Thursday, February 4, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Amazing Thailand
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....
Until next time...
Friday, January 29, 2010
Bring on the south!
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
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Southeast Asia Program: Safe arrival in Thailand
Scott Burnett
Program Director
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
New Zealand Australia Program: Beaches, camping and volunteer work
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
Thursday, January 14, 2010
New Zealand Arrival
Haiti Earthquake
With thanks for your understanding and patience,
The Pacific Discovery Team.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Fantastic finale!
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
Labels: Southeast Asia Program Fall 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Lucky me!
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.
Labels: Southeast Asia Program Fall 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
SE Asia adventure!
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
Labels: Southeast Asia Program Fall 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Homeward bound
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
Labels: Global Awareness Program: Hagley College Vietnam and Cambodia
Thursday, October 1, 2009
In Phom Penh
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.
Labels: Global Awareness Program: Hagley College Vietnam and Cambodia
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Dodged the typhoon
Thanks,
Rachel Sanson
Labels: Global Awareness Program: Hagley College Vietnam and Cambodia
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Southeast Asia Program - Beginning the adventure!
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
- 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
Alison
Hanoi to Saigon
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
Friday, September 25, 2009
Hanoi experiences
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Random memorable moments in Vietnam
Hello from Humid Hanoi
Squeezes to loved ones,
Rachel and Paul.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Trekking in Sapa, Vietnam
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]
Thursday, September 17, 2009
First day of our adventure through Cambodia and Vietnam
Labels: Global Awareness Program: Hagley College Vietnam and Cambodia
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Thailand volunteer summer program launched!
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.
Labels: elephant conservation, summer program, thailand, volunteer
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Farewell to Saigon and SE Asia
Friday, July 17, 2009
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
Thursday, July 16, 2009
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!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Catba Island volunteers' close encounters
Friday, July 10, 2009
First week in New Zealand
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}
Monday, July 6, 2009
Morsels
Mud glorious mud!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Reflections on leading the Southeast Asia Program - Melissa Raftery
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
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.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Books for Cambodia website launch!
The Books for Cambodia website has just been launched, so please take a moment to visit: www.booksforcambodia.org
Friday, March 6, 2009
A Cambodian Casting Call!
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
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
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
Monday, February 23, 2009
Trekking in Sapa, Vietnam
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.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Nam Ha Valley Excursion in Laos
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
Saturday, February 14, 2009
New Zealand Australia Program - halfway!
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
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Just around the riverbend...
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
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Something New to Try Chiang Mai
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
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
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Caving in Thailand
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.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Indiana Jones V: Journey to the Tasman Sea
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!
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
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
NZ Australia Program: Expedition 1
Scott
North to the Bay of Islands
Piper
Monday, January 26, 2009
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.

Saturday, January 24, 2009
Bangkok - here we are!
Friday, January 23, 2009
"Fun" Day on Volunteer Project 1
Talk to you later,
Journey back to Auckland
-Katie
NZ Australia Program: Volunteer week 1 update
Scott
Friday, January 16, 2009
NZ Australia Program - First day
till then, Marg
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Southeast Asia Program: Cambodian Experience
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Southeast Asia Program: Jessica's SE Asia Photos
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Southeast Asia Program: Luang Prabang to Hanoi
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
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
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
Thursday, October 16, 2008
SE Asia: Welcome to Laos
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
SE Asia Program: A New Type of Fish Stick
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
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Southeast Asia Program: Chiang Mai to Laos
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
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
New Pacific Discovery website is 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
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Southeast Asia Program: 10 Points for Me!
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
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Southeast Asia Program: A new kind of BBQ
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
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....
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!
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
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Southeast Asia Program: Safe Arrival
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
Friday, September 26, 2008
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
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
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. Jenny Jordan |
Peru Program - The Horn
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
Monday, July 21, 2008
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... Aaron |
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Peru Program - Inca jungle trek and my coca leaf habit
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
Thursday, July 17, 2008
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 |
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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. 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, |
Friday, July 11, 2008
Peru Program - Ceviche, Coca, and Cusco
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
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Peru Summer Program - Dos
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
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Peru Summer Program - Una
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
Sunday, July 6, 2008
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 |
Friday, April 25, 2008
Loving Vietnam

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









