Cambodia to Mumbia......

Leaving NHCC, Cambodia

We had such a wonderful time at the New Hope for Cambodian Children (NHCC) village. Even though the accommodation was basic, it was clean and we really got into the routine of village life. 

 Leaving was much harder than any of us thought it would be. We were given so many hand drawn and made pictures, cards and gifts. The children were so generous with what little they had and made us feel so welcome and part of the family.

It was the first time NHCC have had a family with children visit and stay for such a period of time. John and Kathy, the founders, were so happy that it worked out well for us and so impressed by the girls and their ability to adapt to the climate, culture and lifestyle. They were also surprised by the girl’s willingness to work and work hard. Mark and I were so proud of our kids. 

So where was I? Oh yes, leaving… well after saying a few goodbyes Asia and I were in tears, some of the children began to cry and by the time we got in the van to leave we were all sobbing including Kathy and other volunteers we were leaving behind. We cried most of the way to the airport. Such a good emotion knowing you have connected with someone and have learnt so much from them and them from you. Also very hard to leave when you don’t know if and when you will see them again.

Mumbia for a few days….. SENSORY OVERLOAD!      

Rain, rain, monsoon rain…

Wow and I thought Bangkok was manic. It is nothing compared to here. Everywhere you look the streets are packed with people, cars, trucks, tuk-tuks, mopeds and cows, all going about their daily business in a frenzy but Asian paced chaos.

I have never felt so western, white, confused and disorientated. I love Asia and I love travelling. I enjoy meeting new people and exploring new places but this is the first place I have walked / driven around and craved a western coffee, snack and the comforts of home. Maybe it is because we have been away so long but I have a feeling that it is more to do with India!

Don’t get me wrong. I am enjoying our short time here. The food is fantastic closely followed by the tea. The people are smiley though I have not had the chance to meet any women. All the hostel staff, taxi drivers and most shop workers are men. The women seem to be hidden or busy with daily chores.

Today we drove for 5 hours to see the highlights of the city of Mumbai. Once again as in many of our stops around the world the British Empire has left its mark. The architecture, hospitals, law courts, schools and a weird structure called ‘The gate of India’ which was built to commemorate the visit of Majesties King George V and Queen Mary 1911. I am sure most of this is good but it is in such a contrast to the Indian people, their culture, colours, clothing and customs. Ho hum…may have to do some more reading on this one. Justin I may need your help!

We drove through old Bombay and saw many types of living accommodation. From high rises packed with tiny apartments to the creative build of the slums. All the housing had some things in common for me. Small, creative, resourceful and colourful washing hung from windows, roofs and balconies. The homes we saw today were built from all sorts of materials from bricks, metal sheets, wood, tarpaulin and textiles. Some had no doors and windows, some were open fronted, and some had small businesses running from their front door selling food, drinks, and all sorts of wares. This sort of housing is all over the city not just in the ‘slum’ areas.

So many natural resources are used and re used and it is very difficult to find anything processed, packaged or pre-made. Unlike all the other cities we have visited there are no corner shops owned by a chain, not many visual signs of large corporation dominating the market i.e. fuel stations, supermarkets, shopping malls. There is obviously a growing going on here. On almost every street there are new building being constructed for offices, shops and homes. Perhaps the big boys are about to move in!

During an unplanned stop to the loo – the local loo (thanks Asia!) we walked past some local shops/ stalls. If you want to eat chicken for your tea, you go to the ‘chicken shop’, choose your chicken which is still live and chirping about, the shop keeper will swiftly end its poor little life and then you can take it home as it is or pay a little more for them to butcher it. No packaging or refrigeration required! Very clever and very simple… I shall not be eating the chicken of course but I am sure there are some things we can learn here about resources and waste!

Along all the road sides i saw vans with ‘tempo service’ printed on them. After quizzing our driver I learnt that everything here that is thrown out as ‘rubbish’ is collected, sorted through and delivered to these amazing scrap / recycling shops. Alongside the slums there are places you can pick up scrap everything and the place is crawling with people working, sorting and buying ‘scrap’. The street we saw was very organized, tidy and clearly well run. If you can look beyond the general grime of the city this place is resourceful.

Back to the toilet stop…. We were only 1 hour into our journey when Asia needed to go. I knew the loo options would be basic but after paying 2 rupees each we stepped into a cubicle sectioned building, ladies one side and men the other. The odour was over powering and the squat toilets were…well…covered in poo! Asia and KJ managed to brace themselves and go…I was supervising ensuring nothing touched the ground, sides and door of the cubicle…. NEVER AGAIN! The lonely planet guide does say do not use local toilets…go before you leave your hostel and then use other hostel loos along the way. Now I know why..oh well all an experience.

So of course the food is delicious. My favourite so far is dahl curry. I can’t get enough of it. Asia has been venturing out trying curries with me. Most are far too spicy but she gives it a go every time. Yas is just so pleased to be somewhere where a vegetarian is the majority with lots of options everywhere you go.

Mark is reading a book called ‘Shantaram’ by Gregory David Roberts..its the true story of a guy who breaks out of prison in Australia and comes to Mumbia while on the run. Here is his description of Mumbia that we resound with…

‘How are you liking our Bombay?’ ‘I love it,’ I answered, and it was true. To my eyes, the city was beautiful. It was wild and exciting. Buildings that were British Raj-romantic stood side to side with modern, mirrored business towers. The haphazard slouch of neglected tenements crumbled into lavish displays of market vegetables and silks. I heard music from every shop and passing taxi. The colours were vibrant. The fragrances were dizzyingly delicious. And there were more smiles in the eyes on those crowded streets than in any other place I’d ever known.

Above all else, Bombay was free – exhilaratingly free. I saw that liberated, unconstrained spirit wherever I looked, and I found myself responding to it with the whole of my heart. Even the flare of shame I’d felt when I first saw the slums and the street beggars dissolved in the understanding that they were free, those men and women. No one drove the beggars from the streets. No one banished the slum dwellers. Painful as their lives were, they were free to live them in the same gardens and avenues as the rich and powerful. They were free. The city was free. I loved it.

Yet I was a little unnerved by the density of purposes, the carnival of needs and greeds, the sheer intensity of the pleading and the scheming on the street. I spoke none of the languages I heard. I knew nothing of the cultures there, clothes in robes and saris and turbans. It was as if I’d found myself in a performance of some extravagant, complex drama, and I didn’t have a script. But I smiled, and smiling was easy, no matter how strange and disorienting the street seemed to be.

So yes I am so pleased we came here to Mumbia. Such a privilege again to see first hand an amazing crazy city that is talked about so much that is full of colour, flavour and energy….. and all that in the pouring rain!

When chatting with the girls today about going home and finding language and ways to express our experience Asia Lee said this, ‘I wish they could jump into my heart and experience Asia and eat the food’!

Top things I am looking forward to returning home (apart from seeing family & friends)…

1. Not cleaning my teeth with bottled water – such a faf!
2. Having clean feet and moisturising my dry flip flop heels!
3. Having clean clothes to wear that smell good and aren’t discolored or grimy!
4. Wearing jeans & jumpers!
5. Sleeping in my bed with my 100% Egyptian cotton sheet in my white nightie
6. Not living out of my rucksack
7. Being able to make a cup of tea when I want one
8. Not sharing a room with my kids!!!! ;0)
9. Drinking tap water
10. eating SALAD!
11. Feeling chilly!

That’s it from me for now, photos to follow… love Hayley x

Capture the moment

The lady on the back of this motor bike is carrying her IV ttreatment as she is carried either to or from the hospital.

 Hayley eating a tarantula. I am not sure the spiritual symbol for eating tarantulas?









We visited a quilt business in Phonm Penh, we thought of Nanny Mags and Grandma X

Red sky at night...

I have heard it said that boredom leads to creativity (Yasmin feet art)






 

Asia caught napping on her DS, the only other person I know naps like this is her eldest grandparent (no names for privacy reasons!)

Asia singing in the rain

KJ had her hair plaited many times at NHCC

Mark holding international talks with the prime ministers son

SCORPIONS…

The other day I was getting ready to do the washing. I got the two big washing bowls out one for washing and one for rinsing. I tipped the washing powder into one bowl and while I was filling up both bowls with water something crawled out from underneath my foot. I had no shoes on just my bare feet and I said to one of the volunteers who was doing her washing next to me “look what just crawled out from underneath my foot do you now what it is?” She didn’t now what it was and I didn’t ether. 

So I went to get mum and when she saw it she was so surprised I didn’t get stung because it was a SCORPION!!! Then dad tried to move it and its tail curled up to protect it’s self.

Later on that day mum showed the picture to a friend who works in NHCC and she said “how on earth did she not get stung? They are biggest scorpions we get in Cambodia!” 

Mum also found out that if you get stung you can go into shock or scream the place down. This happened the day after I had been worrying about the devil getting inside me and never making my worries go away. Mum said we should look scorpions up in the bible because she had heard something about them being a spiritual symbol… this is what we found:

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (Luke, chapter 10, verse 19)

So I don’t need to be afraid!

Love Yaz XX

My 15^th Birthday in Cambodia!

I woke up on my birthday at 5:15am. This may sound early for a teenager on her birthday but this is what my body clock has been trained to do for the last 3 weeks. By 6am I had; opened my presents from the Baileys, Grandma & Grandpa, Asia and Yas (Thank You!!); had a cup of tea and was outside with lots of ‘Happy Birthday’s from the 6 other volunteers in our cluster at N.H.C.C. For breakfast I had the first bit of bread I had eaten in 3 weeks and some fruit! Because it was my birthday my parents let me have the day off studying so I went to play with the pre-school and nursery kids for an hour. I wasn’t feeling too good so I came back to the house and read my book till lunch! 

My mum had ordered a cake from the bakery 3 miles away so after my birthday lunch of chicken, rice and veg a few my friends came over and sang Happy Birthday! Then out of nowhere one of the boys decided to throw cake icing at my face… most of us then spent the next 20 minutes wiping icing on each others faces and flicking it in various directions… it was so much fun!! Once all the cake was gone everyone went back to their clusters (clusters are the houses we sleep in) for rest time. I had a bucket wash because I was covered head to toe in icing that was a bit like whipped cream! When I was all clean and dry mum and I went to the English class that we go to everyday and spent the rest of the afternoon there. 5pm I had my birthday dinner of chicken, rice and veg and went to play with the kids before coming back and watching a movie. A better birthday then I expected put it that way!

Thanks everyone for your emails they were much appreciated!

And sorry everyone for not being on Facebook, they decided to temporally kick me out because they think someone was hacking me??!! Which is extremely annoying but what can you do??!!

See you very soon ;)

Kaela-J xxx

So we are half way through our time at NHCC it's going ok, i've met lots of  nice people and played 'Risk' for the first time, i've also done a lot of reading.

What I do in the week days: I get up slowly at 5:00am have a bucket wash and eat breakfust (fruit, breakfust bars) then i take on the job of cloths washing by hand, lets just say it's very diffrent to a washing machine! Then me and dad head over to nursery at around 7:00am, nusery goes on for three hours but we only stay for an hour and a half and we come back dripping with sweat. After a small break I do some math's and spelling with mum while she's teaching K-J. By the time i've finished studying the boring stuff its lunch time... we have lunch at 11:00am. It get's very hot about 12noon so I read, colour and rest by that time all the kids have come back from morning school had lunch and a nap.


 When it's cooled down a bit mum and K-J go off to teach English, Asia goes to pre-school and me and dad do either egg collecting or we go for a walk and I do some stretching so when I go back to gym I won't be extremly behind  (if im not in the mood for either I just hangout!). When mum and K-J and Asia come back we head over to dinner... mmmmm rice! As soon as we have finished are dinner we go and play with the kids out in the play ground. Finally, we bucket wash and play a round of uno before the electrisity goes off at 8:30pm, we are usually in bed by 8 so its alright.

Its been an amazing experiance but i can definatly feel i'm ready to come home soon. hope you like my blog . YAZ XX

These children aren’t empty

The children I have met are HIV positive

Parents who are dead that’s double negative

Picked up because if left they would die

The loss they have suffered is set deep in their eye

You see the children have been rescued from drowning

Sinking in a sea of disease that was swallowing

But a hand grabbed their hand and lifted them out

Of the depths of this pain now their beginning to shout

These children aren’t empty

They run in bare foot where I tiptoe in flip flops, and plenty

Of welcome as I embrace their cuddles and smiles

Back home my culture would scream “paedophile”

To reject this affection would be to deny them their giving

I am here to receive not just giving, that’s living

Pouring out from our insides a torrent of talents and gifts

To each other and that’s why my hand lifts

In applause or in praise

In wonder I gaze

The children play for hours without technology

This may seem obvious but what’s the psychology?

They grabbed the skipping rope from me and organised games with it

I turned up late for the football they said “NO”, that’s not in my script

That’s not helpless or powerless that’s not lacking

In self-esteem or in confidence, this white man needs sacking!

Instead I am backing these children to turn loss into laughter

A medicine that can’t be brought off the shelf, a corporate disaster!

These children have an identity and been given a name

Struggle and suffering comes to all in life’s game

They are not higher or lower in these things than me

We are the same but in a different paradigm you see

They don’t need my pity

So I try and show them some dignity

And then I may learn the beauty of their humanity

THESE CHILDREN AREN’T EMPTY

Written by Mark 

May 2012

First week at New Hope for Cambodia Children (NHCC)

corner of our building with grazing cow

I think we had mentally prepared for the worst. We were informed before our volunteering that the living quarters were basic with no running water, flushing loos or shower. All clothes washing was to be done by hand. So when we arrived we were all presently surprised and relieved! The village is clean and spacious with brightly coloured buildings, plenty of green open space, a playground, basketball court, football pitch and cows, dogs, chickens and pigs!

The village houses 250 orphans and around 50 staff and their children. The children are aged from 2 – 18 years old and either have HIV themselves or are here with a sibling who has HIV (though there are not many of them). Every child receives medication, food, access to full time education and most importantly a home provided by the charity. The kids have to take their medicine twice daily 12 hrs apart so a bell rings at 6am and 6pm and they all run to their house mothers for their dose!

red cluster where we eat with the children

The village is separated into clusters: blue, green, yellow, red, lavender, white, orange and purple. Here they live together about 30 children with a house mother and father, cook and support staff. They sleep, eat and live life based from their cluster just as a family would.

We are staying in the volunteer’s centre which comprises of 3 buildings with bedrooms or dorms and a covered area. Our dorm sleeps 30 people and so we have set up camp in the corner nearest the solar powered ceiling fan. We have two ‘bathrooms’ which contain a large tank of well water, a toilet base, a sink and the all important bucket/plastic ladle type thing. The ladle is used for flushing the loo and body washing, which basically means dip it in the tank of water and throw it over you, soap up and then repeat to rinse. It is fairly cool water but seems freezing as you are generally very hot.

The people here are so friendly and welcoming both staff and kids alike. We immediately felt at home and relaxed in this unfamiliar place. We have often discussed this quote from one travel writer…"When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable." - Clifton Fadiman

So the uncomfortable moments have been 1) the HOT and humid weather - almost all day and night. The coolest times are early morning and after the rain during the day which so far comes every other day. 2) The many interesting creatures and insects, these are mostly just irritating rather than dangerous. Though the rains will bring scorpions and snakes but apparently these are fairly low risk so I am trying not to worry! 3) Being hungry, we have fruit and boiled egg for breakfast and then two meals of rice, vegetables and fried chicken every day. There are no snacks or treats available so we are eating a very healthy diet though we have sourced a local village shop that sells cold cans of Coke and Fanta for those days when we really want some sugar!

The village has a fantastic clinic with full time nursing staff and a doctor 2 days a week. They told us when we arrived that they can treat almost anything in their clinic and all medical care and medicines are free to volunteers. The staff in the clinic also speak English. I did breathe a sigh of relief when shown the clinic – not that I was too worried but of course always in the back of my mind are questions of what if!

A routine

The children’s day (are now ours) is fairly routine around the heat, sun rise, sun set, when there is electricity, meals, medication times and of course school. A typical week days runs a little like this:

5am                 get up (electricity comes on for 1 hr) Hayley gets a cup of tea!

5.45am            breakfast (eggs & fruit)

6am                 medicine for children

6.30am            children leave for school (under 6’s stay on site and go to nursery and pre-school)

7 – 10.30am    school

11am               lunch (rice, vegetables and fried meat followed by fruit)

11.30 – 1pm    rest (most people seem to nap or read in the shade)

1 – 4.30pm      afternoon classes on site for all (rotate around English, dance, music, computers, library, and sport classes)

5pm                 dinner (rice, vegetables and fried meat followed by fruit)

6pm                 medicine & electricity comes on, play time

7 – 8pm           sun goes down - bed (EVERYBODY!!)

8.30pm            electricity goes off

So we are slowly getting used to an early start in the cool of the day and being trashed by 8pm. We have established an early morning routine of getting up at 5am, quick cup of tea (black tea as there is no milk) enjoying the cool of the morning and the gorgeous setting. Then one of the girls will help me with the clothes washing. This is done by hand in two large metal bowls on the ground. The water is pumped from a well (phew!) so it is cold and we have powder that we put into the water. After some scrubbing and swirling around in the soapy water we wring and transfer the item to the fresh water bowl for rinsing. We then rinse and wring out as hard as possible and finally hang out on the line to dry. I wish I was as good at this as my 93 year old nanny she manages to wring clothes out soooooooo dry…. I shall keep practising! The washing here only takes an hour or so to dry though so no problems with the inefficient wringing out! After the washing is done we have breakfast followed by washing up in a plastic bowl outside and leave dishes to dry in the sun. So far I have not seen one cloth. All washing and cleaning is done with hands and hosed water. 

From 7am to11am, KJ and Yas study with me in our lovely outdoor classroom. We are reading out loud Wuthering heights by Emily Bronte and discussing as we go. Both girls are working hard on their maths too. Asia, Mark and Jamie (when she was here) go and help out in the nursery or pre school classes in the morning. Mark also tried his hand at hedge trimming but after an hour with the team of farmers her managed to slice his finger on the cutting tool and has ended up with a bandaged up finger and on antibiotics. Our first use of the clinic facilities! (Mark says it was touch an go whether he would loose his finger completely!)

                                                          

The market

One morning Asia, Jamie and I went to the market with the cooks on the back of a truck. We left at 6am and arrived back to the village at 8am. The experience was fantastic and Asia was a bit of a celebrity there, but I think that our cook is really. She walked around bartering and buying food and we three white girls walked around after her carrying all the stuff she bought. People stopped her to ask about Asia, many stroked Asia’s hair, squeezed her or brought out their children to say hello to her. Our cook was so proud. She bought Asia a fresh flower hair garland which she and the stall seller placed around her hair very ceremoniously. Asia loved it, smiling at people as we worked hard to keep up with our cook!

Asia helping the barrow man at market

I am not sure how much money our cook spent but we bought a lot of fruit, veg and meat. As we walked around she kept picking stuff up from stalls and insisting we try. My favourite was a kind of pancake type thing that was flavoured with herbs, it was yum. I was so full by the time we had finished. The truck met us at an apparently agreed spot where all 8 cooks and the three of us loaded back on the truck – this time with produce galore and large canisters of drinking water. This trip occurs daily for each cluster cook to provide meals for around 50 people. On the way back to the village we knocked into some bushes alongside the road and as the truck is open sided, Jamie and Asia discovered a visitor on their backs…. A lizard had been knocked onto the truck. He was about 50cm long and moved VERY quickly…he was far more terrified than Asia and Jamie. The cooks in the truck with us thought it most hilarious!

Once back to the village the food is unloaded and stuff that needed to be kept cool is stored in large ice boxes. The ice man comes every day at 10am, saws off a chunk of ice from his cart and pops it into your orange box. Very simple but very efficient was of keeping things cool. We have one of these in our visitor’s centre where we store water, cans of drink and spare fruit.

More to follow….

Hayley XX

Killing Fields and S-21

This is a very short account of our visit to Cheong Ek Genocidal Centre (killing fields) and S21 Tuol Sleng Museum (Khmer Rouge secret detention and torture prison). Jamie, KJ and I went.

The ‘killing fields’ is now a very peaceful place with lots of greenery – grasses, trees, wild flowers, butterflies, hens and chicks and a lake. It is quiet and respectful. I walked through with an audio guide hung around my neck. I was so overwhelmed by the graves, torture implements and skulls. It was more than just a ‘museum’ but a very real reminder of what has happened here in Cambodia not so long ago. Bones and pieces of clothing still surface in the mass graves after periods of heavy rain which seems kind of spooky but also brings atrocity into sharp perspective.

fence around babies mass grave

 Many Cambodians I have spoken too has someone in their family who was killed or tortured by the Khmer Rouge. It is thought that around 1 in 4 people where killed across the whole country. I was most shocked by the graves of babies who were born 1972-73. I was born Nov’73 so these people are my peers – would have been my age if given the chance to live. Walking around with my daughter I felt so privileged to have life and to have family.

I also met a 71 year old man and one of only 7 survivors of S21 (the torture prison). I bought his biography and had a picture with him. He was a gentle and sweet man – too old for his age sadly due to his torture. He has partial hearing following torture by electrocution through the ears.

skeletons of boys aged 15 yrs

Why do humans destroy humans? Why do fellow countrymen kill each other?  Why does brother murder their own brother? It is not meant to be this way. Most of the day I was speechless and sad that this has happened here and in many other nations.

So we spend the next few weeks in a nation that is still rebuilding itself, that is still healing and finding its way. Yet the Cambodian people are so smiley, friendly, hospitable and seem soft hearted. I guess they appreciate life and the freedom they now have. Maybe I will learn a thing or two while I am here!

 

“That’s bollocks”

Towards the end of flight between Perth and Singapore after watching two movies (Warhorse and A few best men) I listened to some Coldplay, not music I would usually choose but being a person who finds inspiration from lyrics I can usually put aside musical taste... In the song ‘Every tear drop is a waterfall’ there is a line that goes something like “maybe I’m in the gap between the two trapeze” a lyric that probably best summed up how I was feeling leaving the relatively safe and comfortable life of Western Australia and onto the less comfortable part of our journey into SE Asia. In this moment I hang in the gap experiencing daily fears of falling sick and trying to concentrate on reaching to a different climate and culture yet in the same day find some exhilaration of flying as I see how a day unfolds, how random people come into our lives for moments that cause the heart to find courage and tells the mind we can survive in a strange land. We are in Cambodia.

Getting to Cambodia meant crossing a border, the procedure was like something out of the TV drama series ‘Hustle’. We arrived at the border town by train and were taken to the border crossing by tuk-tuk. I tried to emphasis to the driver that we had our visa so don’t bother with the scam (a widely known occurrence) so I wasn’t quite sure what would happen next. The tuk-tuk pulled up at Visa control and all looked official, they reassured us we wouldn’t pay anything, I thought this is was ok so far. After filling in the departure forms, they told us about the buses that ran to Siem Reap and ‘cheap’ ticket prices if we use the ‘government buses’. We didn’t want to buy tickets until we crossed so left and walked to the crossing. It wasn’t until we reached the Cambodia border that we saw the same forms being filled in there and realised the office we had visited was indeed ‘unofficial’ and the buses they tried to sell were not public transport and indeed over priced - these guys are good! As we lined up for the Cambodia passport and visa check a young man from London came in behind us – having realised that he had just paid $20 more for his visa he declared “That’s bollocks”. But for every scam that I heard other travellers moaning about I laughed inside at the countries that run the million dollar ‘scams’, putting it simply many products and services I buy in the UK are marked up at least 100% for profit of the company and to bless the shareholder. This is a widely known but generally excepted scam, but a scam none the less!

So a couple of evenings later at the youth hostel in Siem Reap we sit down after a tiring day visiting the temples of Ankor Wat and play the card game Uno. Hayley puts down the winning card and in response Yasmin throws her cards on the table and declares ‘That’s bollocks’. There was a short and silent pause as everyone looked at her and in turn she wondered what she had said for us to all stop what we were doing and look at her…followed by a great deal of laughter!

Mark

Bangkok..the city that really never sleeps....

So our 4 nights in Bangkok went very fast. We arrived on Monday after a short flight from Singapore. After shedding a few kilos of luggage weight in Singapore by sending afew bits home and ditching a lot of now 'non essential' items we were able to carry our bags and get on and off, in and out of various modes of transport to arrive at Nira Bankoc Cultural Hostel without breaking our backs! The youth hostel is in the centre of the old town, a very busy and bustling place. Mark did a fantastic but slightly stressful job of negotiating with and refusing a few taxis and tuk tuks that wanted to charge us far too much to take us 20 mins from the staion to the hostel. In the end we took a taxi whom the driver said he stopped and agreed to take us on a meter (the cheapest way of doing it) because he could see Mark is a family man.
So after snacks and showers we settled in our room to talk about the day and the time in Bangkok. We found that we were all slightly culture shocked and overwhelmed by the busyness and again working in a second language of which we speak none! Asia said the city seemed scary to her - such a manic new place for a child i think. After a good nights sleep and a walk around the streets the next day we relaxed (ish) into the bartering Bangkok way and Asia became more confident as the days went on.

 Tuesday morning Jamie arrived as a suprise for the girls. It was soooo much fun and such a big relief as we had kept it a secret for nearly 5 months. The girls were completely shocked into silence, then "JAMIEEEE", then tears...it was wonderful!
We spent the next 3 days wandering the streets of Bangkok, eating yummy pad thai noodles, shopping, took the river boat to see the city from a different view and visited Wat Arun - tall pointy shrine decorated in sea shells and broken pieces of porcelin.

The city is a colourful, vibrant place that never sleeps with many people groups living our their culture and beliefs. Bright pink, green, red and yellow taxis and tuk tuks fill every street. Whereever you look there are men, women and children busy working and making a living. The smells of the streets food markets and stalls along side the temples and shrines inscense were a wonderful sensory experience. Bangkok is a very cheap place to eat, shop, buy clothes and get Thai massage.
We only learnt two words during our stay: 'was dee ka' - hello and 'cob khun ka' - thank you. It took us two days to pronounce them correctly but people seemed appreciative when we attempted to use them in the appropriate place!
So we hope to return to Bangkok on our way back through... we hardly touch the surface of this amazing city and i especially want to eat pad thia noodles again...

Love to you all who read this... Hayley x

Walking the back streets of Singapore

A few days ago we where walking the back streets to the train station and I thought… ‘Do other families stay in youth hostels like we are?’ I asked Mum and she thought for a while then and said, ‘No, youth hostels are usually for single travellers or young adults that are travelling together’.

Some times I get nervous walking to the train or to the shops because I don’t know what could happen and at the same time I was thinking about the youth hostel, I thought it may be scary at times. But it’s all amazing, all at the same time. You see things you would never thought you would have ever seen in your lifetime and you can see a little of how people live and work. People stop and ask where you come from or where you are heading and its cool. I have seen lots of lovely Chinese letters which I like, colourful buildings, men fixing roads, motorbikes and cars, lots of Hindu statues, many food courts, locals cycling, shopping and talking, loads of palm trees and fruit stalls…

I do miss my friends and family but I just think that I’ll see them soon and I might not see what I’m seeing again!!!

What I love and have experienced so far:

1. Eating with chopsticks.
2. Walking far in the heat.
3. Hearing other peoples travelling stories.
4. Locals looking at us like we are complete ‘weirdos’
5. Trying new foods.
6. Sitting around and being patient.
7. Living out of a rucksack for a long time.
8. Lot’s of train and bus travelling.
9. Reading.
10. Reading more.
11. Reading even more.
12. Reading lot’s.
13. Skyping people.
14. Meeting new people.

Love Yasmin X

Our night safari adventure

Whoa… so I realised the other day that the last blog I wrote was the very first one in Argentina but I reckon my dad has made up for that with his funny stories that make me cry with laughter every time! Anyway here we are 8 months later on are adventure to South East Asia!

Last night we went to the Singapore Night Safari. It is the only zoo in the world that has been designed for night time so you can see some of those creatures you don’t see in the day at a daytime zoo.

We started our night time adventure by getting the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport or the train) and the 138 bus to Singapore Zoo (which is right next to the Night Safari).

When we got off the bus we walked to the entrance and took a few photo’s, saw two men dressed up in giraffe suits that looked like something out of The Lion King musical, watched the fountains, watched Yas being jumped by the fountains (hee hee), all before heading into a massive queue that looked like the M25 after an accident (obviously with people instead of cars!). The first thing we did was the Forest Giant Trail, we sat down and ate tea and got freaked out by the bat that kept appearing but got our first experience of trekking through the rainforest! We then went to the next trail called the East Lodge Trail. On this trail we saw a Malayan tiger that was sleeping, a gigantic hippopotamus standing up having a wander and a spotted hyenas crouched down looking for food (which was so cool!!!!). The third trail was called the Leopard Trail. As we walked through this trail we saw baby otters make a cute screechy noise like they were hungry, a clouded leopard hanging out in a tree, we saw a lion eating a huge piece of meat while the lionesses waited to be fed and a spotted mousedeer that really did look like a mouse and a deer. The 4^th and final trail was called the Fishing Cat Trail this time we saw striped hyena’s, a Indian gharial (crocodile look a like), scary looking pelicans with huge beak and a fishing cat which funnily enough is… a cat…. that likes fishing! After all the walking we went to queue for the Creatures of the Night Show…. but unfortunately the 9:30pm one was cancelled due to thunder and lightening so we jumped on a tram that was covered in a tiger pattern and saw some absolutely amazing creatures... We saw bright pink flamingos standing on one leg to preserve their energy, 4 giraffes lying down, zebra’s and oryx (goat like things) all in one massive enclosure. We also saw 5 huge Asian elephants really close up which was amazing, and lots of different types of deer! (These are all the animals that stood out for me... there were many more!)

After the 40 minute tram ride with a commentator with a funny twang to her English, we headed to the 10:30pm Creatures of the Night Show…

This was one of the almost Disney but amazing zoo shows I have ever seen! There was a binturong that walk on a tight rope across the audience, otters that picked up litter and put in the recycling bins and a gigantic snake that was sitting under some peoples bench (and they didn’t even realise!!) and many more!! I’m not lying… it was incredible!!

Once it was finished we ran to catch the bus and headed back to our hostel. By the time we walked back from the bus stop, went through the shower and tucked up in bed it was 00:27 according to my iPod! We were all asleep within in the 10 minutes!

One of the best experiences I have ever had and one I will never forget!

Love Kaela-J Xx

4th day of using chop sticks….

Saying goodbye to our Auzzie family and friends was very sad, we will miss them as we move on but are so glad we had such a special time with them. Our journey from Perth to Singapore was great with a 5hr flight where we squeezed in 2 movies and a meal. We then managed to get ourselves on public transport and foot from the airport to the youth hostel. The girls did brilliantly as we all had to carry our own rucksacks (KJ - 10kg, Yas - 7kg, Asia towing 13kg, Mark - 14kg and me - 11kg) plus hand luggage bags each. The final walk of about 15mins in 30 degree tropical heat tested our fitness and spirits but we all managed it and were so glad to have done it. Our staying fit this year plan definately paid off! After we were all showered and tucked up in a 6 bed room (3 sets of bunks) we began discussions of what else we can off load to reduce the carrying weight before our next trip at the end of the week. Fun!! 

We have been in Singapore for 4 days and still I am rubbish with chopsticks! We have been eating daily in Lavender food court which sells an amazing array and choice of Chinese, Singapore or Thai dishes for around £2 per person. I have tried something different every day from Wanton noodles, Green Thai curry, Bejing Zha Jiang Lamian (fried sauce knife shredded noodles) to Shanghai Xiao Long Bao (basket steamed filled dumplings) – the latter being my favourite so far. All so yummy and in my case very messy!

Singapore is a buzzing city with so much to do. So far we have visited Sentosa Isalnd, had Starbucks at Vivo City, taken pictures outside Raffles Hotel, taken in views from the Tiger Sky Tower, picked up English snacks in M&S at Raffles Shopping City (home sick moment!), shopped and eaten in China Town, driven down Orchard Road and spent 7 hrs at the amazing Singapore Zoo. That was all in 3 days so today we are resting, reading, writing and catching our breath before doing a night safari this evening.

We all love youth hostelling so much – sharing a bunk bedded room as a family is a lot of fun. Meeting other fellow travellers from all over the world and sharing stories, books and experiences is enlightening. The staff at youth hostels are usually lovely passionate people who love to hang out, chat and give top tips of the place you are visiting. So far we have been the only family in any of the places we have stayed so people are always interested on our journey/home education/values etc.

For us Singapore is a stepping stone out of the ‘western’ world and onto the ‘eastern’. We are very grateful for this time to acclimatise and learn to live in the humid heat, chopstick eating, Asian cultures while still having the respite in of air conditioned bedroom, coffee shops and public transport. We are encouraging each other to enjoy each day and embrace its challenges…the girls are fantastic at this and adapting so well!

I will let the girls tell you about their specific highlights later so from me that’s a quick taster of us so far….. love Hayley x

Eye don't understand

In the last three weeks I have had problems with both eyes. The first time I was gardening and got stung just above the right eye by a bee. I admit it hurt but after 5 minutes I was back out in the garden. Some of my friends would not believe this. The next day I woke up and looked a bit like Harry Potter after the disfigurement charm (Stinging jinx for HP fans).

 I scared myself, the children and nearly killed the budgie. I decided that it was perhaps better for the family and general public that I stay out of sight (in bed).

The same ‘minority’ of friends would probably have believed that.

The second time I was sanding down a door and managed to get a speck of paint trapped under my eye lid, it had the effect of sand papering the surface of my eye… I had aesthetic put on my eye, and had to have my eyelid lifted so the foreign body could be removed. I required round the clock medical attention (eye drops, tea and cake) from Nurse Nice to make sure I didn’t loose my eye sight. I interpreted the eye specialists advise to avoid sanding as ‘sit and rest’, this seemed reasonable considering the trauma I had been through.

I am sure my some of friends misunderstand me... maybe they have been Confunded and forced to use Face book to slander my good name and reputation! (AKA Stu & Peter)

Mark

 

Sunset Sailing....

Lisa and Martin bought me a 'red balloon' experience voucher for my birthday. I chose sailing as it is something Mark and I have vagely spoken about wanting to have a go at and something neither of us have done before. Ok so it may not be everyones idea of a romantic evening... exposed to the waves and the wind, stomach churning, legs wobbling as you clamber about the vessel, damp clothes, slippery surfaces but WOW what an experience!

We boarded the catamarn at Fremantle's fishing harbour. A beautiful and historic place to wander. Once all passengers had arrived (there were 10 of us and 2 crew members) we were briefed about what to do if you fall out of the boat - ha ha! and how to get into the water safely if we needed to abandon ship - eek! I nervously laughed my way through this as there was NO WAY I was getting off this boat till we were back to dry land. I am a confident swimmer and enjoy a sea swim where I can touch the bottom, but I was recently dumped by a large wave (with Sara-Jane) near the shore and it was not a nice experience so out in the open water I did not fancy my chances!

 So with cold  Sol beer (with a slice of lemon) in hand Mark and I settled ourselves at the front of the boat to take in the sights and watch the all lady crew sort out the sails. I would love to learn..it was amazing to watch how they used the power of the wind to control the speed and direction of the boat. I am guessing that it takes many years of practise and instruction considering I spent most of our trip learning how to stand up without falling over...let alone pulling ropes and clambering about from side to side of the vessel. Big respect to these two young ladies who can only have been in their 20's.

The ride was choppy and damp but the time was invigorating and intimate. So inspiring to be exposed to the elements and to watch the sun as it lowered on our 208th day of travelling. I guess our whole trip has been a little like this and we are having moments of reflection and inspiration in the most unusual of ways and places and a bit choppy at other times!

So thanks Lisa and Martin for this opportunity and thanks Creator for putting it out there for us to see... we are in awe AGAIN! Hayley x

My first try-athlon

Hi guys,

On Sunday 25th March I did a try-athlon for kids! First up were the 15 year olds, then 14 to 13 year olds, then the 12 to11, then the 7 to 8 yer olds.... Me and my cousin Mia were last, we where in the 9 to 10 year olds!

We lined up ....then the man called us up and we got in the water and it was freezing! The horn went we dived in and swam then we ran to the transiton and put our tops and our shorts on.... and our trainers and helmet .....and cycled really fast.

We got back to the transitoin and took our helmets off... put are hats on and started jogging.  At the end we did the biggest sprint ever past the finish line and collected are certificates and medals.

It was so much fun but the best thing was the running and the swimming.

Love asiaxx

* TRY- Athlon is a non-competitive tri-athlon Asia completed a 75 metre swim, 3km cycle and a 500 metre run. It is a world record breaking event for the most amount of under 16yr olds doing tri-athlon in one go (2400 kids)