For the last week I've been living in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, a big, busy city full of contrasts and great people. My first day here, I heard about an orphanage that really needed volunteers. Two days later I was moved in and volunteering full time, teaching English to children in the morning, playing with them for the rest of the day and fundraising some evenings. The orphanage/ school is run by a local family, who make no money out of it but are just the most wonderful people I've ever met. It's completely run by donations and volunteers. We teach English to about 100 kids throughout the day; the 17 who live at the centre as well as those from the surrounding villages. Rainy season is coming soon, and there will be flooding in the area, as well as a huge decrease in the amount of tourists, meaning the owners will have to teach the classes, as well as continue fundraising attempts, so we're trying to do as much as we can now.
If anyone is going to be in Cambodia at any time and wants to help, or just buy a t-shirt or donate, the website is here (www.savechildreninasia.org) and I'd be happy to give you any information you need! :) It might be easiest to give the money to my Mom, who can put it in my account, and then I can withdraw it here and give it right to the centre.
I'm having a great time living with the family and being with the kids, and I think I'll be staying here for the next few weeks, extending my trip in Asia even further (I can't believe I was supposed to leave the beginning of April; it won't be until June now). That's it for now!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Vietnam
For the last five weeks I've been exploring Vietnam - from the very northern tip of Sa Pa, trekking through the rice paddies, to the Mekong Delta in the South, where I'll cross over to Cambodia in a few days - taking trains, buses, motorbikes, cars, tuk tuks, and boats to visit a dozen or so places of interest. Everywhere I've travelled I've been greeted with such a genuine curiosity and warmth, like I've never experienced anywhere else. Being stared at, touched, grabbed, poked, hugged, pulled, smelled and having my hair played with have become a regular part of almost every day, by adults and children alike. Everyone greets or gawks at my friends and I with such child-like wonder (it sounds corny, I know, but there really isn't a better way to explain it), and with no self-consciousness at all.
Sitting in a cafe, it's not unusual for a local person to come and sit beside me and strike up a conversation, which can go on for hours, asking where I'm from, wondering why I'm travelling alone (most people here think it's strange and would never consider travelling, even within their own country, without at least one other friend). In these conversations I've learned more about Vietnam than I ever could have from studying countless books or watching any number of movies. Lots of kids love practicing their English with me too, which is always adorable. In Ha Long Bay, a friend and I were followed by a group of children on their way home from school, while they held our hands, played with our hair(they couldn't get over my friend's dreadlocks), stole my camera for a photo shoot, and got us to repeat Vietnamese phrases that were likely incredibly inappropriate, since they always responded by laughing their heads off.
Impromptu Vietnamese lessons from anyone patient enough to listen to me stumble over and mispronounce every word have become one of my favourite past times, and helped me get such a better understanding of the language. One woman, a restaurant owner, sat with me for over an hour, going through every word in my small phrasebook with me, then sending her grandson to get a Vietnamese-English dictionary, so we could continue the lesson once we'd finished every word in the phrasebook.
With new friends from across the world, from countless twenty-somethings from Europe & Canada, to a 67 year old American war veteran, I've barely been alone for more than a day since I got here. In the last five weeks I've slept on a boat in Ha Long Bay, had way too many clothes custom-made in Hoi An, lay on the beach in Nha Trang and Mui Ne, done nothing but watch movies & eat fish and chips all day with 2 British friends, just to have a break from being a tourist.. gone rock climbing and failed miserably at rock climbing in Da Lat, rode motorbikes all over various cities and survived my first solo motorbike trip in Mui Ne, crawled through the tiny and claustrophobic Cu Chi tunnels, where the Viet Cong lived underground & fought from during the American War, slept everywhere from fancy beach bungalows to cold, hard-tiled floors, and awful night buses.
I've been ripped off and scammed more times than I can count; because of the way I look I'm often charged 2,3,4,5 times or more than what a Vietnamese person would pay for the same thing. Also because of the way I look, I've been showered with gifts and compliments; my blonde hair and blue eyes are intriguing for most, because they see them so rarely, and I get comments about them everytime I step outside. I got the ultimate compliment today, when a really sweet older woman said how nice my nose is because it's so high up on my face... which was nice, I think.
Originally I was supposed to be in Europe by now, but I added an extra month to my trip in Asia because there was so much left I still wanted to see - I just hope I can make myself leave in another month! In the next few days I'll be arriving in Cambodia, where I'll travel for a week or 2 before heading to Malaysia, then the beaches of Thailand, which will be a nice, relaxing way to end my time in Asia before heading to Europe to spend the rest of the already dwindling amounts of money I have left...
Friday, February 13, 2009
Ubud
It's been ages since I've last posted anything in here and there's so much to update! My last few weeks in Australia were absolutely amazing; I spent a few days in the Outback, sleeping on the dirt, under the stars, trekking around Uluru and King's Canyons, hanging around Alice Springs. Then I went to Cairns, managing to get there right after massive rain storms, and right before the roads became flooded and no one could get in or out, which was really lucky. Headed to Magnetic Island, did a scuba diving course... after that came back to Melbourne where the heat became INSANE. One week was about 40 degrees everyday, the weekend calmed down a bit, then the next week hit 47, apparently making it the hottest place on the planet that day. It was crazy! Luckily, after being in the Outback, I was a bit more prepared for the heat, unlike Dad who came for a visit from minus 30 and had a really tough time with it.
My last week in Melbourne was nice and relaxing; I met up lots with the friends I'd made there and started preparing for my trip to Asia. I'll really miss Melbourne, and I can't wait to go back! My friend and I have started making plans for our big move there.. someday.
Which leads me to here, in Bali. I flew in Monday evening, and stayed overnight in crazy, chaotic Kuta. The next day I ventured out, but after about an hour of walking and being chased down the road by people trying to sell motorbikes, taxi rides, sunglasses, jewellry.. I retreated back to the hotel to try and figure out what to do, a bit overwhelmed to say the least. Ubud was a town not too far away that had been reccommended to me by a friend; it seemed a lot quieter and so I hopped on the next bus there.
The bus dropped us off way outside of the town, naturally, so a few other backpackers and I got together to split a cab into the market area. I ended up looking for a room with a really nice British couple, and before we knew it we were sharing a room for the next few nights at about $2 a night after some bargaining, which started to feel expensive when the rain came and our bathroom leaked everywhere, we discovered there was a resident cockroach, and geckos crawling all over the walls all day, as well as a neighbour who speaks to himself really loudly, allll the time! The family that owns it is so sweet though, and makes us banana pancakes every morning.
I ended up spending the entire week with the couple; we went to a traditional Balinese dance, shopped around the markets, spent a day motorbiking all over the town and countryside, past rice paddies and into tiny villages where all the children would wave and yell HELLLOOO at us as we went past, which was so cute. After a few near-death experiences on the busier roads, we got back safely and spent the night relaxing in our guesthouse. We've gone to restaurants for every meal, mainly because it's cheaper than cooking our own - usually you can get a whole meal for less than $2. A nice change from my other backpacking experiences, where I ate at a restaurant all of 3 times I think.
Tomorrow I'm off to Jakarta for a day, and the next day on to Bangkok! Both are obviously huge and overwhelming cities, but luckily I've found people who are willing to let me couchsurf with them in both, which should help immensely. And that's about it for now!
My last week in Melbourne was nice and relaxing; I met up lots with the friends I'd made there and started preparing for my trip to Asia. I'll really miss Melbourne, and I can't wait to go back! My friend and I have started making plans for our big move there.. someday.
Which leads me to here, in Bali. I flew in Monday evening, and stayed overnight in crazy, chaotic Kuta. The next day I ventured out, but after about an hour of walking and being chased down the road by people trying to sell motorbikes, taxi rides, sunglasses, jewellry.. I retreated back to the hotel to try and figure out what to do, a bit overwhelmed to say the least. Ubud was a town not too far away that had been reccommended to me by a friend; it seemed a lot quieter and so I hopped on the next bus there.
The bus dropped us off way outside of the town, naturally, so a few other backpackers and I got together to split a cab into the market area. I ended up looking for a room with a really nice British couple, and before we knew it we were sharing a room for the next few nights at about $2 a night after some bargaining, which started to feel expensive when the rain came and our bathroom leaked everywhere, we discovered there was a resident cockroach, and geckos crawling all over the walls all day, as well as a neighbour who speaks to himself really loudly, allll the time! The family that owns it is so sweet though, and makes us banana pancakes every morning.
I ended up spending the entire week with the couple; we went to a traditional Balinese dance, shopped around the markets, spent a day motorbiking all over the town and countryside, past rice paddies and into tiny villages where all the children would wave and yell HELLLOOO at us as we went past, which was so cute. After a few near-death experiences on the busier roads, we got back safely and spent the night relaxing in our guesthouse. We've gone to restaurants for every meal, mainly because it's cheaper than cooking our own - usually you can get a whole meal for less than $2. A nice change from my other backpacking experiences, where I ate at a restaurant all of 3 times I think.
Tomorrow I'm off to Jakarta for a day, and the next day on to Bangkok! Both are obviously huge and overwhelming cities, but luckily I've found people who are willing to let me couchsurf with them in both, which should help immensely. And that's about it for now!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Back in Melbourne
So here's a quick update, as requested by Mom! I think the last time I posted something I was in Nelson, New Zealand, which is at the top of the South island. My only plan while I was there was really to get to the North island, and find a way to get up to Auckland as cheaply as possible. My last day there I happened to meet a really nice girl from Denmark who was catching a ride with a friend to a place called Taupo, which is about halfway up to Auckland, and she invited me along. We agreed to meet up a few days later in Wellington, and I headed off to get a ferry between the 2 islands.
The ferry ride was spectacular and Wellington was beautiful. It's a small city for a capital (the population is less than 200,000) but there's lots to see and do. Met up a few days later for the ride, only to find out we were going somewhere completely different now, although still between Wellington and Auckland. I didn't really care, as I didn't have anything planned and wasn't going to turn down a free ride. After taking the "scenic route" (aka an 8 hour drive through non-stop winding mountain roads) we arrived in Waitomo, a place famous for its caves (meaning there is nothing worth seeing above ground). It turned out our driver, a guy from England, was going to be carrying on to Auckland the next day so he invited me along, which was great, until we arrived about an hour from the city centre, at a gas station off the highway, and I found out he and his friend were actually going an hour in the opposite direction. So there I was, in the middle of nowhere, with no idea of how to get into the city. Ah well, I eventually found my way into the city where I spent the next 3 days. As I was running out of money, I couldn't afford the "nice" hostel rooms anymore, so I ended up spending the next few nights in the cheapest option possible - 10 person, mixed dorm with mixed bathrooms for $22 a night (about $16 Canadian dollars). It ended up working out really well though, because I met an amazing group of people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who took me in for the rest of my time there, and promised me a place to stay if I ever end up in their part of Europe.
Since then, I've just been back in Melbourne hanging around and relaxing.
I actually met a ton of people in New Zealand who were either from Melbourne or staying here, and I've met up with a few of them since coming back. The last few days we've basically just spent laying on the beach, enjoying the great weather (it's been around 29 degrees with clear, blue skies for the last few days) Now I'm just planning a trip into the Outback for next week, followed by a scuba diving course on an island off the East coast! That's about it for now.
The ferry ride was spectacular and Wellington was beautiful. It's a small city for a capital (the population is less than 200,000) but there's lots to see and do. Met up a few days later for the ride, only to find out we were going somewhere completely different now, although still between Wellington and Auckland. I didn't really care, as I didn't have anything planned and wasn't going to turn down a free ride. After taking the "scenic route" (aka an 8 hour drive through non-stop winding mountain roads) we arrived in Waitomo, a place famous for its caves (meaning there is nothing worth seeing above ground). It turned out our driver, a guy from England, was going to be carrying on to Auckland the next day so he invited me along, which was great, until we arrived about an hour from the city centre, at a gas station off the highway, and I found out he and his friend were actually going an hour in the opposite direction. So there I was, in the middle of nowhere, with no idea of how to get into the city. Ah well, I eventually found my way into the city where I spent the next 3 days. As I was running out of money, I couldn't afford the "nice" hostel rooms anymore, so I ended up spending the next few nights in the cheapest option possible - 10 person, mixed dorm with mixed bathrooms for $22 a night (about $16 Canadian dollars). It ended up working out really well though, because I met an amazing group of people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who took me in for the rest of my time there, and promised me a place to stay if I ever end up in their part of Europe.
Since then, I've just been back in Melbourne hanging around and relaxing.
I actually met a ton of people in New Zealand who were either from Melbourne or staying here, and I've met up with a few of them since coming back. The last few days we've basically just spent laying on the beach, enjoying the great weather (it's been around 29 degrees with clear, blue skies for the last few days) Now I'm just planning a trip into the Outback for next week, followed by a scuba diving course on an island off the East coast! That's about it for now.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
New Zealand
I can't get over how beautiful New Zealand is. I've seen a decent amount in the last 4 days, I just wish I had more time here. I decided to come at the last minute, booked my flight and was here 3 days later. I came on my own, but really haven't been alone for more than a few hours since I got here. Before I'd even left the airport in Christchurch I'd found 2 people from Mexico City who were staying in the same hostel as me. They were so sweet and even waited 40 minutes for me while I had all of my luggage searched for a random security check (luckily I brought next to nothing). The woman who searched my stuff was more nervous than I was, and awkwardly tried to make small talk while doing her job - she'd start asking about my trip, then ask if I brought any medications, then ask if I did drugs, then ask about Canada.. until about 1 am. I took the shuttle with the people I'd met to the hostel, and of course they had no record of my reservation.. luckily they had rooms available and I wasn't left to sleep on the streets my first night. We all went for a short walk around Christchurch, but it was nearly 2 am by then and it was like a ghost town.
The next morning I met another girl in my room who happened to be on the same flight as me the night before, and who was also staying with family in Melbourne. We got along really well and spent the next 2 days exploring the city together. It's a really beautiful place, a bit quiet, but with huge beautiful gardens and lots of little cafes (which we couldn't afford).
Oh, and there was another girl from Canada in my room who was so helpful; she'd just finished teaching in Indonesia for a year and had so much advice for me and my trip there, and the rest of SE Asia.
Friday night there was a crazy Hell themed work party at the bar below our hostel, which was so funny. I think I've been hanging out with too many British people, because I met a guy who was CONVINCED I was British? So weird.
Saturday I took the train across the country to Greymouth. The scenery was so incredibly beautiful, I couldn't believe it. My internet time is running out so I have to end this now pretty much.. umm today I took a bus up the Nelson, which is at the top of the South Island, and tomorrow I'm going to Abel Tasman national park which is supposed to be incredible ( look here if you want to get jealous :) http://www.abeltasman.co.nz). I'm here for another week and will be making my way up the North Island, which should be amazing.
The next morning I met another girl in my room who happened to be on the same flight as me the night before, and who was also staying with family in Melbourne. We got along really well and spent the next 2 days exploring the city together. It's a really beautiful place, a bit quiet, but with huge beautiful gardens and lots of little cafes (which we couldn't afford).
Oh, and there was another girl from Canada in my room who was so helpful; she'd just finished teaching in Indonesia for a year and had so much advice for me and my trip there, and the rest of SE Asia.
Friday night there was a crazy Hell themed work party at the bar below our hostel, which was so funny. I think I've been hanging out with too many British people, because I met a guy who was CONVINCED I was British? So weird.
Saturday I took the train across the country to Greymouth. The scenery was so incredibly beautiful, I couldn't believe it. My internet time is running out so I have to end this now pretty much.. umm today I took a bus up the Nelson, which is at the top of the South Island, and tomorrow I'm going to Abel Tasman national park which is supposed to be incredible ( look here if you want to get jealous :) http://www.abeltasman.co.nz). I'm here for another week and will be making my way up the North Island, which should be amazing.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Melbourne
I guess it's been a while since I last wrote.. there's really too much to write to catch up, but I'll try a bit! Umm.. well, I ended up staying in Sydney an extra week. I stayed in a few different hostels right in the centre of the city which was really nice. I met some amazing people who I was really sad to leave. Everywhere I stayed everyone was so nice and welcoming. I ended up spending a lot of time with 3 people - a girl from Finland, a guy from England and a guy from New Zealand.
The week was pretty relaxed; during the days I would explore Sydney with one of my friends - I went to the Sydney Aquarium which was fantastic, to Hyde Park a few days just to lay in the sun, to a few markets and down to the harbour to name a few.
We'd usually stay out pretty late at night, which was how I met my friend from New Zealand - he worked the night shift at reception in the last hostel I stayed at. I had some really good talks with him until the early hours of the morning a few times. He was so interesting and gave me such good advice. On my last night we talked until about 2 or 3 am, then he took me out for breakfast at 7. I ended up almost missing my bus to Melbourne actually, but made it at the last second for the 12 hour ride.
This last week I've been exploring Melbourne quite a bit. I'm staying with my uncle who's been showing me around. Yesterday we went for a drive through a rainforest in the mountains in his convertible, which was amazing.
Two of the girls from my first week program are here as well, so we went to this beautiful neighbourhood called St. Kilda, which is right on the ocean, the other day.
Melbourne is absolutely beautiful, I love being here. There's all kinds of art everywhere, which I love - graffiti murals, sculptures, paintings. I'm having really good luck here as well for some reason.. the other day I found $110 on the ground, and the next I found $20. It was crazy! I might not have to work here after all if I keep up like this.
That's about it for now.. I think I'll fly to New Zealand next week for 10 days or so, which I'm really looking forward to.
Oh, and I did laundry this week for the first time on my trip! Having clean clothes after 3 weeks was so nice.. (I may or may not have smelled pretty bad by then..)
Anyways, that's all for now!
The week was pretty relaxed; during the days I would explore Sydney with one of my friends - I went to the Sydney Aquarium which was fantastic, to Hyde Park a few days just to lay in the sun, to a few markets and down to the harbour to name a few.
We'd usually stay out pretty late at night, which was how I met my friend from New Zealand - he worked the night shift at reception in the last hostel I stayed at. I had some really good talks with him until the early hours of the morning a few times. He was so interesting and gave me such good advice. On my last night we talked until about 2 or 3 am, then he took me out for breakfast at 7. I ended up almost missing my bus to Melbourne actually, but made it at the last second for the 12 hour ride.
This last week I've been exploring Melbourne quite a bit. I'm staying with my uncle who's been showing me around. Yesterday we went for a drive through a rainforest in the mountains in his convertible, which was amazing.
Two of the girls from my first week program are here as well, so we went to this beautiful neighbourhood called St. Kilda, which is right on the ocean, the other day.
Melbourne is absolutely beautiful, I love being here. There's all kinds of art everywhere, which I love - graffiti murals, sculptures, paintings. I'm having really good luck here as well for some reason.. the other day I found $110 on the ground, and the next I found $20. It was crazy! I might not have to work here after all if I keep up like this.
That's about it for now.. I think I'll fly to New Zealand next week for 10 days or so, which I'm really looking forward to.
Oh, and I did laundry this week for the first time on my trip! Having clean clothes after 3 weeks was so nice.. (I may or may not have smelled pretty bad by then..)
Anyways, that's all for now!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sydney, week one
So my first week in Sydney is over and before I move on I thought I'd try to write a bit of an update in here since it's been a while. This week was crazy! Really intense, but it ended up being a lot of fun. I did a one week tour/ orientation thing called Ozintro with a bunch of other people my age, mostly from England. We did loads around the city..Monday we went jet boating on Sydney Harbour which was so fun/ so terrifying, and had a mini tour of the city. Tuesday we went to this wildlife world place where we saw kangaroos and koalas and tons of spiders and things which was pretty sweet.. Wednesday was our learn to surf day. The weather wasn't great so the water was pretty cold, but it was still good (although I'm a horrible surfer and couldn't even get up on the board..) Oh, but we could see dolphins swimming not too far out in the water which was so amazing! Thursday we went to Bondi beach and had a BBQ and mostly lay in the sun all day, then we had a talk with the guys from Ozintro to try and figure out what to do after this week is over which was really helpful. Friday we went hiking to the Blue Mountains which was AMAZING. The weather was perfect and the views were actually breathtaking. Everyone was pretty tired after that so we had a quiet night and watched tv and movies back in the hostel. The weekend was so much fun. Some of us went shopping in this awesome market in central Sydney to buy some costumes for Saturday night since we were all going out together to some clubs. Sunday we went out for dinner in the Sydney Tower, which is this huge revolving tower that has amazing views of the whole city. Right as we were finishing dinner, fireworks started going off above Sydney Harbour. It was so perfect for our last night.
A lot of the people I was with decided to stay at the same hostel this week, but I wasn't crazy about it and wanted to see more of Sydney so I moved to another one right in the city center. I was kind of nervous moving on on my own, but the girls in my room were all really nice. It's great all the different people you meet when you do something like this - one was from Holland, one from the Canary Islands and one from Switzerland. I'd also made friends with a few British people on Saturday night who are staying at the hostel next to mine, so I've been meeting up with them. Tonight we're all going out for one of their birthdays. So that's about it so far... In terms of later plans, I'll probably be heading to Melbourne later this week or early next week and I might pop over to New Zealand for a week in December. Also, I'm going to be taking a scuba diving course on Magnetic Island which is up the East coast in January, which I'm really excited about! I'll try to update again sometime in the near future.
A lot of the people I was with decided to stay at the same hostel this week, but I wasn't crazy about it and wanted to see more of Sydney so I moved to another one right in the city center. I was kind of nervous moving on on my own, but the girls in my room were all really nice. It's great all the different people you meet when you do something like this - one was from Holland, one from the Canary Islands and one from Switzerland. I'd also made friends with a few British people on Saturday night who are staying at the hostel next to mine, so I've been meeting up with them. Tonight we're all going out for one of their birthdays. So that's about it so far... In terms of later plans, I'll probably be heading to Melbourne later this week or early next week and I might pop over to New Zealand for a week in December. Also, I'm going to be taking a scuba diving course on Magnetic Island which is up the East coast in January, which I'm really excited about! I'll try to update again sometime in the near future.
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