Author: sdaniels

 

Hey y’all, this morning we awoke to another buffet breakfast. After we refuelled, we were ready to conquer one of our busiest days yet. We left the hotel at 8 o’clock and journeyed into the realms of the local fresh food market. Arrayed before us was a startling selection of tantalising treats. Raw meats, laden with flies, live fish out of water, gasping for air, colourful fruits of all sorts and even live frogs, tied together at the leg, struggling to escape. This experience was quite confronting for some, but was an opportune experience to take in the hubbub of the bustling marketplace.

Next up was our long-awaited elephant ride. But first, we had to take a bus ride! HA HA! When we got there we beheld the sight of over a dozen elephants, ready to be taken for a spin. We climbed on board our tamed beasts and began the first step on our exciting expedition. It was two or three to a single elephant, with a guide to aid us in our travels. Throughout our hour long ride, we had the option to sit at the front of our elephants! It was a real thrill. At the end of our ride we also got the opportunity to feed them. They gorged themselves on sugar cane and bananas.

Anyhow, after we left the elephant camp we walked to a regional primary school where we donated various gifts and observed their classroom behaviour. The kids really appreciated the gifts we gave them and were very thankful. The glimmer in their eyes as they received their presents was truly touching. Shortly after, we consumed a midday meal which gave the sustenance needed to energize us for our next activity!

We then travelled to a different location! We climbed steps leading to spectacular freshwater waterfalls, and the pools that the cascading water formed at the conclusion of its descent. The pools were stunning to look at and even more amazing to swim in. We enjoyed a refreshing swim and explored the caves beneath the overhanging rocks. We could go on, but we are very tired and the pictures will be worth a thousand words.

Upon our arrival at the hotel, everyone was ecstatic at the thought of CLEAN LAUNDRY!!! Which we proceeded to pick up. After this, dinner was enjoyed along Mekong River at a local eatery. The glimmer of the moonlight on the dark river made it look like a raging torrent of crude oil. We then spent two exciting hours at the night market where we purchased a host of goods (just you wait).

Finally, we arrived back at our haven, the Sunway hotel, and went to bed. Goodnight.

Jaeger and Edie

 

 

 

The Temples were asked to write a short comment/reflection/highlight of their Big Experience so far as we almost reach the halfway mark of the trip. Below are their responses:

Ben- I can certainly see why this is called the Big Experience. After our village stay I can now fully appreciate the comforts of home. New friends have been made and many of the local customs have been very intriguing.

Harry-Playing cards for six hours on the boat as we cruise along the Mekong River.

Matthew- Losing all my money in Pak Beng.

Laura- White water rafting was SO FUN.

Chris- we are a lot luckier than a lot of people and you don’t realise it until you experience how other people live.

Ruby- Mekong River cruise = heaven.

Cameron- The Big Experience so far has been great, with the white water rafting and the Thai boxing being the best so far. I can’t wait for the rest of the trip.

Murray- Thai boxing was painful.

Saskia- The highlight so far was giving the little kids clothes and visiting the night markets in Chiang Mai.

Cooper- Hanging out and playing cards on the boat has been relaxing after some busy days throughout Northern Thailand.

Alex- The whole trip has been a great experience and each activity and destination has been a highlight. Building the house felt amazing to be able to help people less fortunate.

Sarah- The Big Experience has been amazing so far and there has not been a day when I haven’t been inspired in one way or another.

Isabella- White water rafting was fun along with the Little Duck hotel.

Karla- Building the house, white water rafting, staying at the Imperial Hotel in Chiang Mai and the two days on the boat have been the highlights so far.

Arthur- It’s hard to believe that we have already been away for a week. Right now we are going down the Mekong River with lush forest on both sides, and the occasional village appearing. There is still so much to look forward to in the second half of this trip.

Jaeger- After picking up a considerable amount of grime in the village and sweating profusely throughout the trip, cleansing my putrid washing bag will be more than a godsend.

Sabre- I truly think that this trip so far has been a real eye-opener to the culture of Thailand and Laos. The fact that I have had the opportunity to witness a new world as well as assist those in need has changed my way of thinking. I have really enjoyed the journey so far.

Finn- Building the house and seeing how happy the kids were to receive gifts and have visitors in their village was the highlight so far.

Edie- The highlight so far was when the little kids in the village finished school and played with us for hours. It was incredible to be able to overcome the language barrier and communicate with the kids. It felt like an inspirational scene from a movie except everyone probably smelt a lot worse after building the house.

Morgan- The funniest moment was when Miss Werba fell out of the boat white water rafting.

Bass- Beautiful sights, ridden with history. Bright lights stunning with mystery.

Charlie- The trip so far has been amazing including the culture, the food and the way of life. The Thai boxing was fun, the stunning views have been great to admire and the Mekong amazing. I can’t wait for the second half of the trip.

Campbell- Experiencing the unique markets of Northern Thailand was amazing. Learning to haggle, dealing with the crowds and the bright lights has been a huge experience.

Claudia-Being immersed in the culture, food and landscape every minute of this journey has enabled us to grow and experience many breathtaking opportunities. This has helped us understand, relate and appreciate the world around us from a different perspective.

Sabrina- Thai boxing, getting stuck on a big rock during white water rafting, Harry screaming and the local leader laughing his head off.

 

This morning we had an early start, but not as early as Sarah who set her alarm for 6:30am Melbourne time, only to find it was 2:30am local time. After having a shower and getting ready for the day ahead, Sarah finally realised she was four hours ahead of schedule!!

We packed our bags, and headed off in the early morning down the majestic Mekong River. The day proved to be a very relaxing one. The boat trip was a great time to socialize, and without doubt, the guys will be experts at playing cards when we return! Around 12:30, lunch was served; it was a delicious variety of traditional Laos food consisting of Fried Noodles, Rice, Chicken Drumsticks, Chicken Curry and Rice Paper Rolls.

The front of our boat had a great balcony/platform, roomy enough for two people. Everyone was given permission to take it in turns to sit out there. The aesthetic view on both sides of the Mekong was stunning, and with many leisurely games of cards played and pages read, we arrived at ­­the Pak Ou Caves. A multitude of engraved sculptures inside the limestone cave made for a wonderful temple and the exploration of the ancient caves proved fascinating.

We arrived in Luang Prabang at 4:30pm, left the boat and quickly moved to our beautiful 4 star hotel. We played a couple more games of cards, had a few showers and left the hotel for another great dinner (on the way we dropped off a tonne of washing for laundering). Then it was off to the night market where there was time for more shopping and a chance to appreciate some of the local crafts.

We returned back to the hotel, exhausted and drained of energy. We were expecting a nice sleep in and a good night’s sleep, in our four star bed. However, we were let down by the depressing fact that we had to pack our bags for the eventful day ahead of us, and wake up at seven.   

Charlie and Saskia

Washing time…

 

Hello from Laos!

Today was a day for the books; we said goodbye to Thailand and Bob (our Thailand tour guide), both being extremely hard to do as we had grown accustomed to the beautiful cities and our amazing, psychic, palm reading, meowing tour guide, Bob.

We woke up in our rustic home stay, to an impressive breakfast of toast, eggs and bananas while gazing over the Mekong River to Laos. After a short 5 minute drive to the customs dock, we handed over our passports to be checked and then boarded a boat to cross the river for Laos, leaving Thailand in our dust. It was sad to be leaving such a welcoming country, but we were all looking forward to the second leg of our journey. The customs process was odd – very relaxed compared to that of Melbourne or Bangkok. We literally walked straight through the gates, not being checked or having to declare anything! We then arrived at our private boat by tuk tuk, where Mrs Adams nearly lost her luggage when the driver drove off with it strapped to the roof! It was safely returned after a couple of minutes. Close call!

We then boarded our long boat for our 6 hour boat ride along the Mekong River. We enjoyed the stunningly beautiful scenery and endless rolling hills and spent our time relaxing, played games of cheat, reading, socialising and sleeping. We were treated to tempura fish, curry and vegetables for lunch, which was an enjoyable change from rice.

We arrived in Pak Beng in the late afternoon, a small (and when we say small, we mean small) town of only one road, where we proceeded to go to our separate male and female guesthouses. They were very homely, and each room had a “shower room”- which incidentally is also used for the toilet and sink. These experiences are all part of our Big Experience – experiencing things outside our comfort zone.

We had a candlelight dinner overlooking the Mekong, and were provided with yet another array of tantalising dishes – a whole fish, curry, soup, vegies, spiced omelette and rice. We then got a bit of time to continue looking around the small town, and buy some last minute snacks for tomorrow’s second 6hour leg of our long boat journey. Finally we all returned back to our rooms and prepared for a good night’s rest. The boys all had a good chat and some dessert with Mr Daniels and the girls had hot chocolates and cookies with Ms Werba and Mrs Adams. A nice end to a relaxing day.

Tomorrow we continue our journey along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang where, after 6 days of struggling with our limited choices, we can finally do some washing!!!

By Alex and Matt

 

 

The day began at the infamous Little Duck Hotel, where breakfast consisted of an array of strange looking dishes, rice, noodles and bread (but the jam was amazing). As we left, we found out that Arthur had conveniently found his ‘so-called’ electronically- etched room key that he had lost the previous day. It was a lucky find as it would have cost him $121 to replace it (Smooth one Arthur).

The bus ride from Chiang Rai to the Golden Triangle was approx one and a half hours. It was a great time to relax and catch up on sleep, or watch Heroes on Matt’s iPhone (According to Cooper).

 Hung (our tour guide) gave us some information about himself and his hard upbringing after the Vietnam War with some amusing stories thrown in about putting his wife on his motor bike to rush to the hospital when she went into labour with their first child.

Next came a strenuous trek up a hill to view the famous Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle is the area where the Mekong River provides a border for three countries; Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. The view provided beautiful scenery of a vast majestic land, which reminded us that the world is made up of so many wonders (wise words from Cooper that were put into a cheesy context by Sabrina). On the other hand, the Golden Triangle was the main producer of opium, transporting millions of the tonnes of opium to places such as India, China and Britain. We learnt a lot about the effect and impact of the Opium trade at the Hall of Opium, which was founded by the Thai Royal Family. It outlined the effects of the illegal use of Opium socially and economically and the struggle to prevent and abolish all Opium trade. After the museum visit we ate a tasty buffet lunch overlooking the Golden Triangle (and Sabrina bought a very nice dress, just saying).

The bus trip from the Golden Triangle to the small northern based river side town called Chiang Khong was a long two hours, but the bus the trip took us past some amazing green scenery. We arrived at the authentic River-side Guest House, where showers literally took up the whole bathroom. It was very nice to sit on the balconies overlooking the Mekong River and into Laos. We were given free time to explore the local main street right outside our Guest House, where many of us stocked up on westernised snacks. The day wound down with a nice Thai-buffet dinner with everything at the same table like one loving family.

Tomorrow we are crossing the border into Laos and saying goodbye to our much loved Thailand guide, Bob. Kob khun krap (thank-you in Thai).

We hope you enjoyed our descriptive analysis of today’s events (Mr. Daniels is laughing at us right now… I think he’s getting tired). We leave you now as we listen to some Thai wedding music from down the street.

Cooper and Sabrina

 

 

 

 

 

Waking up this morning to the humidity of Northern Thailand was an experience that we are all slowly getting used to. We gathered for breakfast to enjoy a meal before embarking on another tough morning of work.

The floor was completed with concrete throughout, which was an extremely sweaty task, made easier with everyone helping. We formed a “work line”, passing sand and rock from the piles to the construction site. This kept everyone busy and involved in the last stage of the build. We also had a tag team system going, where some people would work inside the house mixing the concrete and we would swap with the people in the work line. Concreting is hard work! The front yard was also dug out and after a final tidy, the house that we had built was finally complete.

After a quick shower (bucket of water and hose) emotions began to run a little high, whilst we assembled at the dining table to donate our gifts to the village. The reaction from the entire village was overwhelming as they thanked us for our contributions. The family receiving the house were introduced and they again thanked us. There were smiles on everyone’s faces and it was evident that we had done something that was going to help these people. We gathered by the house for one final group photo, followed by our farewell to the village that had looked after us for the past two days.

We returned to Chiang Dao via songtheoy (large tuk tuk) for lunch – a delicious Pad Thai.  After lunch, we then embarked on a three hour bus journey to Chiang Rai. It was a long trip but we arrived at our new hotel called the Little Duck. Shortly we were given our new room partners and a well deserved and a long awaited clean shower. After some relaxation time, we headed to the Chiang Rai Night Market for dinner and some shopping. The restaurant at the night market had an amazing atmosphere, with live traditional Thai music being played and later, Thai dancing. There was also the general hustle and bustle of the market.

Tomorrow we have another big day as we travel to Chiang Khong, visiting the Golden Triangle area and Opium museum on the way. Tomorrow night will be our final night in Thailand.

By Cam and Claudia (PS. Hi Mum)