Author: nburke

This morning we left Laos for the last time and travelled by plane to Siam Reap, Cambodia. After settling in to our hotel late in the afternoon, we visited the Artisians of Angkor who make all kinds of items using crafts such as stone masonry, carpentry and silk crafting. We got to see each of the steps they used to make the figures and what tools were used as well. We learnt that the process can take up to 5 days to a month or longer depending on what they are making – from small stone carvings of elephants to giant busts of past kings of Cambodia. After having a go at carving out shapes from stone ourselves we had the chance to also buy some of their products. The store where they were selling their items was nothing like your traditional Cambodian store. It was decorated and made to look like an art gallery but we were able to buy the art and it also looked more like a shop you would find in Melbourne or Australia.
Tonight we got unleashed on the down town of Siem Reap. To go find our own dinner and to go and do some shopping. The Cambodian take on the night markets was very different from the peace of the Laosian markets and the just craziness of the Thai markets. They can really hassle you for a higher price but using our expert bargaining skills we’ve developed over the last few weeks we could easily find the right price for the item we wanted. We had an amazing dinner and had the first western food for the first time in weeks, it was really good but not as good as home. With only 5 days of Big E left I think all our minds are looking forwards to coming home and seeing our families again, but with one of the most amazing attractions of the trip coming up tomorrow, we need to stay focused on the present so we can get the most out of this amazing experience. Just when we think this trip can’t get more amazing, immersive and fun it just does and with Angkor Wat coming up tomorrow the best is yet to come… 

Lauren and Marcus ( The second half of our blog)

As we spent many hours transitioning between countries today, we also spent time reflecting on our past experiences , using the time to look at an image, and recall the experiences and recount what was special about it, what we have learnt, and /or how this experience has changed our outlook (it also helps we have two great photographers on the team).

I feel as though the Thai cooking class we did on the first day was a valuable activity and allowed us to see the culture, of which food is a large part of in Thailand/Laos and Cambodia. It was a great start to the trip and allowed us to bond further as a group. It was our first taste of the kinds of foods we would be eating for the next week. This was one of the highlights for me on the trip so far. It will be interesting to see how the food and cultures differ in each of the three countries as we progress further. 

This candle represents many things, namely to me how little power their village has. It shows how the villagers did not have access to electricity and lived on relative self-sufficiently. You can see that the candle brightens up the surrounding area and creates the standard source of light for most people in the village. The local children used the candle as a source of entertainment by pouring wax on themselves which they clearly enjoyed.

We stopped at a temple with two ancient walls surrounding it and when we were walking around the grounds we could see monks passing by and even in the branches of the trees. The temple also has a ancient stupa (spire) which consisted of stone bricks that had moss growing to it but also the ashes of a monk within its walls. Although the bricks where no bigger than a hand or two they all built together to make a massive monument that people still look at today. I think that the monument means a lot to the people and is something to be looked at in astonishment. I wonder what year it was made and how long it took to build as well as how much longer it will stay.

The children in the village were like playful and liked playing with us. They were most interested in what we were doing and how we played with them. It was like a connection between the kids in the village and us. We had a connection even though we didn’t speak the same language. 

I liked how they wanted us to play with us and how the girls showed us their traditional dance. Some of the kids from the village were cheeky because one of the little boys stole our food and ate it. Some of the little boys were putting candle wax on their arms. They were curious in what we were doing. I liked playing with the kids and sharing the dinner and breakfast with them. My favourite part was when we finished the house and handed it over to the family and how we got 5 pigs for them. 

The indigenous people were making their own clothes and they even designing it by themselves. Which really tells me about their culture and lifestyle.

In this image, I see old hands designing pieces of clothes, which they take pride in as it is part of their ancient culture.

In the many villages we’ve been to that sell textiles and items like these, I was just wondering about how those people are so happy and they smile at everybody’s face, even though they don’t have many items in their village.

The statue of Buddha being prominent within all three countries (Thailand,Laos and Cambodia) resembles a traditionally religious side of the three countries. The majority of the people’s here practice their faith on a daily basis. Seeing as the religion is such a prominent figure in these three countries, there are many impressive statues such as these in many places across the lands. Buddha is traditionally shown using the hand gesture which symbolises peace over the neighbouring lands. Having the golden triangle being the centre of the three countries, I feel that this would have been a logical place to have built the statue, especially if it is the main religion of the three neighbouring countries.

This photo is summed up in one word: amazing. I find it very interesting how there are three countries in one photo. I found it interesting  that Laos was ‘added to’ to create a better piece of scenery. I think the golden triangle may break down over time so it’s important to preserve this area so that the future generations can experience one of the most beautiful sceneries in Asia.

This was one of the many photos taken on our short but amazing trip to the Karen tribe. We experienced a very different culture which was an experience and a half. I personally enjoyed this time we spent with this interesting way of living I was surprised to learn a lot about this lifestyle and learnt some very important aspects of this culture including why and how piling copper rings around the neck was important for the women in the culture to have to do, and if they took them off it would be bad for their health and that it is a sign of strength for the girls of the tribe to do this at an early age.

The night markets are more noisy and busy, however the Australian markets can be very quiet in comparison. Also in Australia the sellers do not try to force you to buy something, however in Thailand / Laos or Cambodia,  the people try very hard to convince you to buy something from their store. The decorations in this photo draw in customers and it makes the area more lively and awake.

The main thing I learnt was to take risks when purchasing, even if you’re not completely satisfied, there may not be a chance to buy it again and also to treat the sellers with respect and to keep a good attitude.

When we arrived at the temple it was close what everyone was expecting except there were multiple temples in the one area. To respect the religion everyone had their knees and shoulders covered. We also took our shoes off before entering the temple. I noticed that it was really quiet and peaceful inside. It was interesting to see the temple as for me and many others, as it was our first proper interaction to the religion. The calm environment inside the temple opposed the busy streets outside. We left the temple by a traditional Thai transport, such as tuk tuks which we enjoyed the ride as I was able to see the town and how it operated. It was also a great first interaction with Thailand. 

Today was our last full day in Laos. Thanks to a lowkey sleep in until 8:00am, we had a fresh start to the day. Breakfast had a vast variety of delicious food including mini pancakes (our first in a very long time!), delicious mangos, watermelons, toast and eggs. As we left the hotel after a briefing of our day, we headed off. After a 45 minute bus drive, we arrived at what everyone knew would be a highlight of the day; the elephant camp. Tha Thao, the owner of the elephant sanctuary, gave us a talk on the elephants that he helped rescue from various instances of captivity and cruelty. All the elephants were females as the males were too aggressive to handle at such close range. The ride took roughly 30 minutes as we toured the park. After the joyous ride, we were amused by the baby elephant who was known for taking strolls into the nearby village and LITerally scaring its inhabitants. Whilst the other half of the group took their turn in riding the elephants, we were allowed to feed the newborn elephant who especially liked sugarcane. As we found out, like our hungry teenage selves, our new animal companion eats for up to 20 hours a day – something we looked up to. Even though everyone was laughing and smiling, we could see how it relates back to the original Laotian culture that we have embraced over the past few days, especially as the original name of Laos was the land of a million elephants, which unfortunately has declined over the years.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a traditional Laotian village, that would be safe to say touched everyone’s hearts. The harsh reality of a third-world county hit us as four year old attempted to sell us the source of income for their family which was handmade fabric for only one American dollar. Yen, our tour guide, told us that a young female was expected to be married at the age of 16. He also informed us that the 18 year old in front of us had three children already. After this experience we left with having a broader worldview, but also heavier hearts. We then headed back to the hotel to prepare for the great race.  

Within the great race, we travelled around Luang Prebang by ourselves, allowing us to take in more of the cities wonders and many offerings. Even though there were lots of debatable smells the groups worked together and pursued the ultimate goal of understanding Laos  through the beautiful many sights of Luang Prabang. 

The dinner we ate was in a special room that permitted us to watch the dancing of the three tribes in Laos (highland, middle land and lowland tribes). We took part in a mini ceremony that was led by a fortune teller. We were given blessings in the form of white cotton wrist bands. Four of the males in our group including myself, were lucky enough to be included in a dance performed live while a delicious meal was served. 

Overall, today was the one of the best days of the Big experience for us. 💯

 – Nell B and Leon G  

We woke up in a comfortable bed this morning, still tired from the night before. We knew it was going to be a great day with plenty of activities. We firstly went to the Laos Royal Palace. We learned that Luang Prabang got its name from a statue of a Buddha, and that this Buddha was moved from Sri Lanka to Lao around four hundred years ago. Luang Prabang was the capital city of Lao from 1902 to 1962. The Royal Palace had a museum where we learnt about the royal family and his collection of cool old cars. We saw many different statues of Buddha; people used different materials to build those statues such as gold, crystal, wood and bronze.

We further extended our knowledge of Luang Prabang by a popular mode of transport in Laos: cycling. By actually experiencing the conditions of the streets for ourselves, which were extremely bumpy, we felt the stressful conditions. It felt intimidating, particularly at the roundabouts, with motorcycles and cars and bikes all sharing the same length of road of our bikes. The road rules in Laos are completely different to Australia’s. They drive on the right side of road and cut offs are expected and common. We stopped at a local paper production company which uses sustainable practices to make its paper from tree pulp, and then headed off onto the roads again. Under the scorching heat we saw beautiful sights capturing the beauty of the city including the sun glistening on the Mekong River, the shades of gold of the temples and a view of the highly dense vegetation on the mountains.

After a quick lunch we tried a cuisine other than our own, such as eggs wrapped in pig intestine. We then went to the spectacular Kuang Si waterfall which has got to be one of the most beautiful parts of nature we have ever seen. The cooling water had many shades of pastel blue, colliding with the harsh pressure of white water splashing from 150 meters above. The weather treated us, with rays of sun finding their way through the green tree cover. The sounds of thumping water left me feeling relaxed and calmed by the scenic views and beauty Laos had to offer.

After the relaxing waterfalls we went to the vibrant night life of Laos with buzzing local stores of handmade Laotian materials, consisting of Laos hill tribe fabrics to recycled bomb materials from the Vietnam war. We engaged with locals with friendly bartering and further developed our bargaining skills. At first the conversion between Australia and Laos currencies was confusing and to be honest, we still don’t get it! After a social and successful night we came home to many purchases.

We are excited for what tomorrow brings with elephant rides and a Great Race!

Cleo D and Michael A

STL Blog-Day 9
Today we completed our two day journey from the Thailand/Laos border to Luang Prabang. Last night we stayed in Pak Beng in a river side hotel, overlooking the Mekong River. Today we experienced Laos though eyes not clouded with large cities and heavy tourism. We saw elephants bathing in the morning and wild animals grassing on the banks of the mighty Mekong. We also got a glimpse into the everyday life of a Lao villager when we stopped mid morning at a rural local village which relies on the Mekong for everything they need. Laos is very different from Thailand because it is a lot quieter, less busy, and when we first arrived we almost instantly noticed the difference. After visiting the village we continued along the Mekong to the statue caves of Tam Ting where we were able to see thousands of Buddah statues varying in sizes. Even though we have been in Laos for almost two days we didn’t really get to see what the country is really like until this afternoon when we arrived in Luang Prabang. The hotel we are staying at for the next three days is very different compared to the others we have stayed in. This hotel we are staying at tonight is incredibly luxurious which is a very stark contrast from where we’ve stayed for the past 4-5 days which gives us a really good chance to get so much need rest and washing. We are really excited to see the rest of Luang Prabang and explore Laos more in depth.  

Lauren A and Marcus S    

As we head down the Mekong river into Laos, the day overall has been uneventful, bar some pretty interesting games of Uno on the boat! We have decided to look at images that we have taken from our last week, and investigate what it reminds us of.
 

The temple represented a different side of Thailand, with it showing a much darker side by displaying lots of things about death like bones, animal skins and and sculptures such as the above demon. It didn’t feel like a religious temple but more of a museum that displayed a man’s work over the years that he was alive.As we knew that Buddhism is the main religion in Thailand, we knew it wasn’t a proper temple as there were no Buddha statues or monks,  to show it was a place of respect. I wonder why the Black Temple was made as a museum close to a city that isn’t very big such as Chiang Rai, and very well known as it doesn’t bring much attention to it. It is nice that it isn’t very well known so that it is more of a place to see a man’s work over his lifetime rather than being a museum in a major city centre. It is a place to be treasured and preserved as it is a place where many people come to visit and relax.` 
 

For our last night in Thailand we were able to release lanterns into the sky for the full moon festival. For the Thai people the full moon is a celebration – and also an apology to the river gods for taking and using so much water, and we were lucky enough to experience this phenomenal event. For the majority of us it was a great time for reflection as we made a wish and released the lanterns into the sky. It was a great way to say goodbye to Thailand.

Buddhism is the most common religion in Thailand. Many of it monks who practice this religion wear orange robes and walk the temples that we visited. The monks usually were either cleaning the courtyard or temple, or praying within the temple. This photo shows a monk that is cleaning the courtyard, as the temples are something of a treasure towards their religion and shows respect towards Buddha. Cleaning the temples shows the tourists and followers respect towards the condition of the temple, as being a monk is part of an ancient culture and highly respected within Thailand. 

 

This dog is one of many that moved freely around the Chang Dao village. Similar to the some of the children, the dogs were shy at first but slowly become more friendly and open towards us guests. The shoes symbolise the wealth those in the village. The locals only possessed open toed footwear but we the Pagodas had closed toed footwear. It pleases me to say that most of us visitors left behind our closed toed shoes for those in the village and hope that they enjoy having them. 

 

Doing the house build was incredibly taxing on my body, after the first day I was already extremely tired, but I knew that if I sat out it was an experience I would regret missing so on the second day I was carrying the bricks in this photo sometimes 7 at a time because I knew that after we were done and met the family who would be living in the house we built for the rest of their lives. It was worth the pain and the effort to make sure it was done for them. At the very end of the build the feeling was exactly as I imagined it and more. It was humbling, exciting and I could see the whole group was so proud of what we had done together in just 2 and a half short days. Living in the village and building the house has to be one of the most humbling experiences in my life and I will for ever be grateful to the wonderful people who made this possible – our trip leaders and guides Mr Wood, Mr Burke, Ms Southey, Hung and Chan. And of course my parents who funded my trip entirely to all of you thank you it has been the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. 

 

This hut on the top of the big hill in the village represents our experience in the village for the three days we were there.. It really pushed us outside of our comfort zone, the way we slept, ate and drank was so different to the way we were used to back home in Australia. This hut was at the top of a massive mountain that we had to climb at the end of a long working day and it was such a both hysical and mental challenge.

This spider represents the teamwork and synergy that was demonstrated by our group during the house build. The web takes dynamic synergy with its natural elements to collaboratively create a home for itself like we did for the people in the village. 

The pagodas all came together to achieve something amazing for the lives of others. The house we built and five pigs we donated is a hope, giving opportunity to these people to have a better life. I feel as if the fire symbolises starting from fresh beginning. At this fire both Australian and Thai cultures were able to come together despite our language barriers. We interacted together through dance and games. This was our last moment together as a whole, we wish all the very best with the new chapter of their lives.

I see a well built house with lots of potential to help and give a family a place to stay and live their lives. I wonder what the people’s views on the build itsself are, and if they are satisfied with the out come of it and our efforts. Given that almost all the group put a huge effort into it I feel as though the whole group should feel a sense of Self achievement and happiness. Overall the house build was a success and I hope the family that we built it for get a lot of use out of it.  

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(Sorry, the flash would just not work here!  Better photos coming up tomorrow I promise)

Although we arrived in the late evening at Pakbeng, everyone is in high spirits, and can’t wait for our trip further down the Mekong river tomorrow, arriving at Luang Pabang tomorrow evening. Expect more reflections, awesome photos, and a small update of what happened over the last two days 

Mr. Burke

Day 7This morning the familiar alarm sound rang at early hour, We began the morning with a yummy buffet breakfast, consisting of both western and Thai style food. We all enjoyed our favourite fruit – pineapple, and a welcome change to the breakfast – waffles. The wheels started rolling, with minimal forgotten items at 9:45am, as we were departing from the luxurious hotel of Chiang Rai. From the bustling city of Chiang Rai we then headed north up to the Black Temple. This temple is a important aspect of the Thai culture, and exposed many amazing artwork around the walls, crafted by a revered Thai artist, Thawan Duchanee. Not only was there paintings and roof decorations, this was also a temple that symbolised death. This was represented with the horns, skin and skulls left of dead animals. This according to the wonderful tour guide Chan, is a way of leaving your knowledge behind. After this temple, we headed towards another temple, which was indeed for praying and reflection. This was a very old and holy temple, and clashed with  what we saw in the Black temple from one hour previous. There was a giant spiral in the grounds that was damaged from an earthquake from only two years ago. From there we continued in the direction of north for a buffet lunch. We enjoyed the delicious food, beside the world renowned Mekong River. Not far from the location of lunch was our next stop of ‘The Golden Triangle.’ This was a beautiful location, and was something that could definitely be ticked off from the bucket list. Standing 242, (yes, we counted) steps from ground level this allowed us to see three countries, Thailand, Laos and Burma/Myanmar. This is something beyond what we could experience within the so far extremely different country of Australia. With amazing scenic views the options for photos were borderless.  

We arrived at the crowded Opium Museum to find hand painted maps of the region and delicate sculptures of the named narcotic. We learnt about the dangerous affects of the drug and the harsh penalties of the current Thai government as opposed to the globally relaxed stance of Australia. Featured at the museum were artifacts dating back 3000 years as well as information about the long neck Karen tribe we had gone to see earlier in the trip. The negative effects of the drug clashed with the intricate and beautiful designs of the paraphernalia that have come out of this time in this regions culture. From there we headed to Chiang Khong – the most northerly major city in Thailand. We ate at a restaurant which was directed at western tourists and was enjoyed by all, which was a change of culture for us as we listen to our choices of music and played various casual games. After an amazing night of relaxation at the restaurant we settled down back at the Chiang Khong Palace and released fire lanterns into the sky to celebrate the full moon festival which was perfectly timed for the end of our journey of Thailand.

James U and Anna N