Author: BHay

“Ring Ring Ring!” Our feet sprang out of the soft crisp sheets and onto the cold tiles. Wisps of warm rays shon through the tiny crevasses of the transparent silk curtains. The warm hum of excitement wafted into the air as swarms of hungry students descended down the stairs to a welcoming buffet breakfast.

At 8:30 am we strolled onto the bus in a orderly fashion to claim our seats for the half hour bus drive to visit the temples at Angkor. An enticing prize of Coca Cola served at lunch was up for grabs as kindly donated by our guide for the three funniest faces pulled on our temple pass. It is safe to say that Tom Chapman, Luka Hamilton and Dean Maccora where the clear winners of the competition. Sweltering humidity engulfed our bodies as we took our first step out of the air conditioned bus. This slight discomfort was soon forgotten as our eyes were drawn towards one of Cambodia’s many captivating, ancient Buddhist temples, “Bayon”. We stepped onto the grounds of the magnificent temple where our Cambodian tour guide enlightened us with his information about this fantastic sight. We learnt that the temple was built in 1181. The kingdoms perimeter is twelve km in length with four even sides that each featured an entrance. When arriving at this terrific sight we were allowed fifty minutes to explore and observe this heritage listed complex. After the fifty minutes we boarded the bus to drive to our next destination, Tah Prom.

Tah Prom is a well known Cambodian temple. Many would be familiar with the grounds of this spectacular sight as it features in the movie Tomb Raider. One of the most intriguing and unique features of this Cambodian temple are the large fig trees that are entwined within the temples complex structure. This may challenge your preexhisting knowledge of where trees of such magnificent size commonly burgeon. Our local tour guide told us that the seeds of the trees were consumed by birds and dropped throughout the temple. After this extravagant temple visit our stomachs were getting hungry.

After a fulfilling lunch a short walk lead us to one of the seven greatest wonders of the world; Angkor Wat, Built from 1113-1150 AD, with over 500,000 people involved in its construction. As the day progressed so did the beauty and elegance of the temples. In our time at the Angkor Wat temple I (Alia) was lucky enough to have experienced a blessing from a young monk, as translated by our beautiful tour guide Voleak, he wished me health, comfort and safety on my returning flight home. It was so amazing and unique to have experienced such complex and intricate architecture in such a spiritually significant place,

On our returning air conditioned bus trip back to the hotel a peaceful and fulfilled silence was observed from our seats. Once we had all arrived at the hotel we were given the opportunity to submerge ourselves in the pool. The juxtaposition between our sweaty skin was soothed by the what seemed to be, the icy pool. At 7:15 we gathered in the hotel’ s antique lobby to head out for a enticing dinner experience down the main road. Our metaphorical bucket lists have now happily been ticked as today was one of the most amazing memories we have experienced.

By Anais Kozaris and Alia Van Der Straaten

When we woke our bodies from our slumber, a hard realisation hit many as it was already dawn of day 12 of our 18 day trip. It was an exciting yet saddening truth that we would eventually conclude our amazing trip in only a week’s time. In the morning of the day, we swiftly packed our luggages for our short, yet meaningful flight to our final country, Cambodia. After another feast-like breakfast, we grudgingly moved our tired bodies to the waiting vans and waved goodbye to our comforting hotel. The first leg of our plane trip was roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes to Pakse. After spending approximately 30 minutes in transit, it was an interesting experience which allowed us to fully enjoy the view of the landscape below us. The journey continued on, departing from Pakse to our original destination of Siem Reap, a historically significant and magnificent city in Cambodia. Although our landing was a little rough, we were also overjoyed to finally reach Cambodia.

After travelling across the streets of Cambodia for roughly an hour, we were once again surprised by massive cultural and social differences between neighbouring countries. If Laos was filled with magnificent and magical landscapes, Cambodia appeared to be more developed and Siem Reap was an example of urban sprawl in action. It was slightly overwhelming with the sudden change in the surrounding environment, tiring all of us. Fortunately, our minds were able to relax as we arrived in the Silk Research Centre, an essential time that allowed us to calm our minds. Also, the ice-cream at the end was a terrific surprise which got our taste buds happy as well. After an exhausting day of continuous travelling, we were looking forward to arriving in the hotel, Angkor Holiday Hotel, to unpack and dip our bodies in the cool pool. It was one of the best moments as we enjoyed the splashes to our face.

Evening was approaching as the sun set and the darkness looming over the once bright blue skies. The city lit up in hundreds of different colours. It was actually mystical to watch the night skies being brightly lit by all the artificial light from below. After packing our bags and applying mosquito repellant, we headed off to the streets of Siem Reap. It was a solid 10 minute walk to our restaurant but time seemed to zoom past as we were all stunned by the marvellous beauties and intricate details of the street. Tuk-tuks raced past us with tourists while shops were filled with local goods. The real fun began when we set our sights to the local night market. In the first section of the market, we saw a great variety of food and something I have always wanted to try: bugs. Spiders, crickets, and scorpions were all in the menu, waiting for us to pluck them out and chew them. Unfortunately, time was short and prices were high. After bidding farewell to the food section, we arrived in the actual night market, where goods were sold in extremely cheap prices. Most purchased products at the price we wanted as our bargaining skills reached professional levels. After wrapping up our goods, we went back to the hotel to ready our body for another tiring but exciting day of our Big Experience, a trip that will genuinely be an unforgettable memory in my entire life.

Daniel Kim and Rylan Pease

We started off today with a bike ride through the streets of Luang Prabang. We rode single file and were handed bottles of water at each stop, the first of which was a large temple. There were several statues of Buddha made of gold in massive ancient buildings, one of which also housed a seat designed for the king, to be carried by 60-80 of his servants, due to its massive size and large amount of heavy components such as gold.

After that, we rode to visit a silk workshop, where we could watch the silk be made and also buy some. We also got to see decorative paper be made, where the workers placed various leaves and flowers inside during its creation.

During the ride, we were mostly on roads directly next to the Mekong river, which was the foreground to some beautiful far off mountains. The roads were relatively calm, so we got plenty of opportunity to look over as we rode past. At one point during the ride, we came to a special red bridge designed for bikes and motorcycles. It had two parallel rows of wooden planks, each relatively thick, designed for those riding across to go on.

Later in the day, we were placed into five groups and had an adventure race. Each group was given four hundred thousand kip, the equivalent of around $67 AUD. Along the way, we visited markets, temples, mountains, and rode in tuk tuks, finding the answers to questions and taking photos to prove our journey was our own. At the end of it, we took a final photo on the beach and met the teachers in a cafe. Our time was recorded, along with our leftover money. As this is being typed, the total point values are being added up to determine the winner, who will receive a prize along with the runner-up. During the race, one of the challenges involved visiting a postcard shop and buying postcards and stamps, which we then all wrote letters on to be sent back to Australia. While we will likely return to Australia before the cards arrive, it will be a nice reminder of our trip once we get back.

During dinner, we visited a nearby restaurant and were treated to songs and dance from some local performers. The event was held in our honour and it was a unique experience to be able to make connections with local people through traditional music. We also all received bands around each wrist, which we are meant to keep on for seven days and are supposed to bring each one of us good luck. There was singing, dancing, and music playing all throughout dinner, and many students participated in the festivities. Overall, today was an excellent day, and a prime example of what The Big Experience is all about.

Tom Chapman and Dean Maccora

This morning started off with a 8:30 departure from our lovely hotel to a short bus ride to the former Royal Palace of Laos located in Luang Prabang. Giving us a deeper look at Laos’ colourful history, the previous residence of the monarch of Laos proved to be unexpectedly beautiful and fascinating to all of us, the golden crowns and mosaic walls reflected the deep culture embedded in Laos’ history. The vibrant mix of Laos and French culture represented the complex historical aspects of Laos. Overall the short visit gave us further understanding of the country we are staying in.

Following the Royal Palace, we ventured to an elephant sanctuary and were excited about this unique opportunity. We stared off by getting an overall insight into the work of the organisation. We were informed of information such as the names and ages of the elephants to the eating habits and current dangers for wild Asian elephants in Laos. We were then giving baskets of banana leaves that the elephants snatched from us instantaneously, learning of the many personalities grew our understanding of the different layers of their intellect. After viewing these gentle giants we finally got the opportunity to see them thrive in a more natural environment, we walked them down them down to the mesmerising Mekong River. It was there where we were provided a once in a life time opportunity to help bathe the elephants, more than half the group getting completely drenched in the process.

After this incredible experience, we quickly jumped on the bus to head off into the jungle to visit the mystical moon bear sanctuary, were we learned about these endangered animals and the efforts made by the save the bears organisation to rescue and protect at risk moon bears. Right after we trekked further into the jungle to the sound of a fast flowing, magical waterfalls, its jade colours waters memorised the group. As we climbed higher through the jungle the seemingly calm flow below turned into violent rushing violent rushing waters.

After visiting the waterfall, we then returned to the pool. Following a quick rest at the hotel pool and the collection of fresh, clean clothes, we made our way into the heart of Luang Prabang to find a restaurant waiting for us, the combination of a great meal and a group member’s birthday surprise (Happy Birthday Jordynne!) made for a fantastic start to the night. Following the exciting dinner we headed down to the enchanting night market for the second time, for a quick shop. After many purchases we wandered back to the hotel for a well deserved sleep after an action packed day.

Georgie Armitage and Imogen Matthews

After a good night’s sleep at the Phetsokxai hotel just beside the Mekong River, we woke up for a western style breakfast of scrambled eggs, soft bread and delicious fresh fruit at 7:30am. Afterwards we promptly packed our bags in preparation for another lengthy boat trip down the river; after the action packed week we’ve had we were all looking forward to the the second leg of our Long Boat trip down the Mekong River. We loaded our luggage into a truck and walked down the steep road with our boat in mind and our snacks in hand.
As soon as we got on the boat we once again truly realised the extent of nature’s beauty. Luscious trees were ubiquitous throughout the gigantic hills, and the small scattered beaches were undisturbed by footprints or any signs of human residence. After a short few minutes of admiration, the cards were out and a rowdy but somewhat suspenseful aura suddenly surrounded the boat. Cheers and cries could be heard while others chose to sleep or complete their journey.doc with the future in mind. After about 2 short hours of travel our boat stopped at a dark cave decorated with hundreds of statues devoted to Buddha. It was a fascinating and somewhat exhausting sight if you dared to escalate the 140 steps to the uppermost cave entrance. At the end of 30 minutes of exploration we hopped back into the boat, all of us eager to reach our destination.
Eventually, following a total of 10+ hours travelling down the Mekong River, we reached Luang Prabang. We quickly hopped off the boat and heaved our bags up a steep hill, then loaded them into yet another truck before loading ourselves into 4 vans for the short drive to the hotel. The hotel appeared fancier than our previous one and also had a luxurious pool. After being given our roommates we settled ourselves in and prepared for dinner. 
When dinner time came we all hopped downstairs with our money and our laundry – the clothes are finally being washed – and we walked a decent distance to our restaurant where we were served a delicious myriad of dishes. Shortly following dinner, excitement came as we prepared our wallets for the third bustling night market. We exchanged our currency for the Laotian ‘kip’ and started surveying and scanning the stalls with pace and precision. After 1 hour and 20 minutes out wallets were lighter and our backpacks were heavier.
With a satisfied and fulfilled strut we walked back to our hotel and arrived to our rooms at roughly 10 o’clock, quickly preparing ourselves to embrace our beds – eager for more of the big experience.

Jaiden Pant and Nick Beaumont

Waking up from a full night’s rest to a pesky knock on the door, the day started with a bang (literally). Enjoying a quick breakfast, we prepared ourselves for a transition. Today was the day we said goodbye to happy Thailand and embraced undiscovered Laos.
The excitement rose during a swift bus ride to the border where we sadly had to  say goodbye to not only colourful Thailand but also our lovely and enthusiastic tour guide Yawan. We will always remember his teachings about his land and are deeply grateful for the cultural understanding he has provided us with. When finally coming out of border cobtrol, there was a tangible feeling of overwhelming happiness to get to experience another new country.
After a short bus ride, we climbed aboard the vessel and journey everyone was waiting for – the Long Boat ride down the Mekong River. Aye aye Captain, and the boat sailed off. Into the depths of the Laos jungle, floating down the majestic Mekong, the group settled into the boat, getting comfortable for the journey to Pak Beng. The lazy cruise was filled with unbelievable views which exilerated the senses. The occasional whooshing of the water teased our keen ears. The gentle push of the wind tickled our skin. The different shades of green in the distance soothed our spirits and brought out our inner peacefulness. This led to a new more tranquil vibe that engulfed our normally vivacious group – a feeling of peacefulness had kicked in. Entering this fascinating country we all noticed a big difference in the environment. We had left behind the occasional hustle of Thailand and been welcomed by the serenity of Laos.
On the journey we also stopped in at a small village along the river. We were given the opportunity to briefly explore the village. It was noticeably poorer and less developed than the villages we visited in Thailand, however nonetheless the people we met in the village were warm and welcoming towards us.
Upon reaching our destination of the small town ship of Pak Beng, we arrived at our hotel. Overlooking a gorgeous view, many happy photos were snapped and lots of laughs were shared. This emotion sprang from being in a new place after completing a long and relaxing boat ride. After a quick refresher we came out again to the courtyard, enjoying one anothers’ company and playing games until dinner. New tastes, tantalising flavours and exotic smells were welcomed as we enjoyed a first Laotian meal together.
The day was one full of many new experiences and happy memories we will cherish forever. Tomorrow we continue our journey down the mighty Mekong River and expect to arrive in Luang Prabang in the afternoon.
Lakshmi Malhotra and Alex Phillips