URBAN DOMAIN 2024

Australia – Day 11: Last Day with the Njanjma Rangers

November 16, 2017

G’day to all our friends and family!

Victoria’s experience of weaving:

We started our day at 8AM and went back to the Njanjma Rangers headquarters in Gumbalanya. We split into two groups, one group went on a hike to “the cave” while the other group stayed at the headquarters and learnt how to weave the pandanas leaves that we harvested and dyed yesterday. A traditional custodian of the land named Anita and the other Njanjma rangers Ursila, Kelly and Rafaella taught us how to harvest, dye and weave many different items. We weaved baskets, place mats, little bowls, earrings and bracelets. We weaved the dried pandanas leaves together using a needle. We looped green, brown, yellow and orange colours together to make the items. Anita told us that a larger basket can take weeks to make! I made a little bowl and Olina made some earrings. Anita learnt how to weave from her mother, and her mother was taught by her mother. This tradition is passed through the women of the families for many, many years.

After weaving, we made our way to the Injalak Arts Centre and screen printed the t-shirts we made in Warruwi. We printed the Injalak Arts Centre logo onto the back of the shirts using a carousel machine. An art director at the centre helped us to print. While we printed, he taught us how the designs are transferred onto the silk screen and how the carousel is made. We then walked back to the headquarters and finished our weaving. After that, we watched a documentary made by Anita’s father. The documentary was made in order to be used in the schools to teach young children the importance of protecting the land. It also taught us the importance of preserving the culture and traditions for future generations. It featured many traditional owners and custodians of the Gumbalanya and West Arnhem land.

Olina’s experience of the hike:

It took us about forty minutes to drive to the location and then we started hiking.There was no track and only a few people have been there except the rangers. We crossed some little creeks and climbed two rock hills. It was really hot like an oven but once we made it into the cave, it was cool and comfortable. The main opening of the cave was about ten metres wide. In the cave, the ground was covered by dark grey sand, some big rocks stood there, a few dead weaving leaves were left there. It seemed that someone had weaved in there before. There were also many little caves for us to find. We saw the rock paintings that covered the rock wall. After we finished our day with the Njanjma rangers, we said our goodbyes and said thank you to them for providing us with the wonderful experience.

After leaving the headquarters, we drove to West Arnhem College, a school in Jabiru. The teacher and children showed us around. It was a boarding school which managed by the Indigenous Australians. The students were from different areas near Jabiru. We had a thirty-people basketball match with the kids for about one hour. It was really fun! We had dinner with them and shared the stories. The fruits were so good, especially the pineapple. It rained heavily at dinner so the playground was flooded. Many of the students just laid in the water puddle for fun.

We all had a great day! See you very soon.

Love,

Victoria and Olina on behalf of the Australia group 🇦🇺⛰

China Day 12 – Shanghai

November 16, 2017

By ascott

We arrived in Shanghai at around 8 after a bumpy night on the train. It was drizzly and cold, but I was surprised to see that the city was bustling with people (though I guess that’s what you get in a city of 24 million people). We then proceeded to march a whopping 100 metres to the hotel, where we chilled out and ate breakfast. The original plan was for us to do an adventure race around Shanghai, but everyone was exhausted after our night on the supposedly A-class carriage. Instead, we did a bit of touring around the old sector (I don’t remember exactly what it was called, but it had the gorgeous old style Chinese architecture), went to a super modern shopping centre for lunch (we had western food!!!), then went back to the hotel to chill for a few hours in the afternoon. Dinner was pretty fun; we went to another super modern shopping centre, then split into groups of 4 or 5, and then got to wander around and choose where and what we got to eat. After dinner we caught the world’s fastest elavator (18 metres per second) to the 118th floor of a skyscraper. The view would have been absolutely stunning had the sky not been resembling pea soup (gross and cloudy). Throughout the day, we got to experience Shanghai’s crazy railway stations; they were so crowded, and ridiculously hot (compared to the brisk winds and chilling rain outside). One thing I thought was really interesting was that in the train stations, they had clear walls around the actual track. That way no one would accidentally fall onto the track in rush hour. Overall the day was pretty ‘chill’ which was a nice change from the regular hustle and bustle.

Hayley

We have arrived in Shanghai and are set to explore this exciting city today. We are just finishing breakfast after a ‘rockin’ rollin’ridin’ night on the train…

TLC Temples – Day 11

November 16, 2017

By chyde

As the sun arose from the hills on the other side of the Mekong, Temples were very drowsy after a late night. The riveting news of the ‘yes’ vote came across to many people within the group, uplifting our spirits. We began our day with a leisurely bike ride along the corse, bumpy back streets of Laos. The wind brushed against our fresh faces for a short time releasing a rush of adrenaline. We arrived at the oldest temple is Luang Prabang, Wat Xiengthong, giving us an insight into the deep culture of Laos and the continuous and committed lives of Laos monks and nuns. We continued until we reached the local paper making community shop. We were taught the traditional ways of making paper using the bark of mulberry trees, soaked in water treated with ashes then creates a thin cotton like texture.

Further into our day we returned to base camp (or the hotel) awaiting the announcement of the amazing race. As groups exceeded the boundaries of the hotel, we were set on our way around the beautiful city of Luang Prabang. Each group was handed instructions on how to correctly complete the race. Our success depended on how well we worked as a team. Each group began with a tuk tuk ride to the nearby Phousi market. Soon after navigating to the Phousi mountain, at which we had a treacherous flight of stars leading us up to the mountain peak. Continuing with the task, we found ourselves in a speculator location with the connection of the Mekong and the Nankong. Our race concluded to the announcement of the win for group 2 (Ryan, Ashley, Jack, Emma, Liam and Angelique P).

Our evening ended with an inclusive blessing from some local Lao village elders. All six elders blessed us with the pleasure of a successful future and safe travels. As the elders sang to us everybody was willing to join in and pay our respects to their culture. We were given bracelets to remind us of privileged lives. We had a number of dances performed to the group by Lao teenagers. The movements were free flowing as their hands moved in sync to the music, produced by a traditional instrument similar to a xylophone. We were captivated by their intriguing dances so everybody wanted to indulge in the pleasure of dancing with the onstage performers. Temples were extraordinarily adventurous as everybody was enjoying carving up the dance floor. As our last full day in Laos has concluded the pleasure of being immersed in their culture has also come to an end.

Thomas. C. & Ashla. C

TLC Pagodas – Day 10

November 16, 2017

By BHay

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

Vietnam Red – Day 12 – The Marble Mountains and Hue

November 16, 2017

By nburke

We woke up to a buffet breakfast. After, a delicious meal, we said goodbye to Hoi An, and went on a long bus ride to the Marble Mountains, a beautiful landscape covered with trees, ancient temples and lots of fog. The time at the mountains was spent exploring caves. However due to the torrential downpour, the abseiling session was cancelled due to health hazards. We learnt about the Buddhist monuments surrounding the cave system, the history and culture of the temples and admiring the natural beauty of the caves. The caves were also used as hideouts during the Vietnam war, and as a refuge for injured people. After soaking in an awesome view of the local town from the top of the mountain, we then had a lunch under a improvised shelter, eating the traditional Banh Mi of Vietnam.

After the wet and tiring cave explorations, we sat a 3 hour trip bus trip to Hue (Way), through some alarming, opaque fog. The day at Hue began with a terrifying and awkward (the sitting conditions were cramped) cyclo ride. We saw more of the insane traffic in Vietnam, where people drove through red lights, cut close to each other and pushed food carts through heavy traffic without much care in the world.

The ride ended at the Forbidden City, home of the Vietnamese royal family during the 16-20^th century. We visited the throne room, filled with intricately carved wood coloured red and gold. We learnt of a the history of the Imperial Family and a battle that had taken place during the Vietnamese War, which had destroyed and sacred the Forbidden City. We learnt that this area was the starting point and staging ground for the Vietnam War.

The day ended with a “Royal Dinner”, where everyone was dressed up in traditional, fancy garbs, a King and Queen were crowned for the evening (by being randomly selected out of a hat) and everyone was served a meal of beautifully decorated meals, whilst the rest of the group was forced to serve the “royals” drinks. We were also entertained by local professional musicians playing traditional Vietnamese instruments. We are looking forward to a more thorough exploration of Hue tomorrow by bicycle!

Daniel I and John Z

Vietnam Yellow – Day 11

November 16, 2017

By lbinge

By: Matt and Jordan

Our day began with a four hour bus ride from Hue to Hoi An, including two major stops; one being a limestone mountain lookout, and the other a short mountain trek up to our awaiting lunch atop Marble Mountain. After finishing the picturesque ocean drive along the coast, we arrived in Hoi An, our destination for the next 3 nights. A brisk walk was undertaken in the markets after all our luggage was dropped at the hotel. The majority of the students in Vietnam Yellow went to a tailor shop and were fitted with custom-made outfits that they would be able to purchase cheaply. We were overwhelmed with the choices of materials and designs and felt very special with all the personalised attention. Afterwards, dinner was eaten at Lantern Town, an aptly named restaurant for the lantern-lit streets of Hoi An. Another short shopping spree occurred directly after dinner where more banana-print bucket hats were purchased, followed by a relaxing stroll back to the hotel.

The French have had a massive impact in Vietnam, and this is obvious in Hoi An, especially through the colour and architecture demonstrated throughout the entirety of the area. The landscapes and infrastructures certainly stand out among the other cities we have visited and it’s no wonder it is a UNESCO world heritage town.

Although many of us are getting a bit home sick, we are thoroughly enjoying the opportunities we have to explore new towns and learn from a new culture. We are growing as individuals every day and are always looking forward to the new adventures that await us tomorrow!