound thought, or else maybe I just have taken it for granted, but playing with the children in this Lanten village had to be the most fun of the entire trek. Craig's (genius) idea of bringing bubbles paid off 10x its cost through the magical joy the Lanten kids expressed at these colorful, floating delights. Sam, Jeremy and Emily started blowing bubbles too and for hours these kids couldn't get enough. They thought our camera's were pretty cool too, but it was as if bubbles were the best thing to come from Western culture for these children. Who knows, maybe they're right! After that, the kids proceeded to play 'tag' and 'boys chase the girls' in the river sand naked, which was pretty funny, but nice to see that, although worlds apart, kids are still kids whatever circumstances you grow up in. Sometimes bubbles bring more joy than a Ferrari (if anyone wants to trade, I'm game).

That night, our group had some very interesting conversations about Bhutan, with the one outsider who trekked with our group. From idolizing and creating religious statues and staffs of penis', to over-the-top religious imagery (in temples) involving 'sky-clad' demi-gods ridings flaming tigers to earth, it sounds like a very…'interesting' culture. Bhutans form of Buddhism has embraced the very toungue-in-cheek religious teachings of a famous Divine Madman, yet take these as completely serious. After two hours of fireside explanations, I think most came out more confused than not.

After a night of wonderful sleeping (for some), we all awoke to the heavenly song of roosters bright and early at 6am. We were treated to some famous Laotian tea or coffee (both very good) then trekked our way to where the vans were set to meet us. After Jack and Emily's run-in with some leeches (we defeated them valiantly), we finally made it across the river, through the woods, and into the clear.

A beautiful taste of Laos, a lovely sup of nature, and a quaff of humbling, back-to-basics living left everyone in this group very happy to have been able to partake of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Jack Crestani

New Zealand Australia Program - halfway!

It's been an amazing month in New Zealand! We are now at the halfway point in the program having done two weeks of volunteer conservation work and two multi-day expeditions. Right now we're relaxing in sunny Nelson before our final week of conservation work at Nelson Lakes National Park.

Canoeing on the Whanganui River - expedition 2


Riverside cave on our canoe journey


The group enjoying the annual One Love concert in Wellington


Carnivorous snail survey on our second week of volunteer conservation work


Jordan enjoying mountain biking in Nelson

SE Asia 2009 pics

A selection of pictures so far.....
Craig

Just around the riverbend...

February 9th, three days ago, we said good bye to the quaint Boat Landing Guesthouse in Luang Nam Tha, Laos, with its amazingly soft warm beds and solar-heated showers, to embark on a river adventure. Let's just say it started off on an interesting note before we even set foot on the small wooden boats. The past few mornings I think our group of 15 hungry, French-toast-loving explorers ate not only all the bread in the guesthouse but all the bread in the entire village! You definitely know you are in a poor country when a town runs out of bread. So with a breakfast of eggs and pancakes and a large order of fried rice wrapped in banana tree leaves for a sack lunch instead of sandwiches, we packed our stuff waterproof tight and loaded up.

Floating down the Nam Tha River was an exciting and sometimes perilous experience. Especially considering there was barely enough water in some places due to it being the dry season. Several times our expert boat crew had to turn off the motor and guide the boat with bamboo poles and paddles through the rocks. They could not have been more skilled! I think they know the Nam Tha better then I know how to get around my home town. Still, it was inevitable that we would hit a few rocks. Upon which the wooden boards would make a "bang!" and a scraping noise that left you frantically praying that the boat would neither A: get caught and tip, or B: bust a hole and capsize. Never came close to doing either thank goodness! Ultimately, we made it safely (but sunburnt) to our home for the night in a small village called Ban Khone Kham, where the river is their only access to the outside world. Quite a trip! It is evident how important the river is to the village communities we passed along the way. Every bend in the river brought more waving children who splashed and played along the banks, or women wrapped in sarongs bathing in the shallows, or men with their fishing nets, and everywhere, bamboo huts with thatched roofs against a backdrop of jungle-covered mountains. Laos has such an untamed yet serene feeling, its gorgeous!

Until next time!
Taylor Sandelius

Something New to Try Chiang Mai

Pie in the sky Chiang Mai…finally doing the laundry Chiang Mai…it's good to be high Chiang Mai…buy a lady get a guy Chiang Mai - these are all the names our group thought up to help market the city in the States because, in the words of Tony the Tiger, its grrrrrreat!

Chiang Mai is a blast and a half and during the course of the last few days our group got a much needed massage, completed an 'amazing race', visited a Wat (temple), and spent a morning at a Burmese children's school. And of course many amazing Thai meals along the way. (Note: Our time in Chiang Mai time was intersected by a 2-day visit to a rock-climbing and caving area which will be covered in a separate entry)

The economic powerhouse of northern Thailand, Chiang Mai's atmosphere is more relaxed than the massive-city appeal of Bangkok, with a mixed appeal of riverside live-music bars, beautiful temples, a sleazy sex-tourist district, numerous open-air markets, rooftop lounges, and noticeably cleaner air than its larger city cousin. Our first activity upon entering Chiang Mai's fray (Chiang Mai literally translates to 'New City', the northern Thai area was recaptured from the Burmese only three hundred years ago), was embracing a much needed massage after three days of trekking to the Karen-tribe village. Phenomenal (said Shannon), Baller (Colin) Soothing (Emily), Dreamy (M.E.), were all words we used to describe the experience.

The next day (Feb 1st) we were off to visit Wat Doi Suthep, a magnificent temple built hundreds of years ago highlighted by the ridiculous 300-some steps (I lost count) to climb up into the main temple area, adorned with a massive golden Buddha (but beware the wandering elephant, for it expects bananas).

The 'Secret Activity' ended up being The Amazing Race: Chiang Mai. We were set-off in three groups to complete a dozen tasks as fast as possible and return by a set time to the hotel. After grueling hours of beer, sweat, and tears, The Pimp Daddies (Jeremy, Taylor, Emily Long, Mackenzie) completed the challenge first (albeit using questionable strategies…), the Tiger Paws (Shannon, Jack, Katie, Emily Maeder) completed second (completed every task perfectly), and then the Buddha Bellies (Colin, M.E., Will, E'Beth, Sam, Audrey) finished last, although (coincidentally perhaps?) they seemed to have feasted the finest that afternoon. The race involved a mix of learning about the city with visiting various places all around Chiang Mai from temples to a mall to a restaurant and more. By placing exploration in competitive circumstances, it created an inventive twist to get many of us exploring the city and interacting with the locals.

Children are the best. Yes I know there are many parents reading this who may say otherwise, but I'm talking about the younger, cuter sort. The group taught at a Burmese school this Wednesday. Some of the older students practiced their English by interviewing some of our group, while the rest (and most) of us played and drew pictures with the children. The older students were surprisingly good at English, and displayed a real drive to learn the language, while the younger kids were, well, typical kids and a lot of fun.

All-in-all, Chiang Mai is an awesome city that I wish I had the opportunity to stay in longer. The dynamic nature, fun, chillaxed people, amazing temples were a great experience for everyone, and a welcome breather from trekking. Now we are off to Laos, tune in sometime soon for the next post!

Jack Crestani

Sukothai by bike

Hello from Chiang Mai, Thailand! This is my first time blogging on the team blog and I want to share about our fun experiences from a few days back in Sukhothai, the ancient capital of Thailand. Although back then it was known as Siam - always makes me think of the movie The King and I. It was built in the 13th century I believe and the best way to explore the ruins...bicycle! I have ridden many bicycles in the states but these bikes proved to be quite a challenge to get used to for some reason, not sure why. I think maybe it was the angle of the handlebars or something, anyways, we had some interesting first time rides on our Asian bikes as the first few forward pedals all resulted in crazy wobbles. Basically had to learn how to ride a bicycle again. But so much fun! Imagine a group of 15 cruising down the road on bikes, trying to admire the ruins peeking out from behind the trees, take pictures, steer, and not run into traffic at the same time. And did I mention the brakes didn't work too well? I hope my mom isn't reading this...

There is so much history in Sukhothai it felt like an honor to cruise around on our bikes and walk through the ruins. Other tourists were there, as well as a Thai art class on a field trip of sorts, making sketches of various statues and architecture. Others offered incense and flowers to Buddha. I love the colors of Thailand! And the smiles are so infectious! Until next time!

Taylor Sandelius

Caving in Thailand

Feb 3, 2009 - Emily Long
 
After an eventful day of rock climbing and rappeling yesterday, we headed out from the campsite to spend a day traversing and caving... wow.  What an experience.  There's just no way to really put into words the feelings you feel when you are crossing a cave 45 meters in the air, with just a rope to support you.  And there's no way to put into words how you feel as you squeeze your body through tiny rock tubes into an entire new world under ground.  As a first time caver, I didn't think I'd make it past the entrance of the Furnace Cave, too small to stand up in, let alone crawl along the dirt on my stomach through holes barely bigger than me!  But I did!  What an awesome experience.  How often do you get the opportunity to play in dirt and mud in a cave, in Thailand! Our group is so encouraging and supportive of eachother.  The positive attitude really made the day. 

Indiana Jones V: Journey to the Tasman Sea

After a week of volunteering, the group was very excited to go on their first expedition. Little did they know that they would be put through some of the most challenging obstacles of their lives. Day one began at 5:30 AM with a three hour car ride from Auckland to Waitomo. The drive was long and winding, but the team was anxiously awaiting their arrival to the base of Absolute Adventures. Upon arrival, the group was introduced to their leader Doug. Doug was very knowledgeable about all of the activities were about to embark on, but had somewhat of an intense demeanor.

Once the group got briefed about their upcoming 5 day venture, they were issued wetsuits (which fit some people better than others) and polypropylene (a thin material that keeps you warm under your wetsuit). After the clothing was divided amongst the group everyone was required to make room for the weeks food and cooking supplies in their backpacks. Shortly after, Doug gave the group a lesson on how to read a compass and follow a map. Most of us were still confused after the lesson, but hoped that we would learn as the week progressed.

The adventure began with a long walk uphill to the top of a 300 foot cliff. Once atop the cliff, the group needed to abseil (or repel down) to the bottom in order to reach the next part of their journey: the cave. The team enjoyed the abseil, but were relieved to reach level ground. After abseiling, the group walked another path towards a cave. They then spent 2 hours working their way under ducks, tight squeezes and underwater passageways throughout the cave. Once they reached the end of the cave (which included a steep, muddy incline to the surface), they began a trek in search for shelter. Katie was chosen as the days' leader and had to navigate us towards our shelter. The trek was not easy, and the team was required to bend and twist their way through a thick wooded forest. Luckily they finally managed to find their way. GREAT JOB Katie!

The team was tired from the days hard work, but a great spaghetti meal made by Katie and Dominic was just what they needed at the end of the day. Before it got too dark, the group worked hard to construct their first shelter. With only a rope and a few tarps, the team had to put their heads together to develop a reliable place to sleep. Luckily ex-Boy Scout extraordinaire Scott was there to help the group put up a safe home for the night!

AUDRA

Expedition 1: Canoeing!

Hi Everyone,

Our last day of the expedition we canoed down the Marakopa River to the Tasman Sea. Canoeing definitely puts a good burn in the arms. We only had one boat tip over, poor Margaret and Piper! Luckily they didn't lose anything. After we beached our canoes at the black sand beach we drove back to base and then onto Taupo to spend a few days relaxing. We stopped for dinner along the way and everyone ate too much food after all the working out we had done during the week. It was nice to end our expedition with everyone in one piece!

Jordan

Expedition 1: Waitomo bound

DAY 9 - A traveling day. We woke up at 5:30am Jan 25 to go to Waitamo. It was about a 2 hour drive from Auckland. Once we got to base camp we all met Doug (our expedition guide), got suited up to go caving and repelling (abseiling). We had to dress in long polypro (warm clothing - pants and long sleeves) and hike 45 minutes UP with wetsuits, harnesses, and helmets to a 350 ft abseil, which was so much fun coming down! It was super high up and I think I found out I am a little afraid of heights - but I have since conquered that.

Once we got down the abseil, we hiked another 15 minutes through "Indiana Jones" like forests, where we had to climb over hanging trees, abseil again, and make sure we didn't fall off a cliff...that was a tiny bit scary. After the abseil we made it to the cave! I was so excited until I saw the first SQUEEZE we had to go through. It was TINY and we all barely got through, but we all did after some fancy manouvering. Once we got into some bigger caverns and saw the cool formations it was clear that my hands were going to be raw coming out because some of the rocks were super sharp to hold onto. What was scary about this part was that we had to go into freezing cold water that made it almost hard to breath, esp when we have to completely submerge ourseleves. I was not happy about that, but looking back, it was pretty awesome. We saw glow worms too, and made it through after an hour and half under the ground. I was exhausted after that because it was mentally trying, BUT the day was far from being over. We got out of the cave around 3:30pm (maybe) and hiked back to base camp. We then re-packed our backpacks with all the essentials (clothing, food, some snacks, etc), and then started our tramping (backpacking) journey at 5:20pm. With 20 extra pounds on your pack and going up and down hills...is NOT easy.

After tramping through lots and lots of suple jack (a horrible thick vine that tangles you into everything around you) we found our first campsite near a stream (it was a random clearing we found) around 7pm. We had to cook dinner and set up our tents quickly (tents being a tarp). The water is clean to drink so we didnt have to worry about that. End of day 9.

Piper

Expedition 1: The group trekking towards camp on day 3

Expedition 1: Audra and Dominick navigating the Tawerau River

Expedition 1: The group at Double Drop Falls

NZ Australia Program: Expedition 1

We are now relaxing in the lakeside resort town of Taupo after an arduous five days of backpacking, scrambling, climbing, slipping, rapelling, tubing, canoeing, caving and camping on our journey from Waitomo to the Tasman Sea. For some this was their first backpacking trip. For all of us, the challenges of slippery moss covered rocks, tangles of vines, and having to find the energy to make camp after 9 hours of exertion was at times overwhelming. Everyone found the trip more difficult and unrelenting than they had expected but I hope that after some well deserved R&R and upon reflection, everyone feels a great sense of acomplishment and pride in doing so well on this fantastic journey.

Scott

North to the Bay of Islands

The day we went to The Bay of Islands, we woke up really early, made some breakfast and packed the trailer. It was about 3.5 hours up to the Bay of Islands, which actually went by pretty quickly. On the way we got onto a ferry to get to Russell, where we stopped to get lunch and snacks for the week of volunteering. We met Chris, the DOC (Department of Conservation) man we would be working with the most. Once we packed all our packs and food onto the small boat we started our ten minute journey to the island, which was beautiful. Our campsite was pretty much on the beach. We had to unload the whole boat...food, packs, DOC equipment etc, and than we set up our tents - which was an adventure. Then we all went exploring. Some went for a hike, some swimming and some just relaxed by the campsite. It was a nice easygoing day...which didn't last...dun dun dun :)
Piper

Bangkok: It's Hot In Here....But Look At All The Pretty Colors!!

Friday, January 23, 2009 - Shannon

So Bangkok is a bit humid.  Nothing to worry about, you will soon get used to the constant out of the shower feeling.  Not too many bugs, but you know, most people say that when they have been in a mosquito infested country and haven't been bitten in 24 hours.  I felt that I was a little over-prepared for the trip out here, and thought I would share my top 10 pre-departure information for those destined to backpacking orientated adventures.
 
1. If arriving in Bangkok, buy nothing but medication and a good pair of shoes.  You need not buy a backpack.  You'll get a much better deal here, and have a much better time buying one and filling it with everything you could ever imagine buying... all for a few hundred bucks.
 
2. Drink water - like 2 liters a day.  Finding a bathroom is no problem and you will mostly be sweating it out anyways.
 
3. Talk to everyone you meet.  The host country nationals are friendly and talkative.  They want you to have the best time possible, so that you tell your friends back home.
 
4. Blisters are part of life.  Clean often.
 
5. Bargaining is about finding the right price for the seller and the buyer.  Chances are you aren't being cheated, you are just converting wrong.  So just relax - should be more like a conversation than a competition.
 
6. Look the other way before crossing the street.  Traffic in Bangkok operates on the other side.  In addition, you never know what kind of driver is behind the wheel.
 
7.  Eat everything.  But be reasonable - stop when you feel like you are going to be sick. Also, pass on favorites from home.  The local food is much better and much cheaper.
 
8. Have a map.  Locals like to point out where you are and what is going on in the area.  All of this makes much more sense with directions.  Plus, chances are they know more about what is going on in the area than you do.
 
9. Smile - a lot.  People are very friendly.  But don't be stupid - they probably want you to buy something as well.
 
10. Look up.  So often the streets are congested with so much activity that you miss what is going on above street level.  Also keep in mind your toes are on the ground - with all the cars, tuk tuks, and motorbikes.

Bangkok - here we are!

After many hours spent squeezing one's body into a static, economy sized seat everyone has managed to unfold into Bangkok without a hitch. Craig walked us through 'Southeast Asia 101' yesterday to help us settle into the crazy world of Bangkok before letting us loose on the city today. A flying tour of one of the oldest and most exciting cities in the world. Visits to ancient temples and beautiful traditional thai buildings was interspersed with high speed tuk-tuk rides through hot, smog filled Bangkok streets and relaxing long-boat rides down some of the city's rivers and canals. With a visit to one of the largest markets in the world to top it off, it was one hell of a big day! Tomorrow we head out to Northern Thailand feeling much more street wise and adventurous than we did acouple of days ago. Bring it on!

"Fun" Day on Volunteer Project 1

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Today we had our last full day of volunteer work in the Bay of Islands. We definitely got off lightly and were able to clean underwater signs that snorkelers can see from the surface. Some of us also took a steep hike up to a look out point. All in all it was a chill morning before heading back into the DOC boat to look for marine life. We saw a couple penguins when we were driving around and then we spotted some dolphins, finally!! They swam and jumped right next to our boat, it was amazing! We were all pretty happy that we could check that one off the list. Some of the group went to a resort bar "over the big hill" once we got back to camp. A well deserved break! We hung out with some of our neighbors during our last night on Urupukapuka. Everyone is ready for a hot shower and a bed.

Talk to you later,

Jordan

Journey back to Auckland

Today we got up and packed up all of our gear and tents.  We hiked back over the hills to round up a few more sheep to herd back over to the pasture by our campsite.  It was a hot morning and we were all sweating by the time we finished!  We loaded all the gear up and said goodbye to our first real "home" of our trip.  We stopped in Russell for some lunch and window shopping (or real shopping, if you were me, and just couldn't resist a few presents for back home!)  When we got back to Auckland everyone raced to get into hot showers and clean clothes and to catch up on laundry, email and phone calls.  We ordered a bunch of pizzas which were delicious!  We finished off the evening by either relaxing or heading out for some fun on the town, including a karaoke night at a local bar!  It was a nice day to get back into civilization and get cleaned up a bit before our next adventure!

-Katie

NZ Australia Program: Volunteer week 1 update

We are now back in Auckland for some well deserved R & R after a fantastic first week of camping and volunteer work in the beautiful Bay of Islands - see the photos below. We've all had far too much sun and are looking forward to spending time in the forest next week on a caving, rapelling, backpacking, canyoning, tubing and canoeing expedition, so that our sunburnt bodies get a chance to recover. Keep a look out for posts from the others about their experiences over the coming days.
Scott

NZ Australia Program: Volunteer week 1

We were lucky to come across a pod of Bottlenose dolphins who swum around our boat.

PS. click on pictures to see them larger

NZ Australia Program: Volunteer week 1

Piper and Katie cleaning underwater interpretation panels on the Roberton Island snorkeling trail.

NZ Australia Program: Volunteer week 1

Jordan, Dominick and Audra working on cutting a new trail to the Cape Brett lighthouse.

NZ Australia Program: Volunteer week 1

Audra and Piper using 'scrub bars' to cut grass on our first day of volunteer work in the Bay of Islands.

NZ Australia Program: Volunteer week 1

Sunrise over our campsite on Urupukapuka Island.

NZ Australia Program - First day

Today was the first day that we all got together and had our first meetings. It was all alot of fun, and in some ways adventurous; we were running/sliding down hills, dodging sheep paddies, and hanging off monkey bars! Then took I much needed R&R at Mission Bay beach. Everyone in the group seems to have a certain dynamic to add and I think we are all excited to get started on our adventure, I know I am. Tomorrow we depart at 6:30 am for the Bay of Islands, our first volunteer trip so we need lots of sleep...

till then, Marg

Southeast Asia Program: Photos from Cambodia

Photos by Jenn

Southeast Asia Program: Cambodian Experience

Sua sdei from Cambodia!

How is everyone doing!? =)

Here is my Cambodian experience:

Takeo Province:

After bribing the Vietnamese officials at the Vietnam-Cambodia border (We gave them coconut candies), we entered another splendid country including magnificient temple ruins, endless acres of rice fields, smiling orphans and beautiful skies.

On our first few days in Cambodia, we home stayed in a small town of 10,000 people in the province of Takeo with a kind-hearted Khmai family by the name of Siphen and Mach Meas. Siphen and Mach, a happily married couple with two children, opened up the door to a new way of living in the countryside of an once-very-turmoiled country. Siphen works as an English teacher and Mach is one of the assistant principals at Moy Sophea School, the local school of the town, serving 3000 students from the age of 13 to 19 years. Classes took place from 730am to 11am and 2pm to 5pm. Students go home during peak hours (the hottest times of the day). Anways, my friends and I had an amazing time at the school as we got to interact with many high school seniors and taught them how to sing American songs. We walked into their classrooms and introduced ourselves, and broke out into smaller groups to allow the students to ask us about our lifestyles in America. Shy at first, they often took a few minutes to warm up to us, but became chatterboxes as time passed by! The afternoon was spent playing basketball with the girls' basketball team of the school.

The following day, Nov 5, we drove two hours out to Kampot to work on a outdoor volunteer project with Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, an NGO that helps poor communities improve their living conditions. The 16 of us were taken into a small remote village to build a house (hut) for a mother and her child. We cut down some trees, laid some leaves for the roof, and some more for the walls of the house.. and all in all, we got half of a little hut in the end! That day, we were all dying to find out who had won the elections.. and finally, one of the NGO organizer came by on his motorbike to scratch our itch and announced the wonderful news!

Phnom Penh:

The core of our education on the history of the Khmer Rouge took place in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh when we visited the Toul Sleng genocide museum (the largest detention center in the country) and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, where over 17,000 women, men and children were executed from 75-79.

We also spent a day at the orphanage called KDFO (Khmer Development of Freedom Organization), an NGO that rescues children off the streets, who are often found living in the rubbish dumps and/or involved child prostitution. We each was paired up with a child as a big brother/sister, and took them out on a day of cultural development. Together, we watched a traditional Khmai show, and took part of numerous workshops on traditional Khmai music and dance, as well as learning how to carve wood.

Siem Reap:

Our Cambodian experience finished in Siem Reap where we spent 3 days exploring one of the seven wonders of the world: Angkor Wat. =)

We woke up at 5am every day to take tuk-tuk to the temples, where we would sit in silence to watch the sunrise. In the middle of the day, we would drive back to town to visit the silk farm, donate blood at the community hospital, swim at the guesthouse pool, shop at the center market, buy music from the Boom Boom Room and have some Happy Pizza. And we would then tuk-tuk back to the temples to catch the sunset!

Next destination: Scubadiving in Southern Thailand!

With lots of smile,

Virginie

Southeast Asia Program: Jessica's SE Asia Photos

Here are the links to all of my SE Asia photos so far:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jessica.nicholas/SEAsia2008#

http://picasaweb.google.com/jessica.nicholas/SEAsia2008PartII#

Enjoy!

~Jessica

Southeast Asia Program: Luang Prabang to Hanoi

A mini summary since Luang Prabang: We had a full free day in Luang Prabang which is the day I called and spent a ton of time uploading photos. The next day we took songtaos out to a beautiful waterfall where we had a picnic lunch and climbed to the top of the waterfall to swim in the water just above it. The following day we flew into Hanoi and hung out in the Old Quarter until we had dinner at Bar 69 and took our bus to the train station to board the night train to Lao Cai (one hour drive up to Sapa). We got into Sapa at 7 am and had breakfast at the Cat Cat View Hotel while our rooms were made up then packed and rested for our trek up Mt. Fanspian the following day. We had 3 options for our time in Sapa so 8 people decided to stay at the hotel and do a mountain biking day trip, 3 went on an overnight village trek, and 5 of us hiked up Fansipan - 3143 meters. The first day of the trek we hiked 4.5 hours up to camp then hiked 3 hours roundtrip. The trek is pretty much straight up along a ridge with sheer drops on either side and cement bamboo banisters to help haul yourself up and over the huge boulders. I was really close to crying by the time we made the summit - due in large part to the torrential pouring rain which started 5 minutes into the summit trek. I have never been so close to hypothermia in my life - I couldn't feel my toes or fingers! No permanent damage though. The following day we trekked back down to Sapa, showered, packed, and took the night train back to Hanoi. We were picked up by Wide Eyed Tours and drove 5 hours to Halong City where we boarded our private charter "junk" for the 3 day tour. It was super swanky! It was 3 floors: the top deck filled with nice sun chases for hanging out, the middle deck had the dining room/bar/two cabins (including mine and Lauren's), and the lower deck had 7 more cabins plus the kitchen and crew quarters. We spent the next two days cruising around the islands, visiting limestone caves, sea kayaking, and jumping 30 feet off of the roof into the water! Our meals were 10 course feasts and our waiters wore vests and even folded our napkins like on a cruise ship! Yesterday we docked back in Halong City and drove back to Hanoi for the night (we went out for Glen's birthday but couldn't find the club we had in mind so just wandered around town and had dinner and drinks). Today Bobby and I went on a walking tour of the Old Quarter and then I took a taxi to the movie theater/mall to see Eagle Eye - really good! In a few minutes we are headed out to dinner and then to the Water Puppet Theater.

Southeast Asia Program: Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Southeast Asia Program: From Loas to Vietnam

National Geographic Adventure 25 BEST NEW TRIPS

Look out for our New Zealand volunteer conservation trip in the November edition of National Geographic Adventure Magazine. The trip was chosen as one of the top 25 new trips in the world!

SE Asia Program: Jenn's blog & photos

You can check-out Jenn Feasby's Southeast Asia Program blog and photos at the following places: Blog: http://jennfeasby.blogspot.com/ Photos: http://picasaweb.google.co.th/jenn.feasby A a recent thought from Jenn about her trip...."The trip is going sooo well, much better than I could have anticipated... thanks for putting together such a good trip!" Thanks for sharing with us Jenn. Rachel

SE Asia Program: Vietnam Bound

Sabaidee from Luang Prabang, Laos!

The group has arrived from three days of remote river travel in the north western part of the country. We traveled the muddy waters of the Nam Tha River for a day and a half, slept overnight in our boat driver's village, and then joined up with the mighty Mekong River to bring us all the way to the town of Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang has a population of approximately 50,000 people within city limits. The town was given UNESCO World Heritage site status in 1995 in order to preserve the cultural and structural gems of this location. A day's walk will afford you many looks upon glimmering Buddhist temples or wats, ancient French colonial architecture with the pastel paint chipping away with the times. And while on the city stroll you can be sure to end up running into the local French baguette vendor. They'll slap on some Laughing Cow spreadable cheese and add a bit of fresh cucumber and tomato. The best afternoon snack for under $1.00 USD.

Tomorrow the group boards a short flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. Hard to believe it's our third country out of four. A new language to practice, new cusine to explore, and many more smiles to exchange. Life is good here in Southeast Asia!

Sabaidee,

Mels

SE Asia: Welcome to Laos

Ok, a fast and gritty summation of our recent travels and experiences unfolds below:

Upon arriving in Luang Nam Tha in Loas we checked into a guest house, and crossed the street to enjoy food at a night market. I had a "chicken salad" which consisted of a halved chicken head, a partially developed embryo, some bits of neck, liver, stomach, and feet. Yuuuum. The following day we set off trekking in the Nam Ha river valley. Muddy trails led up the side of hills mottled with rubber plantations and wheat fields, then gave way to dense forest cut by mountain streams. We stopped in Kahu and Lihue villages where larger rivers had allowed access to the rugged landscape. One side of these villages was Kahu, the other side Lihue. Segregation between the two hill tribes exists due to religious difference, but the villages are joined due to common agricultural practices and the benefits of sharing work. We learned about the "Concoy", a mythical animal that some Loatians believe inhabits the dense forest. It looks like a monkey, only its feet have been turned around backwards by the Vietnamese, so that its footprints point opposite its direction of travel. When the animal approaches, one becomes disoriented, and then trees begin to fall. It feeds on human intestine. The only way to chase off a Concoy is to speak in Vietnamese, as the animal is affraid of Vietnamese because of what they did to its legs.

We dined on piles of sticky rice and jeow (a paste made of mashed herbs, spices, and chilli), pork, and fish, and spent hours amusing families with our digital cameras and Lao/English phrase books. After trekking we took a motorized canoe down the Nam Tha river to its confluence with the Mekong, stopping in a small village in route to sleep, play with children, and try Laotian jump rope whereby the jumper twists a rope around her ankle in one jump, then untwists it with the next. We also watched novices (young monks) practice writing in English as they spelled 'Colgate' in the dirt on the grounds of a Wat (temple). The boat down the Mekong delivered stunning scenery as karst mountains rose vertically from the river valley, riddled with caves and strewn with folliage. After a brief stop at Pak Ou caves to see thousands of Buddha figures stored within a limstone cavern, we arrived in Luang Phabang, a UNESCO world heritage site where hundreds of saffron robed monks collecting alms, are met by hundreds of camera flashes each morning as tourists seek to capture their commodified experiences on film as evidence of their travels. Today we head off to see a waterfall, and soon after we will be off to Hanoi.

We're all happy, healthy, and loving our experiences in SE Asia!
Glen

SE Asia Program: Laos Adventures

October 11: Today we started our two day trekking trip in the Nam Ha area. We left from the Boat Landing Guesthouse after breakfast. My group was doing the Nam Ha Valley Trek. We drove 15 minutes by songtao to the village of Ban Nam Lue where we started our trek. We hiked for about 3 hours, mostly uphill, to the ridge dividing the two villages land. Some parts of the trail were pretty muddy but overall not bad. We met a local woman along the trail with a huge bag of supplies carried in a sack on her head and a mesh bag with 2 kittens in it! They were to help keep the village free of rats - not for eating thank goodness! We headed downhill a short ways to a bamboo picnic table with benches where our guides laid out an impressive spread of local Laos delicacies served in banana leaf bowls. After lunch we continued downhill for about another 1-2 hours to the semi-abandoned village of Ban Na Lan Tai where we rested and played the "vegetable game." We continued about 40 minutes along the river to the new village of Ban Nam Koy - the government made the villagers relocate to be closer to outside resources. We left our bags in the visitor's hut and headed down to the river for a quick dunk to clean up. We spent the afternoon playing with the local children and watching the villagers prepare our dinner. The village is divided into two sections - one is Lanten, the other is Kahu (sorry on the spellings) - they have different belief systems but live alongside peacefully. There were tons of dogs, chickens, pigs, and cows milling about everywhere. We set out the mattresses, pillows, and mosquito nets on the raised bamboo sleeping platform and played cards then ate a dinner of sticky rice, tomato based joewl (Laos chili paste with spices), meat, veggies, and of course Lao-Lao (rice whiskey).

Trekking Day 2: We got up at about 8 am after an awesome 12 hours of sleep! We ate breakfast and filled our water bottles with "river tea" (boiled river water flavored with cardamom which tasted like smoked sausage - yuck!). We started trekking around 9 am and hiked along the river for several hours passing through an area infested with leeches! They were crawling all over our shoes and inside our socks - almost everyone had at least 1 bite. Leeches are creepy but pretty darn awesome. We reached the river with the bamboo raft around 11:30 am and swam, hung out, and ate a leisurely 3 hour lunch before crossing. After crossing we hiked another 3 hours through the jungle and rice paddies and creeks (by the end we had given up on rock hopping and just walked straight through the creeks). We reached the large river around 4 pm and were taken across in open wooden boats by young boys with long poles. We swam and drank tons of tasty regular bottled water (no more river tea! Yay!). We walked up the short bank to the waiting songtaos and the village children all waved goodbye. It was about an hour drive back to Luang Nam Tha along a dirt road cut into the hill high above the river. The road was VERY muddy with enormous ruts - I can't believe we made it through without getting stuck! We were dropped off at the Boat Landing Guesthouse where we showered, ate dinner, and had a short meeting about our 3 days of river travel before heading to bed.

River Journey Day 1: We had a lazy morning getting up, packing, eating breakfast, and exploring the street market. We loaded up our 3 open wooden boats around 10 am. I was in a boat with Zac, Bobby, Jenn, V, and Lea. We lay out our sleeping pads on the bottom/sides of the boat and made ourselves comfy for a day on the river. We passed countless villages filled with smiling, waving children (and others who did neither, simply stared silently at us passing by). We stopped at a small beach for lunch before continuing on to the village of Ban Khone Kham where we were staying the night with the family of our respective boat drivers. We dropped off our bags and were instantly surrounded by women selling sarongs in every shape, size, and color. We went down to the river for a quick swim in the gasoline/mud/sewage - ah, refreshing! We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the children on the beach (duck duck goose, relay races, painting nails, etc). We had a simple dinner prepared by our boat driver's family and played cards for a couple of hours before squeezing into our 5 person sleeping area (there were 6 of us).

River Journey Day 2 (Oct 14): We got up at 5:15 am, packed up, and ate breakfast before leaving around 6:30 am. We spent the next 7 hours heading further down the Nam Tha River, stopping at what seemed like every village enroute for a minute or two to say hi or drop off items. We arrived at the confluence with the Mekong River around 1 pm. We switched to our large riverboat (coomplete with airline style seats that reclined fully, snacks, and a bathroom!) and cruised down the Mekong until we reach Pakbeng around 5:30 pm. Mels and Glen ran off to arrange accomodation and we guarded our bags fromt he locals eager to make some extra money by carrying them up the small hill to town. We lucked out and found space at the nice guesthouse. We showered and headed to the Indian restaurant next door for dinner. It took forever to get our food - over 2 hours but, hey, there were 16 of us - but it was really good!

River Journey Day 3: We left around 8:30 am after yoga and breakfast. We cruised down the Mekong all day sleeping/reading/listening to music/playing cards. We reached the Pak Ou caves around 3 pm. The two caves set into a limestone cliff along the river are jam packed with a wide variety of Buddha images/icons (over 4,000 at last count). We explored then continued the 25 km downriver to Laung Prabang, arriving just after 4 pm. We walked 10 minutes to the Xien Mouen Guesthouse and dropped off our bags plus had a quick briefing on the plans for the next few days. I spent the afternoon doing internet, researching Bali flights, and exploring the Hmong night market. For dinner we walked down to the riverfront. We ate at the Riverside Cafe. Today was the last day of Bun Awk Phansa - the End of the Rainy Season Festival and the end of Buddhist Lent - one of the two major holidays in Laos. All of the Wats were decorated with candles, streamers, incense, and paper lanterns. The streets were teeming with people eating, laughing, setting off fireworks, and generally enjoying themselves. Locals built large bamboo dragon shaped boats adorned with candles which they lit and floated down the river. Every street vendor sold Lai Heua Fai - hat sized paper/candle/flower boats. These were also lit and floated down the Mekong by the thousand. Truly an amazing sight! After dinner, we all stopped by the Hive for a drink, one of the two bars in town and done up quite swanky.

Luang Prabang- FREE DAY! I got up at 8 am and immediately headed out to the internet cafe where I booked Bali flights, called people at home on Skype, typed a massive email/blog post, etc. Lauren, Bobby, Shira, and I got all of our flights booked - now we just need to book a guesthouse in Kuta and one in Ubud. After internet, I went and got ice cream with Bobby, Lauren, and Jenn. They left to go bike riding to a local village with some of the others and I went across the street to Nazim Indian for some lunch. I then went to the Lotus Du Lao Herbal Spa and Massage for a 1 hour aromatherapy massage ($8!). I returned to the guesthouse and journalled/read until 5 pm when we all met up to go to the Wat Xien Thong, built in 1560 by King Setthathirat. We walked around the temple grounds and saw the tree of life mosaic and royal funeral chapel with 12 m high funeral chariot. Mels gave us a 30 minute talk on Buddhism (the monks were doing their sundown prayers inside the chapel - great ambience for our talk!). We all walked back into the main part of town to the Hmong Night Market - absolutely massive, at least 200 stalls selling t-shirts, textiles, jewellry, paper lanters, wood carvings, cobra whiskey, clothing, etc. I ate dinner at a vegetarian street buffet for 5,000 kip (about 50 cents).

That's all for now, folks. We are heading to the waterfall in a bit then we fly off to Vietnam tomorrow for some trekking and our Halong Bay trip before spending a view days in Hanoi recovering. Hope everything is well in your respective corners of the world!

~Jessica

SE Asia Program: A New Type of Fish Stick

I go out of my way to find the interesting, bizarre and tasty... which is
odd for a Wisconsinite, no offence to us, or our cooking styles. But the
only thing is culinarily (I think I made that word up) sophisticated is
the cheese, I wish I was lying, but my staple foods are meat and potatoes
(cheese is its own category), with salt, and maybe, if the chef is
adventourous, pepper. Our beer is cheap (shout out to Milwaukees Best and
Schlitz!!!) and the remaining food consists of cheese and sausage
platters, pasties, and fruit, only if it is sweet and, dare I say
pieified.

You think I am lying, go to a Mexican Restaurant in the upper midwest...
you will know... Now I realize that this may be a cultural exaggeration of
stereotypes (curse me if you will), but the only thing we do awesome are
the State Fairs. Now, I realize that my red neck is showing when I make
this statement, but in the Midwest, state fairs are a huge deal.

Food in Asia is like a gigantic State Fair. That is the only way to
describe it... A Culinary Extravaganza!

I just love walking through the night markets, not only are there a lot of
shiny, silky, and distracting goods, but anytime that I crave something
deep fried, on a stick, meatlike, or a combination of the aforementioned
tastes (which happens frighteningly often) a booth turns up selling these
goods.

Most of the time, I can't figure out what type of meaty, deep fried
goodness on a stick that I am getting, so I purchase it, and ask questions
later.

Tonight, I was wandering through the market in Luang Prabang, Laos,
resisting the shiny, shimmery, hand woven silk objects, cool containers of
bamboo, and exotic jewelry and gemstones on my way to the food booths.
Much to my joy, I came to the portion of the food boothes selling random
meat on a stick!

Eureaka!

There it was... right in front of me! It was a fish stick! And we aren't
talking the Vandekamps flaky fish sticks that I had to eat Fridays during
Lent growing up, I literally mean a fish, full fish, on a stick.

Anyone who knows me well enough should know of my recent (as in, right
before the trip) overcoming of my irrational fear of fish... I don't know
what caused this fear in the first place, but I have had it since second
grade, so much so, that I dashed out of our Summer Camp Water Emergency
Response training crying hysterically (at the age of 20 mind you) because
a 3 inch SunFish ran into my forehead!

There it was, fully intact, eyes, bones, skin, the whole shebang, on a
bamboo stick. Probably caught fresh from the Mekong River this morning,
and I thought to myself, what a better way to conquer your fears that to
eat them? I can't think of a better way to dispose of anything, including
things that I am not afraid of.

I bought that fish (named Fred) served on a banana leaf, and sat and
stared at his poor, grilled skin. He stared back at me, (as he still had
his expressionless fish eyes completly intact) not to eat him. I raised my
fork to his pale, skin, and started to shred him open mercelessly.

I stared at the pale flesh, took a large gulp, and chewed. My oh my, it
was the BEST fish I had ever had! And I grew up in a Great Lakes State,
where Friday Fish Frys are just what we do! Marinated, juicy and drippy
(no, it did not taste like chicken...) it was like heaven on a plate.

15 minutes later, all that was left of Fred was a few internal organs, a
spine, and a head (stupid staring eyes didn't comprehend getting eaten)

I would like to remind those of you who think fish on a stick is weird,
just remember that this year, at the Minnesota State fair, I had a deep
fried chocolate covered bacon.

Another fear conquered down to a pile of bone, in a nice, tasty way!

And I am still alive!

10 points for me!

Mandy

SE Asia Program: Muay Thai in Chiang Mai

SE Asia Program: Laos & the Mekong

SE Asia Program: Trekking the Nam Ha River Valley

Southeast Asia Program: Chiang Mai to Laos

Let's see, where did I leave off? On Oct 6, we had an early breakfast and then walked over to the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures office where we were outfitted with climbing gear and loaded into songtaos for the 30 minute drive out to Crazy Horse Canyon. When we arrived we split into two groups (I was on Team Ahoy Ca-toi or Hello Ladyboy!!). My groups first activity was a casual walk through a couple of large caves including an introduction to cave formation. Then we practiced rappelling/abseiling on a small 20 ft cliff before our big rappel of 60 meters (almost 200 feet!). After our practice, we hiked 15 minutes up to the top of the mountain and then rappelled down one-by-one (some of us decided to "race" down the rappel - I got third place with a time of 1:48 behind Glen's 1:26 and Bennett's 1:44). After the big rappel we hiked back down to the base area and had our lunch of fried rice. After lunch we swapped activities with the other group so we did rock climbing. There were 4 routes set up and the hardest route was a 6A or 5.10. It was pretty difficult but 5 of the 8 people in our group did it (me, Glenn, Shira, Lauren, and Bennett). I climbed 3 of the 4 route before we returned to the base area, met the other group, and hiked 30 minutes through the jungle in the slippery, slimy mud to our camping area. Our four communal canvas tents had been set up already so we "showered" (a bucket with cold water) and stretched/yoga then ate dinner. After dinner the guides built a HUGE bonfire and we played "Birdie on a Perch" and roasted sticky rice.

The next day we had breakfast and drove back to the base area. Today the activities were caving and a Tyrolean traverse with free hanging rappel. Team Ahoy Ca-toi started with the Tyrolean traverse. We hiked up and into the large rappelling cave from yesterday but from a different side. Then we climbed to a spot overlooking the traverse 45 meters above the ground. Safety precautions were reviewed then we each went one-by-one across the zip-line like traverse and rappelled down. Most of our group did it twice, including Mandy and Sophea who were both hesitant at first due to the height - they were awesome! We headed back down to the base area for lunch then waited for the caving group. Everyone was totally, completely coated in mud so some of us swapped shoes as not to get another pair filthy. We headed off to the cave around 1 pm in helmets, headlamps, and thick knee pads. From the very start we were down on our hands and knees (and in some cases our stomachs) pulling, pushing, and squeezing ourselves through the muck. It took about 45 minutes to reach the "end" - a 25 meter crevasse that requires ropes and harnesses to cross. After a short break and mud wrestle or two we headed back out the way we came. We decided it would be funny to sneak through the woods and surprise the other group (they had chased us down that morning and given us all muddy hugs so we figured we would return the favor!). We were very stealthy sneaking through the woods but Zac spotted us and everyone ran for cover before we could attack! After showering with buckets and hoses we drove back to the camping area to rinse our muddy clothes then piled back into the songtaos for the ride to Chiang Mai. We showered (for real!) back at Mandala House then went to dinner at the Ratana Cafe before a much needed good night's sleep.

October 8: We had breakfast at the guesthouse before taking two songtaos to the Burmese Refugee Learning Center. Mr Sai, the founder/director who fled Burma 20 years prior, gave us a 45 minute lesson on Burmese history before we broke into volunteer groups. Half of us did English language skills while half of us did computer skills. I did computer skills but the student I was paired with was a 16 year old boy who had only been in Thailand for 4 months and spoke virtually no English. We looked at pictures on facebook, maps of various places (Thailand, Burma, Oregon, California), played an online video game involving shooting men in black suites with yellow ties, and then watched videos on youtube. We left at 11 am and had free time for the rest of the day. I walked to CMRCA and got a t-shirt since they ran out of my size yesterday. I had lunch at a juice bar/restaurant called Juice4U then walked all the way down Thanon Loi Kroh to the Apple store to see if they could fix my iPod that hasn't been working since the first day in Bangkok. Then, I went with V and Emily by songtao up to the Wat Doi Suthep high in the hills above Chiang Mai. The Wat has 306 steps leading up to it and was built on the spot where the royal white elephant carrying the self-replicating Buddha relic stopped and died. We explored the Wat and received a blessing by a monk. After returning to the guest house around 4 pm, I walked over to the Salon Loi Kroh and got a traditional Thai massage. Lots of poking and squeezing and pulling and stretching. The bruises and bug bites on my legs really hurt but the back/neck massage portion was great! At around 7 pm, I met up with V, Shira, Jenn, and Sophea at the Internet place and we went and got dinner. Then I met up with Glen, Mels, Lauren, Zac, and Emily at the guesthouse to go to a Muay Thai boxing match being held nearby. We paid our 400 bhat cover and walked down the row of bars to the ring in the middle, escorted by our very own Ca-toi! We ordered drinks and snacks and waited for the matches to start at 9:30 pm. There were 6 official matches plus the Ca-toi Cabaret Show and 2 bonus exhibition matches. The first weight class was only 100 lbs and the boys fighting looked about 10 years old. They boys progressively got older and bigger each successive match. The Ca-toi Cabaret Show included lots of spandex, feather headdresses, lip-synching, and plastic surgery! We stayed until the very end then stopped at a 7-11 for ice cream on the way home.

Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong: After breakfast and some last minute Internet, we left the guesthouse at 10:15 am for Chiang Khong on the border with Laos. We drove for two hours and stopped at a rest stop/restaurant/store called Cabbages & Condoms. Yep...condoms. They promote safe sex awareness and have some really funny condom souvenirs (their slogan is "Our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy!"). We got some snacks and lunch then drove 3 more hours before stopping at a little roadside marketplace. We had coconut cream turnovers, thai iced tea bubble tea, fried bananas, taro, and various meats on sticks. We drove 30 more minutes to Chiang Khong and checked into the Namkhong Riverside Hotel. We all have wooden balconies overlooking the river and Laos across the water. We had a border crossing briefing then dinner at a local Mexican restaurant (surprisingly, pretty good if very slow). We also stopped at the Tepee Bar - literally a thatched tepee with cushions, music, and beer run by some nice but very strange characters. After dinner we returned to the hotel to pack for our border crossing tomorrow.

October 10 - Welcome to Laos! We had breakfast then took AC vans down to the river where we boarded small open wooden boats to cross the water. We disembarked in Laos in less than 10 minutes (it's a pretty narrow river). We filled out our Visa and arrival cards and paid $35 US for processing. We were met by our contact who led us up the hill to the waiting vans. V and I and Lauren and Mandy made it to the vans by 8:40 am and then waited and waited for the rest of the group. They started arriving about 9:30 am (they all got trapped behind a large group of European tourists). We exchanged money and bought snacks then drove 3 hours through the mountains to the town of Luang Nam Tha. We had lunch at the Boat Landing Guesthouse and broke into our trekking groups for tomorrow. We drove into the main part of town and the Zuela Guesthouse where we relaxed before dinner (a few people rented motos and drove out into the countryside). We met at 6:30 pm to go to the night market for dinner but the food didn't look very veggie friendly so several of us went to the Manychan Restaurant for dinner. Most of us got "lahb" for dinner, a Laos specialty of minced meat or tofu with cilantro, basil, rice, mint, lime, and chili - delicious!

More updates to follow soon.....

~Jessica

New Pacific Discovery website is live

We've just put the new Pacific Discovery website live!

It will take a couple of weeks to make sure everything is working ok before we officially launch the site. If you've just come here from a referring site like studyabroad.com, please bear with us as we re-link to the correct pages.

It's been months of work in the making and we are really happy. Enjoy taking a look through the site and send us your feedback.

Kind regards,
Scott and Rachel

Southeast Asia Program: Photos from Glen

That's it from me!

Glen

Southeast Asia Program: More photos from Glen

One more after this . . .

Southeast Asia Program: Photos from Glen

Southeast Asia Program: 10 Points for Me!

So, I have decided that I have a new goal for my trip to Southeast Asia: Live

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I have the coordination of…
well.. something without any coordination… (for example I have a scar on
my arm from running into a wall this summer) and can't walk a straight
line if my life depended on it.

Which probably explains my fear of heights… you know… falling into a
canyon or chasm really wouldn't be a surprise from someone who fell out of
the back of a stationary pick up truck on seven different occasions…

Here I am, a flatlander from Wisconsin, hiking what feel like straight
uphill for an eternity, only to strap myself to a rock wall and attempt to
climb up. For someone who has difficulty walking, this seems absolutely
ludicrous.

I was ok for the first 20 feet (out of like, 90 total feet). Then the
going got difficult, but I managed to get three quarters of the way
uphill, and then did a stupid thing… I looked down…

Nothing says insta-queasy like seeing that you are above the tree line… My
body starts to shake madly, but I continue to press upward. Then comes a
tricky section of rock, in which I navigate, well… not so much, as I fell
off the wall

I only fell about five feet… but when you feel your heart drop to your
knees and one of you biggest fears is coming into fruition, it feels like
you are falling forever. Not only was a sore, but the rock had beaten me,
so I came back down.

But I am of the stubborn type. I have tamed angry cornfields, mad cows,
and thousands of Girl Scouts… surely I can handle a vertical rock face? My
competitive will kicked in, and I vowed to return.

And an hour later, I returned, bent on reaching the top and conquering
that fear. Not only that, but I had a vendetta with that rock!!!

It took me 45 minutes the first time to reach that rock, but it only took
10 the second time. I was really determined to get over this ledge, my
legs and arms were shaking from the terror, I was holding on by one hand,
and the opposite foot, and my grip was slipping. My only hope was to
launch myself up and fervently hope that there was a handhold in the
vicinity.

I can't describe what happened when I let go, but a grabbed a rock
outcrop. When I pulled myself up, I was shaking so hard that I had to stop
climbing for the second. And I continued on to the top!

Then I turned around and looked out at the scenery (while maintaining a
death grip on the rock). There it was, a solitary rock between two
limestone mountain ranges, with the rice paddies extending through the
valley below. I couldn't tell whether it was the scenery or the fear that
took my breath away.

Vendetta settled, and I am still alive. 10 points for me!

Mandy

Southeast Asia Program: A new kind of BBQ

I am having a ball on this trip. The group is into short runs, yoga, and muay thai in the morning, followed by breakfast composed of tropical fruits and flavors seldom found in North America. They are challenging themselves physically through trekking activities, emotionally through the difficulty of interacting with those of different cultures, and mentally as they try to understand the history and languages of SE Asia. And through it all they are smiling and laughing.

This past week I especially enjoyed interacting with our Burmese guides on a short trek in Western Thailand. Our guides were Karen- which is a 'hill-tribe' of Thailand and Burma with different cultural and ethnic roots than those of the Thai majority (Tai). A memorable evening around a charcoal fire included fashioning cups from fresh cut bamboo using a leaf blade machete and trying frogs' haunches to one another to make them less mobile but keep them fresh before cooking them. I was one of a few on our trip who decided to actually eat the frogs, but I can honestly say that this was the best frog I have ever had (yep, I've eaten frogs before). The guides were amused.

After an appetizer of frog it was time to get the pig out of the bag. Three Karen men dressed in brightly colored sarongs held the pig down while it was killed with a knife and butchered. I have butchered only small animals, and was amazed by the skill of our hosts as the pig was gutted, splayed-out, and cooked on a spit over a fire. An hour later and those of us without dietary constraints were eating very fresh bacon washed down with the occassional glass of rice wine- suddenly much more aware of where our food actually comes from.

The next day we rode elephants out of the village and back to our songtaos (pick-up truck taxis with benches in the back) and wound our way out of the mountains and down to the former capitol of the ancient Lanna kingdom and the second largest city in Thailand- Chiang Mai. Here we are currently resting, getting massages, and taking Thai cooking class for a day before we begin climbing and caving tomorrow.

It's been an action packed and eye opening start to a great trip with some wonderful people.

Glen

Southeast Asia Program: Part 2 - Mae Sot, Umphang, and Chiang Mai

Ok, so to pick up where we left off: After spending the night in Mae Sot we got up early in order to go have breakfast over in Burma/Myanmar. We took a songtao to the border where we passed through Thai immigration, walked over the bridge that crosses the river dividing the two countries, and paid our 500 baht and left our passports at Burmese immigration (they make you leave the passports as collateral so they know you will come back!).

The changes were immediately noticeable - the streets seemed much busier and a bit less tidy (aka dirtier) plus most of the men wear sarongs (longhi) and the women all have on an all-natural sunscreen face paint applied in large circles to their cheeks and forehead. Our guesthouse owner had applied some of the same face paint to the females in our group so we were getting some pretty strange looks from locals. We had a line of push-cart/tuk-tuk drivers following us down the street wanting to give us a ride but we luckily encountered a very nice man named Zwa who offered to show us around. He took us down the main road and up a side street to a local bakery/tea shop. They brought us platters of burmese pastries and naan as well as herbal tea and another tea with sweetened condensed milk. We then headed over to the local Wat and bought small offerings to be given to the buddha (consisting of a flower, a paper decorative stick, a candle, and an incense stick). There are four main buddhas on the temple grounds - one for each cardinal direction. Our guide also showed us the altars dedicated to the 8 days of the week (Wednesday is split into morning and evening). Each day has an animal associated with it and, based on the day of the week you were born, it is said that you will share some of the character traits of that animal. On your birthday, you go to the altar and they dump cupfuls of water on your head (equal to the number of years).

After the quick tour of the Wat it was time to head back over into Thailand but overall it was a very eye-opening and worthwhile little side venture. After crossing back over into Thailand we met the songtaos, went back to the guesthouse to have the fried rice we had ordered for dinner, and then loaded back into the songtaos for the 6 hour drive to Umphang. We stopped enroute at the Pha Charoen waterfall and then again at the Umphang Hill Gibbon Sanctuary which houses over 50 animals rescued from the tourist trade where they are drugged up and put in bars to entertain tourists. They were very cute and some of the them let us scratch their backs! One even stole V's shirt off of her backpack and they had to fish it back out of the cage! After the gibbon sanctuary it was a long haul up to Umphang in the backs of the songtaos - we chatted and played games and tried not to puke.

After arriving in Umphang we had dinner at the resort, checked into our rooms (most of our accomodation has been very nice, these were definitely the worst of the trip thus far - we had trails of ants on the walls and cockroaches in the bathroom and the AC didn't work and the beds were rock hard planks), and packed our daypacks for the 3 day trek. We left the next morning after breakfast by launching 3 rafts into the river next to the resort. I was with Jen, Shira, Bobby, V, and Emily plus two porters in my raft. We rafted for about an hour through the dense jungle under the massive limestone cliffs, then stopped at a natural hot spring for a quick soak. We continued on for another couple of hours, stopping on a small beach for lunch. After arriving at the trailhead we hiked for 3 hours to the campsite (very steep uphill for the first hour but the rest of the trek was fairly flat). Once at the campsite, the porters set up our tents under the huge tent shelter on the concrete and cooked dinner while we went and bathed in the nearby river. After dinner we stayed up playing card games, drinking rice whiskey, and singing along to the Thai tourist with the guitar.

The following morning was October 2 - Happy Birthday Lauren! We ate breakfast then trekked an hour through the jungle along a raised boardwalk to the Thee Lor Su Waterfall, the sixth largest in the world (200-300 meters high and 5 football fields wide!). We played around in some of the slightly less powerful side cascades and pools for a few hours before returning to camp. We had lunch and continued our trek for another 3-4 hours to the Karen village of Kho Tha. The hike was fairly level but there was a lot of mud and several fallen log bridges to cross.

At the village we were greeted by a group of curious children and lots of pigs, cows, chickens, and dogs running about amongst the houses raised up on stilts. We stayed in the guest longhouse which consisted of bamboo mats on a raised platform covered by mosquito nets. We headed to the river for a quick swim then changed into our clean clothes (clean...yeah right) and went on a quick village tour. We saw the open-air school and soccer field and met with the village chief to ask questions about village life (through Moses, our guide/translator). Then it was off to dinner where they had slaughtered a whole pig in honor of Lauren's birthday (ironic since she's Jewish and doesn't eat pork but interesting nonetheless).

The following morning we ate breakfast and waited for the elephants to arrive. 9 elephants and mauhots (their handlers who live with them in the jungle) plus one super cute baby elephant arrived at about 8:30 am. We had two people to an elephant. Our packs were loaded into the basket on the elephants back and then we sat on top of our packs. Very cool! The trek through the jungle lasted about 5 hours and I got super muddy since our elephant decided to splash us as much as possible and run me into low hanging branches at every opportunity! At the end of the elephant trek we were met by songtaos for the 30 min ride back to the Umphang Resort. That afternoon, we took the songtaos back to Mae Sot, took some much needed showers, and ate at a very nice restaurant called the Bai Fern which had western and Thai food.

The next morning we loaded up into AC vans and drove 5-6 hours to Chiang Mai stopping at the Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, the oldest wooden Wat in Thailand from the 15th century. We checked into our guesthouse, the Mandala house (very very nice!!), around 3:30 pm then split up into two groups to go get our Thai massages. I got Swedish because I'm a wimp but several people got Thai and enjoyed it. After the massages we headed to the Night Market and the Kalare Center for some Thai style food court food. I bought several great gifts and then we all met up again at the Riverside Bar for some live music and drinks. And that brings us to today!

Happy Birthday to me! Yay! After breakfast we split up into two groups for the Chiang Mai Challenge Scavenger Hunt and Thai Cooking Course (I was in the group that did the scavenger hunt first). We had two hours to run around Chiang Mai taking photos and answering the various questions on our checklist. Now we have a couple hours to kill before our afternoon cooking course so here I am, typing the longest email ever. Tonight we are going to a falafel restaurant for dinner then out dancing. Tomorrow we get picked up early for our 2 day caving, rock climbing, rappelling adventure before returning to Chiang Mai for two more nights. Until then!

Jessica

Southeast Asia Program: Part 1 - First Few Days....

From September 30, 2008:

Hello from Mae Sot! We just got here a couple of hours ago after the 2 hour drive up from Sukhothai where we spent last night. To rewind a bit, I got into Bangkok right on schedule and met up with Mels and Glenn (our two guides). We waited for several of the other people to arrive (CC & Zac & Sophea & Bennett). We took a crazy little pimped out van to the guest house in western Bangkok (the New Siam II) and got to bed around 3 am.

The following day we took the local water ferry to see the Wat Pho, the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok (and home of the Reclining Buddha - he is 15m tall and 42m long BTW!). We took tuk-tuks back to the guesthouse and that afternoon after everyone else arrived we had a 2 hour trip briefing then hung out in the pool until going to a local restaurant for dinner.

The following morning we got up at 5:30 am and took the train to Phitsanulok (a 5 hour trip but we were in the Second Class car with AC so it was ok). From there we were driven in vans to our guesthouse in Sukhothai, the Lotus Village. We spent the afternoon at the nearby community center pool playing with the local children. This morning we did a 3 hour bike ride amongst the 70+ ruins at Sukhothai including a little briefing on Thai history. We had lunch at a little cafe then took vans up into the mountains of Mae Sot (on the border with Burma). We just went to a local temple where they have an herbal sauna. Tomorrow we are crossing into Burma for the morning to explore a bit then taking songtaos (trucks with bench seats in the bed) up to Umphang Sanctuary. From there it is 3 days of rafting, trekking, staying in villages, and riding elephants. I calculated and we will be in Chiang Mai for my birthday (Day 1 of the trip was Sept 27).

Jessica

Southeast Asia Program: Sawadee and welcome to Intensity!

I now proclaim the initiation of the Fall 2008 Pacific Discovery Blog! Whew, where to begin?

To be frank, immediately after stepping off the plane, we've all been propelled into an intensity of experiences. And it is only until now that I have had a moment to reflect on the past week. And what a week it was.

Most of us arrived on Saturday where we had our first team meeting and orientation at the guesthouse. Slowly we got to know each other through awkward introductions, anticipating future friendships that would inevitably come. Only, we didn't expect them to come so fast. But alas, thus is the nature of intense experiences.

On Sunday we took the train up to Sukkhothai and cycled around the beautiful and enchanting ruins. With the beating hot sun, we all enjoyed the cool breeze felt from the carefree ride. And from there, the intensity began. In the following days we traveled to Mae Sot, spoke with former Burmese prisoners, crossed over to Burma for a most unique breakfast experience, trekked through goopy mud in the rainforest, visited a Karen village hill tribe where we enjoyed a delicious dinner by candlelight, and rode elephants through the jungle. And we're only on day seven! I think my previous "whew" was an understatement! WHEW!

And now, with the time to reflect, I must say - what an amazingly unique and beautiful world we live in. With only experiencing a small piece of this corner in Asia, I am mesmerized by the beautiful smiles, the savory food and street cart delicacies, and the absolutely pituresque scenery. And on a whole other level, I am also amazed at the friendships that have already developed only one week into our south east Asia adventures. Camping with bare necessities and experiencing such raw cultural situations, it becomes nearly inevitable to get to know one another and to develop a deep commradery and support for one another.

I can't believe this much can be said for one week. But this doesn't even do justice for what we are all feeling in our hearts and minds. I can't wait to see what the next weeks hold for us. Stay tuned for future intensity in the posts to come!

- Emily

Southeast Asia Program: Safe Arrival

All participants have arrived from their overseas flights. We've just had a delicious Thai meal and are off to catch some Zzzz's.

5:30 a.m. start tomorrow morning! We are headed towards the old capital city (1238--1438) known as "Sukhothai." Sukhothai translates into the "Rising of Happiness."

Signing Off For Now!
Mels

Sawasdee From Bangkok, Thailand!

Sawasdee From Bangkok, Thailand!

Mels and Glen here. We are thrilled to be in the land of spicy foods, tuk-tuks, smiles, and sanuk. In just one hour the first participant arrives.

Stay turned to this blog for fantastic updates on our travels. It's sure to be an adventure.

Bangkok Facts:
Bangkok Population: 10--15 Million
The world's 22nd largest city by population
Official Name is "Krung Thep," translating into "City of Angles."
Capital was founded on top of a tiny village named "Bang Makok" meaning "Place of Olive Plums."

More Soon!
Mels and Glen

New Zealand Program - From Queenstown

So we are now in Queenstown at the final station of our journey together before the group starts making their own way to their respective homes. It has been oh too easy to be swept up on this trip with each place offering new experiences and thus a severe neglect of blogging duties...sorry. Here's an attempt to capture the last 2 and a half weeks into a read worthy blog and before the money runs out on the internet! A challenge indeed. From our island of Urupukapuka we headed back to Auckland for a couple of nights to reaquaint with city life 'NZ' style. This included a trip to the Otara markets, the biggest Polynesian markets in the world, where we managed to bump into none other than the leader of New Zealand, the Prime Minister, Helen Clark. Jeremy even managed to squeeze into a photo with her, not hard when there were no bodyguards to ward off onlookers. Then we got into our week of outdoor adventuring. First stop was at the Waitomo caves. The guided trip through the cave including rappels, waterways, stalactites, and the climb up an arduous 6 waterfalls to finish will probably never be forgotten by the group. It was amazing to be in the caves and after a hard climb out, there was a huge amount of pride and well deserved sense of achievement that followed. Congratulations team! It's true shared experiences build relationships. We then travelled on to somewhere that offered a little more luxury and a little less effort - Castle Rock close to Wharepapa South. We took over the accommodation and the hot tub and very quickly it felt like our home. And just across the road were rocks waiting to be climbed. Two days of climbing, mountain biking, movie watching and general unwinding, not to forget a very memorable game of Cranium with a STARE PERFORMER! Once more it was time to drive on. En route to Taupo we stopped at a mainland island, Maungatautari. Set up mostly by the local community it is an area surrounded by a predator-proof fence in the aims of restoring the area to it's native, pest free environment. We spent a couple of hours experiencing the area before we ended up at the Kaituna River. This was where the group decided it was a good day to raft the highest graded waterfall, that is commercially rafted, in the world! A huge 7m (20 foot) drop was waiting around the corner as we dropped over rapids in quick sucession. You should ask the other participants how they enjoyed it and the surfing in the waves. And to end this big day we drove on to Taupo, stopping at Kerosine Creek to soak in the natural, free, springs. From Taupo we drove south to Wellington where we once again sampled NZ's city scene. Wellington is NZ's capital and houses the parliament buildings known as the beehive and Te Papa our incredible national museum. We meet political Pat and rambling Richard who took us through each place and shared their depth of knowledge and passion about their places of work. In cities in NZ there is also a fair amount of night life so some danced, some sang, some watched movies and the two tour guides combined all of the above and went to Mama Mia! The next day it was time to get up, check out of our great hostel and head on to the Kaitaki ferry. It took us over the Cook Strait to the Marlborough Sounds, beautiful even when it's raining. From there it was a couple of hours to drive to Nelson where we to spend the next week of conservation work. Roger the ranger and his colleague Ross spent the week taking us to different sites in the Nelson region where we greatly contributed to their efforts in restoring natural habitats by continually getting our hands really dirty! Every day we ended up in a reasonably different environment and planted trees. On the first day we were out by the coast and estuary of Motueka. We added to the efforts of previous groups and planted lots of natives. Then after lunch a bunch of us disappeared to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane. And really the plane was fine but I think the flight up was the most nerve racking part of the who sky dive expereince. Up we flew to 13000 feet before our tandem jump masters shuffled us to the doors, asked us to smile and then launched us out into thin air. Fifty seconds of free fall later the parachute pulls and we glide down swirling and turning safely back to earth. Amazing! We also worked at a very special place called Kokorua on the coast. Only accessible with permission this was the place we planted a rare type of grass on the dunes, hoping to restore it in it's natural habitat and help prevent dune erosion. It was a beautiful clear day and as we ate our lunch off the bbq fire and watched surfers playing the waves in the background the snow covered mountains finally showed through. The week in Nelson whipped past and included some great mountain / stream biking, squash games, card games, a fair bit of rain, meeting some of the friendly locals, movies in the hostel and a wonderful dinner at the home of Pacific Discovery with Rachel, Scott and Kahu. Kahu certainly warmed to the group and they to him. Finally it was time to head back into the van for the last road trip south to Queenstown. Along the way we stayed at Punakaiki, home to the pancake rocks, Franz Josef, home to a glacier and not far from the home of the NZ's rare and beautiful white herons and we stopped in at Wanaka, a small town by a lake surrounded by mountains. Queenstown too is a small town by a lake surrounded by mountains but is the most international of towns in NZ. It's hard to find any kiwis that live here but lots of people drawn to the place from all over the world by it's snow and adventure activities. And it has been participating in those things that has occupied the group for their remaining days in NZ. A beautiful day on the Remarkables and a chilly jump off the legendary Kawarau bridge birthplace of the bungee jump. Tomorrow most of the group will fly home taking themselves a few added extras in their luggage and their memories of a FABULOUS four weeks in NZ seeing almost all of what we have to offer and getting many inside glimpses of life in NZ that most tourists would never get a chance to take part in. Thanks for a great trip guys we hope to see you back here and maybe you'll convince me that jumping off a bridge with a rubber band velcroed around my feet is something I actually really do want to try! Or maybe I'll just have a Speights with you and muster some sheep. Jenny Jordan Program Leader

Peru Program - The Horn

Before arriving to Peru I took the road laws for granted. Actually, I never had to consider why anyone would be in any lane but the right. But surprises are the beauty of traveling, and the first taxi experience in Lima will totally change your perspective on driving. On every street the taxi drivers appear to be jockeying for space, coming within inches of eachother every other second. And how do these drivers magically move around without too big of a pile up? Well, instead of adhering to the principle of staying in one´s lane, the drivers of Peru have the principle of The Horn. The Horn is of course the car horn, and when driving in Peru the horn is the right-of-way for drivers.

Here is an example...
After hailing a taxi for a meager three soles you and your group of friends all pile into the car. Without much thought one or two of you will buckle the seatbelt upon entering, and the taxi driver takes off with a beep of his horn as he enters the flowing street. As you cruise through Lima the taxi begins to weave his way through the condensing traffic with the magical beep of his horn. After a few blocks the driver takes a right turn at the exact time another car, opposite the street, takes a left turn, but with the magical beep of his horn he is able to execute the right turn first. After that maneuver you are asking yourself, "how did that work?", and at the same time you are clicking your seatbelt into place. Now with everyone buckled up the taxi ride feels a bit more comfortable, and you understand the idea of the horn. However, the taxi driver is now headed straight into the what I call The Circle, which is a packed road going around in a circle with cars entering and exiting all at once. As your eyes widen at the spectacle and your hands grasp for the rosary dangling from the rearview mirror, the taxi driver dives head on into The Circle honking his horn and fitting perfectly into a space between two cars (perhaps magic is involved?). With only one full rotation the taxi spits out onto the exact street, and after two blocks you find yourself staring at your destination, the sunny coast line. So for just three soles you end up with a taxi ride and adrenaline rush...

Chad Danklef

Vietnam Program highlights

We are in Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City, and all is good. I am writing this while the rest of the group are off at the water park - the curse of my job. We have been here for one night and it has been quite an experience after arriving from Hoi An. We went from a small town, with World Heritage status to a city of 8 million and probably twice as many motorbikes and neon lights. It is crazy but pretty amazing. It feels like we have done so much already in Saigon - cyclo rides, museums, eating out. This morning we were at the Cu Chi tunnels, 250km of tunnel networks used by the Viet Cong during the war. All a bit one sided on the information given but none the less impressive. Guess its always good to see other sides of the story. I asked the crew for some of the moments that stick in their mind from the past few days - I know when they get back they will say the water park but for now, enjoy... - Entering Marble Mountain caves into a massive cavern with a huge buddha carved from rock and a small hole above casting light down upon us - Finding a tailor in the old town of Hoi An to make some very good and cheap dresses/ jackets/ shirts - Danielle kicking butt in a rapping battle with a Vietnamese kid - Jumping on the back of motos to get back to the hotel in Saigon - it's an experience to weave in and out amongst a 1000 others doing all the same thing and having no idea where we are - Stepping into the War Remnants Museum and being confronted with some very real images - powerful - Taking the chance to do things you might never have the chance to do again - like playing tennis in the middle of the night in Hue - Getting up early to see the sunrise at the beach in Hoi An and then later on in the day returning and drinking from coconuts as we explore and swim - Walking in a thunderstorm in Saigon at night - as the lightening and neon lights are lighting up the sky it starts to absolutely bucket down and we get soaked - Beach swimming and also our pool at the hotel in Hoi An, an absolute saviour on those hot hot days Just a small taste of our adventures. I am sure words don't do justice - they never do - but our experiences have been very real and it feels like we are coming to an end all too quickly. Only a week to go - where has the time gone? We are looking forward to heading to the Con Dao Islands tomorrow - they are home to sea turtles, rarely visited by most travellers to Vietnam and a first for a Pacific Discovery group. A real adventure which we are all looking forward to hugely. Aaron

Peru Program - Inca jungle trek and my coca leaf habit

The time in the trip had arrived that most of us had been waiting for - the inca jungle trek! The trek we´d be taking was an alternative to the one that hourdes of tourists come to trek day after day. As apposed to dealing with 500 people, we only had to contend with a dozen or so. The first part started out with a cool descent of nearly 8,000 feet by bicycle. At the top of the mountain it was cold and cloudy, but our rapid descent brought us into the thick of the jungle. Where the jungle began, so did the dirt road. The group flew down the mountain at top speeds all listening to their music selections. Speed, bumps, chickens, trucks and mosquitos were all to be contended with here. A couple of the girls ended up with some arm scrapage, but more or less we all enjoyed the ride.

The next day began at 4 am with breakfast, then a trek to the jungle. No day in the Peruvian jungle is complete without some coca tea. I joke with the group that I´m trying to become addicted to the coca leaves, as they are as harmless as any english breakfast tea. Some say the British empire was built over cups of tea, well the same could be said about the inca empire with coca leaves. No one could demonstrate this more than our guides Alex and Aurelio. Alex could consume 1,000 leaves in the matter of a days walk, as he demonstrated to us on our first day.

The first days walk was tough, but our reward came at the end when we arrived to the hot springs near the end of the trail. Huge pools had been carved out for us to enjoy the hot waters, once used by inca kings to relax after a long day. And like kings we felt after arriving after a tough walk.

The next day we set out for another long walk that brought us to the Machu Pichu base camp. We arrived early, and were able to scale the mountain next to Machu Pichu for a preview of the next day. The hike was 1,000 meters straight up, and left us exhausted and resting early that night.

4:30 arrives, and the group wakes for the ascent of Machu Pichu before sunrise. We arrive to clouds, but as the sun rose they quickly burnt off to reveal what all of us had seen many times before on television or friends photos. It´s just as you would imagine, a quiet, magical place that words don´t do justice to. Montezumas revenge, or should I say Tupac Amaru´s revenge had taken a hold of me that morning, so I wasn´t able to scale the neighboring mountains for views. But I was contented with exploring the ancient city, and after I found the panoramic button on my camera I had no regrets about not climbing the famous Waynu Pichu.

Our guides had left, but had taught us a lot about the incas and their customs. They had also left me with a 200 leaf a day habit that i´ve been trying to keep up. I gotta run, need more coca leaves...

Adam Beecham
Program Leader

New Zealand conservation program - Urupukapuka Island

The New Zealand Program kicked off with a sunrise swim in the Pacific Ocean before breakfast, a briefing then a scavenger hunt across downtown Auckland. The next morning we drove North in pouring rain to the Bay of Islands and a quaint town, Russell, which was once dubbed the 'hell-hole of the Pacific' for its licentious ways! Charles Darwin, on his 'voyage of the Beagle' was so disgusted that he donated money towards the construction of a church, which we visited. In contrast to the early 1800's, Russell is now marketed as 'Romantic Russell'. We enjoyed the hospitality of Janet, a local Maori woman, at her homely accommodation and we introduced the group to Rugby, by going to a local inn to watch the New Zealand 'All Blacks' take on the South African 'Springboks' in a tense match.   The following morning dawned clear and we loaded our bags and a week's food onto a Department of Conservation boat for the short trip across to Urupukapuka Island. Home for the week was a tumble-down house and attached building. The island is spectacularly beautiful and we had it to ourselves for the week. The island is managed by the Department of Conservation to preserve it's rich archeological sites and as a recreation site. Next year, after a pest eradication program, the island will also be home to some endangered species like kiwi.   We spent our days planting trees, painting and re-roofing a historic barn, and cleaning up the site of a historic whaling station. The group loved the Department of Conservation staff we worked with - their obvious passion for the jobs and the depth of their knowledge of the local environment and the area's rich history. Evenings were spent preparing meals and hanging out getting to know each other. The group were very sad to leave the island on Friday and the transformation from a group of people who hardly knew one another to the tight group we are now was amazing!   I'll upload a few photo's to this blog in the next couple of days, so check back soon.   Scott

Vietnam Summer Program: Cat Ba National Park & Halong Bay

Owen belatedly joined the group and has fitted in easily - like he has always been here. Our small group is great, relaxed, easy going, inquisitive and always up for a challenge. After picking up Owen in Hanoi we made our way to Cat Ba Island, northeast of Hanoi and situated within Halong Bay. We were met by Mr Hack, a good guy working with the National Park Service on Cat Ba Island, who was our main liaison during our 5 days on the island volunteering to help the environment and the national park. Sometimes it is strange the things you find yourself doing in life...and so it was for us the next day when we were inside a cave in Vietnam - scrubbing. A surreal experience at times far removed from everyday life in our own homes or even from the tourist trail in vietnam. When we first entered the cave the amount of graffiti etched into the walls was overwhelming. While not a huge cave, we never thought we would be able to clean it all. But by 4pm we wandered out covered in limestone dust, sweat and a great sense of pride - the cave was totally clean of graffiti. The next day we swapped the cool of the cave for sweltering sun as we hiked up a steep trail, with mud and rubbish everywhere. The sense of wanting a clean environment is slowly changing in Vietnam, but still there are generations not used to picking up rubbish, as well as the influx of pre-packaged, bite size, easily accessible plastic wrapped items whose rubbish is dropped everywhere. Talking to some of the more educated and people in the younger generation there does seem to be a growing awareness of the importance of looking after the environment. As we climbed up, bags and bags were filled with rubbish, and we finally made it to the top and onto the observation tower. We were gifted with views across this spectacular landscape. Karst towers poking straight up out of the vegetation. Small holes opening up into cave systems. We followed a similar pattern for the next couple of days, exploring, picking up rubbish by boat and sea kayak. On our last day we hit the trail again trekking over to a Viet Hai village on the other side of the island. It was a demanding walk, made all the more challenging at times due to the heat and and sometimes slippery conditions. We completed the trek with plenty of sweat and exhaustion but also a few bags of rubbish from along the way and a sense of accomplishment. We stayed at the Viet Hai village for our last night on Cat Ba Island which wrapped up our time volunteering. The group felt pride in their achievments, thru a sense of helping and doing things that may not have been done otherwise. But there was also a sense of frustration - a wilingness from the group to do more, but not the effort or understanding from the National Park Service to really make use of what we had to offer. Giving your time to volunteer and help the environment seems to be a foreign concept to many Vietnamese. We were the first group ever to undertake this kind of effort in Cat Ba National Park and I am sure the path has been laid for a more fullfilling and effective outcome for future groups. One highlight was being stoppped and asked a by a Vitnamese woman what we were doing, and then her praising and thanking us for what we were doing on behalf of her country. In between all the volunteer work on Cat Ba we also visited other caves used during the war as hospitals and headquarters (complete with pool and movie screen), and hired bikes to explore and see a great deal of the island. The next leg of our journey was by boat cruising amongst karst towers rising up from the ocean. Halong bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Area, is an amazing place to spend a couple of days. We kayaked, swam, jumped from the roof of our junk boat and soaked up the views as we lay on the loungers and relaxed. Our boat was amazing - offering us comfortable berths, amazing food and the opportunity to jump into warm water from the roof. What a place for Danielle to spend her 19th birthday! We were spoiled at times, not just by our accommodation but by our location. Words won't do Halong Bay justice - you will have to wait for the photos. Like all good things it was over too quickly. We are now back in Hanoi, and past the halfway point of our trip. Tonight we catch the overnight train to Hue as we leave the stunning north and begin to head south. If Vietnam continues to unveil her beauty, if she continues to challenge our thinking and our senses we will have an amazing time. I am sure we will. More soon, Aaron Vietnam Program Leader

Peru Program - Ceviche, Coca, and Cusco

These are just three of the many new things that I have discovered
during my first week in Peru. Ceviche is a delicious national food
composed of a type of fish served mixed in with vegetables and plenty
of lime juice to create an overwhelming flavor. The coca plant, which
may carry a bad connotation in the US given that it can be turned into
cocaine (which we have been told is an arduous and expensive process
out of the capabilities of most Peruvians), is an everyday normality
for most Cusqueñians. While the taste is undoubtedly an acquired one,
mate de coca (coca tea) is served with every meal at my homestay and
is an effective remedy for altitude sickness, which has struck all of
us in one form or another. Cusco is a fascinating, colorful, and
diverse city with a rich cultural history and breathtaking sights. On
Wednesday, a few of us hiked up to the top of a hill where one can see
panoramic views of the area for miles. The faded brown of the many
roofs that are clustered together in a dense urban blob fade into the
mountains that dent the horizon.

Speaking of Wednesday, there was a national "paro", or strike, as Sara
mentioned before. Although the strike had significant meaning to many
Peruvians I'm sure, I found a lot of humor in the whole ordeal.
First, some of the streets were blocked off by signs put up by the
"policia de transito" sponsored by Cusqueño, the local beer of choice.
Think Budweiser and the NYPD as business partners... Second, it
seemed to be a holiday rather than a protest, even for the police who
were laughing over the tabloids in their riot gear. Perhaps it had to
do with the apparent fact that it was the fifth such strike in two
months. Finally, as I was pursuing some kind of action on the
streets, I heard a bullhorn from a few blocks away. Yes! I found an
enthusiastic protest, right? Wrong. As I approached, I learned the
bullhorn actually belonged to a chocolate vendor, whose incessant
cries of "Chocolate! Rico chocolate! Dos soles!" was an ingenious
business plan instead. I'm sure thousands of people heard the vendor
on this day, as opposed to being drowned out on a normal day with the
loud and busy streets of Cusco.

We now begin the real adventure part of the trip, starting with a
seven hour bike ride tomorrow (thankfully, mostly downhill) on the
road to the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. Although Cusco is a
marvelous city, we are excited to depart and trek through the Sacred
Valley of the Incas! Buenas noches!

-Brendan

Peru Summer Program - Dos

My twenty-minute walk to school this morning from my homestay in Santiago, an area of Cusco to the south of the main plaza, was eerily calm. Due to the country-wide transporation strike, "Paro," a protest of rising gas prices, among other complaints, I didn´t have to constantly guard my toes from speeding taxis, which swarm the city´s narrow, cobblestone streets with what seems like no sense of caution or pedestrians. Still, though, the city retains its constant buzz of merchants offering us cheap massages, paintings, yarn finger puppets, a rainbow of beautiful hats and sweaters..., and the many foreign languages that can be heard in this fairly tourist-centered place.

For the past two afternoons, our group has gone to three different locations around the expansive city for volunteer work: Caity, Devery, and Bre go to a home for young children and a few mothers, Brendan and Kenya to an afterschool program, and Chad, Julie and I to an orphange (Adam floats among all three). We all have had fun playing soccer, helping with homework, and seeing their joy at our cameras. Today, however, we can´t make the trek to our sites because of the strike, so plan to go on a hike in the hills above the city, a sort of warm up for our journey up the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu, which begins Saturday.

Yesterday, I made the trip up to "Cristo Blanco," a tall white statue of a Jesus figure, during some free time, and I was greeted by locals offering me trips on horses to different ruins, many llamas, and a spectacular view of the city. I´m sure we all will experience such things this afternoon, but before then, I´m off to the main plaza, "Plaza de Armas," to observe the protests.

Paz y Amor de Peru,

Sara

Peru Summer Program - Una

After arriving late Saturday, little did the group know their day would start by exploring catacombs, and end with paragliding and eating octopus ceviche. But such are the adventures when you´re traveling in Peru.

The group is getting along well, and have been learning as much from each other as they have from Peru. Through out the trip we´ll be composing a group guidebook for future Peru adventures. Each participant has been assigned a section of the book, and will be also be blogging about their section throughout the journey. So stay tuned for some of their insights.

Peru thus far has been packed with numerous adventures for each of us. For me on the last night in Lima I had a mini adventure of my own. While trying to find the @ sign on the keyboard at the internet cafe, I heard what sounded like gunshots, but no one flinched at the internet cafe. Later I learned it was just some fireworks, and what seemed to be an impromptu fiesta had begun on the streets. A large crowd had gathered around a group wearing white masks, with dead alpacas strapped to their backs. The mysterious group were dancing to their music and whipping each other literally, into a frenzy. Later I learned the celebration was for the virgin of Cusco. It seems most major cities in South America have a virgin they celebrate.

I later followed the group to another fiesta where I began speaking with some police as to the origins of this party. The officer wanting to make me happy decided to grab a woman and instructed her to dance with me. My protests weren´t heard, and after a dance and trying to excuse myself another women aged 70 grabbed me and we proceeded to Cumbia also. After a few twists and turns I was permitted to leave and given a medallion with the virgin's photo.

Plenty more of these adventures are to be had by our fun-loving and adventurous group here in Peru. So stay tuned for some more of Pacific Discovery´s inaugural Peruvian adventures.

Adam
Peru Program Leader

Vietnam Summer Program - Part I

Well this is a hectic country full of lush beauty and contrasts, it challenges your mind, beliefs and your nerve, while all at once being relaxed, friendly and safe. We are only at the very beginning of out trip but already have experienced so much.   At present there are 5 of us,including the leaders, while we pick up Owen, our 6th tomorrow. We started off in Hanoi, straight into the old quarter and the hustle and bustle. Small narrow streets, choked with vans and what seems like millions of mopeds, all on their horns, all on their own journey with not much care for road rules. Crossing the street is an exercise in holding your nerve. While being what seems to us quite erratic in their driving they are amazingly mobile and skillful at not hitting each other and us as we cross the street - walk slowly, confidently and consistently without any stop, starting  or indecision on our part and they will weave to pass us.   Our first full day included a bit of a wander around the old quarter before moving off to check out some of the pagodas and sites of Hanoi, including Ho Chi Minh lying in state, which we later found out is a wax work and his real body is preserved  at a military base outside Hanoi. These visits opened our eyes to more of what it means to be Vietnamese, their buddhist past, the wars that have been fought, and the reverence in which Ho Chi Minh is held. Later that afternoon we left the city to take to the the rice fields on the outskirts of Hanoi. A pleasant break from the hustle. Riding bikes through the streets in to the fields themselves and back into small villages, while the whole time sweating up a storm in the heat.   That was about to change though, with an overnight train to Lao Cai on the Chinese border, then up into the cool hills of the northwest to Sapa. This is breathtaking scenery, a real Asian postcard. High mountains with mist floating in the valleys and terraced rice fields that creep up the steep slopes. The places being farmed is just incredible, every space is used, no matter how high or how steep it seems. We found this out on a blistering hot day as we trekked to the village of Thanh Phu down in the valley from Sapa. Our guide, Thunh, a local hmong girl from one of the small ethnic minorities of the north west led us thru rice fields, across rivers and in to villages of other ethnic minorities. This corner is home to many groups that are separate from Vietnamese, they have separate languages from Vietnamese and from each other and are come from different backgrounds. They are very traditional in some respects but in these times of increased tourism and technology it is beginning to be change. Our guide, while being dressed quite traditionally, was on her last trek before being married. When asked where she met her husband she replied "on internet dating". A shock for a few of us. The trek was very rewarding, staying a night at a homestay and seeing a bit more of how life is away from the hotels and restaurants of the towns, but also in just achieving the trek. Trekking in demanding terrain in temps of 37'C is no mean feat and something to feel proud of. While hopefully opening eyes to other cultures is part of goal of this trip, it is great to see that people are also discovering more of what they are personally capable of. We now sit in Sapa amidst the rain and cooler temps waiting to catch the train to Hanoi where we pick up Owen and head out to Cat Ba island and Halong Bay. A new set of experiences and adventures to look forward to. All is well with John, Sarah and Dannielle a bit of sunburn. A few blisters but plenty of smiles, discussion and opportunities to explore. More from us later, Aaron Vietnam Program Leader

Loving Vietnam

Sitting cross-legged in my cabin, typing on a laptop while listening to Sigur Ros. If I turn ninety degrees, the view through the window is from a movie - golden ocean, limestone islands, distant boats and the sun on fire, a few fingers from the horizon. One week into a Vietnam trip for 20 students from Nelson College for Girls and loving it! No hitches or glitches and the most arduous part of the trip behind us.

We started with a long flight to Hanoi, the same night boarding a sleeper train to the mountains along the Chinese Border and specifically the tourist resort town of Sapa. From Sapa, half the group at a time went on an overnight trek to the mixed Dzao and Tai village of Ban Ho to homestay with a Tai family. Sapa turned it on for us with two days of fantastic weather for the trekking. A marked contrast to two months earlier, when it was only two degrees and I could barely see an arms length through the wet fog. Instead of huddling to get warm like in February, we were trekking between patches of shade and swimming in the river.

Like the dramatic change in the weather, the pace of change in Vietnam is phenomenal! Tourist numbers, construction projects, and inflation, are booming, along with almost every other measure! I read somewhere a comment, that Vietnam had changed more in the last ten years than the last one hundred. I believe it. The country is transformed from when I first visited in 1997. As a visitor it is easy to look at this pace of change negatively but the reality is not that black and white and there are tangible benefits for the majority of people in this country. A lot of visitors feel that change will ruin that which makes Vietnam special but I think the Vietnamese culture is far too strong to be eroded in this fashion.

Banging doors and laughing along the corridor is audible above the music and sound of water lapping against the hull. It's time to end this and join the others jumping off the top of the boat into the ocean. Everyone is ecstatic because we've been upgraded onto possibly the best boat in Halong Bay. Attentive staff, fantastic food and acres of space are ours for the next two nights.

Scott