Back in New York
New York, United States
I arrived in New York around midday on the 28th, got to the Hilton (Trek America's gateway hotel) and treated myself to a ludicrously expensive, nine-million-calorie bacon Sandwich. Mmm-mm. Met up with some of my tour group in the evening for drinks and discovered that, with three other teachers on the trip, it wouldn't be much of an escape from thinking about teaching after all!
The thirteen members of our group met up with our guide Kyle pretty early on the 29th and set out in our minivan for Finger Lakes. We took what Kyle advertised as a 'hike' (actually about a 2km walk) to a "Waterfall" (actually a trickle - usually it's a lot more dramatic) called Taughannock. Later on, we swam in one of the Finger Lakes until we found ourselves being ever so slightly tangled up in huge amounts of seaweed.
We finished up at a winery, tasting 8 wines for $3, eating lovely fudge and listening to live country music.
We put up our tents for the first time at our campsite for the night and cooked chilli, the first of many (very successful...) campfire dinners.
written by  lucy3119 on July 29, 2012 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: Canada and a little USA 2012

It started with a bang
Venice, Italy
Yes, okay, technically this was one of those 18-30's holidays that everyone above that age looks upon as a bunch of gap-year students' excuse to get absolutely rat-arsed and irritate 'proper' tourists with their total lack of interest in culture. But Sarah and I booked our holiday with Topdeck with every intention to take in the sights of Europe...not to spend all day nursing a hangover in a dark 'Irish pub' in the middle of Prague, Berlin or wherever. Although to say we never had a boozy night would be a big fat lie. I mean, we went to Munich and Amsterdam!
So, with that out of the way, here comes day one: Venice.
Sarah and I got off the plane in Venice with absolutely no idea how to get to our campsite, where we would be meeting the rest of the group: we would be joining up with a longer tour that was doing the round trip from London. With no sign of the bus that might or might not get us there, we decided to walk as the campsite wasn't far from the airport. 20 minutes later, after dragging our cases in the summer heat next to a busy road with no footpaths, we were wondering whether we'd ever make it to our destination.
Finally, we arrived just minutes before the coach carrying our group did, and watched as, with military efficiency, everybody had their tents up within minutes of disembarking. Tent pitching, we found out, is the most important thing to do on arrival: you never know when it might start chucking it down and putting up tents in the rain and in the dark is a miserable, miserable task! After an al fresco dinner made by our on-board cook and a few introductions we found ourselves introduced to Topdeck life with a bang, as we were presented with a white sheet and told "Toga party!" So although we were pretty bewildered by the whole thing it was a great ice breaker....thanks to the combination of alcohol, drinking games and looking like a fool in a bedsheet.
written by  lucy3119 on August 12, 2008 from Venice, Italy
from the travel blog: Eurotrip 2008

Day 1
New York, United States
So we arrived at the iconic New Yorker Hotel late at night to find that there'd been some confusion about the rooms we'd requested ('double room' means different things in England and the States, a fact the travel agent didn't seem to think was worth mentioning). Usually, they would have swapped our rooms but because of some expo being held in the hotel while we were there, standard rooms were fully booked. Sometimes, though, persistence is the best way forward and after a bit of a negotiation we found ourselves upgraded to two of the ultra pricey tower suites, on the 39th floor (out of 40). Funnily, though, they were still tiny. We were even offered a free breakfast at a little dining room up on the 39th floor, exclusive to tower suite guests, but we felt a little bit cheeky accepting considering we hadn't paid for the privilege.
So while check-in was a bit of a hassle, the taxi drive through New York at night gave us a great first glimpse of the city, and the view from our room was incredible.
Night view from 39th floor
View from the 39th floor
New Yorker 39th floor
written by  lucy3119 on May 16, 2010 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: New York 2010

Meetings
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Set off for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Friday 5th on the same flight that I'd been on two years before heading off on my big Thai adventure. Travelling alone for the first time meant a very boring (and slightly lonely!) few hours at Heathrow airport, but on the plane I found myself sat next to a fellow lone traveller...between chatting to him and the endless offerings of food forced on us by the Thai Airways cabin crew, the 11.5 hour flight passed more quickly than I'd expected. I left my plane buddy at the transfer desk at Bangkok airport and headed onwards to Phnom Penh, arriving at 9am on Saturday. This flight wasn't quite as fun, as I was seated next to the creepiest Cambodian man I've ever met (with one exception...) who insisted on leering over at me as I filled in my visa forms.
My project coordinator Kimlay was waiting for me outside the airport together with fellow volunteer Rachna, and we headed for our guesthouse for the week, the Narin 2. Within minutes of arriving we met the third member of our group, Alannah, who'd arrived the night before. The three of us were given a room together on the top floor, which is where most of the guesthouse staff live, sleeping in the corridor and showering on the balcony area outside our room!
The other two girls from our group had yet to arrive so the three of us headed out for a wander around the city. Somehow, we made our way by foot to the riverfront via the outside of the Royal Palace (turning down numerous tuk tuk drivers along the way). Not used to the heat of monsoon season, we were sweating all over the place within minutes, and were pretty pleased when it started to rain. We discovered aircon in a fancy restaurant where we felt slightly out of place, all sweaty and dishevelled. We made a good call when we decided to take a tuk tuk back to the hostel, as it started to chuck it down within seconds of climbing in. We passed the rest of the afternoon getting massages - unfortunately I ended up in more pain afterwards than before!
Back at the hostel we met Melissa, the fourth member of our group, as well as Jess and her mum Debs (Australians volunteering at a childcare centre) and we all headed out for dinner by the river. Kids selling books kept 'harassing' us while we ate, and one kid with a great personality and great English won us all over and got sales out of us. We later learned that we should avoid buying things from kids as every sale they get is another day their parents send them out selling things instead of going to school...but every night we ate at the riverfront, the same kids kept coming back so that we got to know them over the week and spent some time chatting with them even as they tried to sell us stuff, so atleast they got some English practise!
Back at the hostel, we spotted a rat near the kitchens. We decided to pretend we hadn't spotted a rat near the kitchens.
written by  lucy3119 on August 6, 2011 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia
from the travel blog: Cambodia 2011

A lightning tour (literally!) of Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, Croatia
A few months ago, my friends and I booked onto what we thought would be a relaxing sailing tour of Croatia's islands, with plenty of time to swim, sunbathe and see the sights. As the holiday drew nearer and we did a bit more research into the tour company, the dreaded phrase 'booze cruise' started to pop up, conjuring up images of being stuck on a boat with a bunch of overexcited gap-year students drinking all night and sleeping all day. Still, we tried to keep an open mind as we jetted off to Dubrovnik, our starting port.
Jess and I arrived in the walled city at 5pm, the day before the actual start date of the island hopping tour. We'd booked into a B&B called Villa Banana for the night: the owners were great, meeting us at the airport with our names on a sign and driving us through the narrow streets to the hostel. There, we met up with Charlie and Beth, who had arrived earlier in the morning, and discovered we'd been given the best room at the top of the house, complete with pretty balcony and amazing views over the town, the port and the sea.
View from our B&B balcony
Our balcony
As we were leaving Villa Banana in search of dinner, we bumped into another guy who, it turned out, would be boarding the same boat as us the next day. We soaked up the atmosphere of the old town as we scouted for an affordable restaurant. Many of them are located down impossibly narrow alleyways, making great use of space, but they were so dark and dingy we were reluctant to eat at them...that is, until we finally realised that, with sunglasses off, they weren't so dark after all. We picked a decent looking alleyway and tucked into a traditional Croatian dish, cevapi (or cevapci, or cevapcici, we never found out which was the 'official' spelling).
After dinner, we sat by the waterfront as it got dark, watching the colourful characters (and parrots) passing by. We moved back to the B&B to make the most of our lovely balcony and our last night on dry land, where we witnessed an incredible lightning storm out at sea while hoping we wouldn't find ourselves caught in a sea storm over the next week.
Cevapi
Dubrovnik
written by  lucy3119 on July 1, 2011 from Dubrovnik, Croatia
from the travel blog: Sailing Croatia

Same old country, brand new friends
London, United Kingdom
6:00am. So today the greatest adventure of my life was about to begin, but I wasn't thinking about Thailand...I was preoccupied by the fact that, in less than an hour, a girl who I'd never met (if you don't count chatting on facebook) was going to turn up at my front door so that we could drive to Heathrow airport together. Her name was Lauren, and it was the ultimate coincidence that we'd both happened to have applied to International Student Volunteers' Thailand programme at the same time...and that we lived ten minutes away from each other. We could have passed each other in the street so many times, never realising that the other existed, but now we were about to spend a month together in a foreign country, sharing everything from running jokes and tears to medical details and photographs. Starting with this car journey.
We spent the journey getting to know each other and speculating about the other four British volunteers, who we'd be meeting at the airport. As we all gathered together with our huge backpacks at Terminal 3 and introduced ourselves, we six Brits - Sarah, Andy, Jenny, Julia, Lauren and me - had no idea what lay ahead. I wish I'd known then that the month to come would change my life...maybe I could have prepared a bit better!
To Be Continued (one very VERY long plane journey later...)
Longtal boat again
Me and Lauren on a longtail boat (first week)
Siam Niramit cultural dinner show
Lauren and I at the Siam Niramit cultural dinner show (last day)
written by  lucy3119 on August 7, 2009 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Thailand 2009

From Bangkok to Kanchanaburi
Kanchanaburi, Thailand
We Brits arrived at Bangkok airport around 9am, wondering how we were going to get through another day without crashing out...particularly since the day turned out to be so eventful.
We hardly had time to recover from the flight before we found ourselves making yet more introductions - to the other half of our volunteer group: five Canadians, an American and another Brit. Steve, Jessi, Megan, Maddie, Paige, Callie and Emma respectively. And, of course, to our lovely project leader Claire, a native Thai who lectures at Bangkok university and who would, over the next two weeks, show us the Thailand tourists hardly ever get to see.
The minibus journey to Kanchanaburi gave us our first culture shock - the fearless bikers who weave in and out of traffic with their motorbikes impossibly loaded with everything from planks of wood to small children kept us occupied for some time, while the hair-raising 'exploits' of our driver (overtaking on a bend with a car coming at top speed in the other direction, anyone?) triggered motion sickness all round.
Bridge over the River Kwai
Our first stop in Kanchanaburi was, pedictably, the bridge over the River Kwai, where we had our first taste of the local cuisine and marvelled at the complete lack of health and safety regulations while crossing the bridge and attempting not to fall through one of the gaping holes or get mown down by the train.
Now, for the moment we had been anticipating the most: our arrival at our two-week volunteer project, based at Moo Baan Dek (translated as 'Children's Village School'), a school and community for orphaned, abandoned or unwanted children. Our role at the village would be to teach the kids basic English, play games and generally give these children the love and attention they desperately need. I'll write more about Moo Baan Dek later.
Outside the school
At the entrance to Moo Baan Dek (a little bit sunny...)
The village is built in the jungle - but it has been tamed by volunteer workers over the years and also by the kids themselves, who have quickly taught the more terrifying jungle creatures such as spiders, snakes and scorpions to keep their distance for fear of dissection! The schoolhouses and dormitories are basic but strangely beautiful wooden structures and our volunteer house is no different: the downstairs dining area is open and the bedrooms and bathrooms are functional: our beds were thin mattresses on the floor but we had flushing toilets - the ultimate luxury! The best thing about our house, however, was the fact that it was built on the bank of the River Kwai. The view of the river, jungle and mountains was just incredible, and one I will never forget. Photos (below) just don't do it justice.
Our house at Moo Baan Dek
River Kwai after rain (view from our house)
So after settling into our house we set out to explore the village. The kids came to greet us right away, mostly to get their hands on our digital cameras! We walked down to a jetty on the river: there is a calm pocket of water where the kids are allowed to swim. Our first day at Moo Baan Dek was truly surreal, but it was about to get even more so...
The swimming jetty on the River Kwai
First encounter
Exploring the jetty, and first encounter with the kids
written by  lucy3119 on August 8, 2009 from Kanchanaburi, Thailand
from the travel blog: Thailand 2009

Dubrovnik to Mljet
Dubrovnik, Croatia
We'd booked a breakfast at our B&B and discovered it waiting for us out on the veranda. It was a typical Croatian breakfast of bread and various cheeses, hams and spreads...but by the end of the week, after having bread with every single meal, we were quite happy never to see it again!
Our friendly B&B owners gave us a lift to the port where we were set to board our boat and home over the next week, the Plomin. There were 26 of us on the boat altogether, the majority being Australians, with a scattering of Brits and a couple of Canadians. We also learned we'd be sailing alongside the Plomin's sister boat, the Ika, which meant even more people to meet. We were also pretty pleased to discover that we'd been upgraded (free) from below-deck shared bathroom cabins to above-deck ensuite cabins.
At about 1pm we set sail, heading towards the quiet Island of Mljet. We got a taste of daily boat life when we stopped in a cove for a swim in the sea - we just weren't prepared for it being quite as cold! Luckily, it was the coldest of all our swim stops!
First swim stop
Croatian flag on our boat, the Plomin
View from our boat
Our first night was a 'quiet' one on the boat ('quiet' in booze-cruise language roughly translating as 'litre-cocktail-drinking-races'...yes, turns out it was pretty much a booze cruise) featuring a fantastic BBQ made by the crew. We had an 'early' night.
written by  lucy3119 on July 2, 2011 from Dubrovnik, Croatia
from the travel blog: Sailing Croatia

Getting (dis)oriented
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Chocolate pancakes for breakfast at the hostel! We started the day with a tuk tuk tour of the city before heading for our volunteer project orientation...the thing was, nobody had told us we were headed for the project, so when our tuk tuk veered off into a network of narrow lanes with the other volunteers' tuk tuks nowhere to be seen, for a minute we did wonder if we were being kidnapped.
Met Maz (the fifth and final member of our group) and Toyah and Maddie (volunteers working at an orphanage). Visited Library 1 (actually a school, not a library!) and the childcare centre where our orientation took place. We walked through the rubbish dump slum where the kids who come to the volunteer schools live. Walking through a slum is so different to just seeing one on TV. An adorable pair of girls followed us around giggling and grabbing our hands as we walked. This was our first experience of how cheerful many Cambodians remain despite their less than ideal circumstances.
Exploring the slum
Rubbish dump by the slum
Later, we stocked up on lunches for the week at the Lucky Mall...intrigued by 'fried ice cream', I bought some only to find it was revolting. Made up for the disappointment by buying cake.
In the evening Kimlay and Ritthy took us to a restaurant used by the locals where we barbecued our own meat and squid on a table-top BBQ. I gave the squid a try despite not being a seafood fan...can't say it's grown on me. As the restaurant was aimed at locals rather than tourists, the whole meal plus two giant kegs of Angkor beer came to just $2.50 each!
DIY BBQ
BBQ night
As everyone else went to bed, Alannah, Toyah and I hung around downstairs where we were tricked into downing more beers with the staff, who were having a leaving party for one of them.
written by  lucy3119 on August 7, 2011 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia
from the travel blog: Cambodia 2011

Day 2
New York, United States
With only three full days in New York we had a lot to pack in. We decided to start with the walk across Brooklyn Bridge, and decided to get the subway to Brooklyn so that we could walk the bridge towards the amazing skyline of Manhattan.
Wandering around the quiet streets of Brooklyn and along the boardwalk that runs by East River on a Sunday was a nice way to ease into city life as we could really take our time, without that sense of being swept along by hoardes of commuters and tourists on weekdays in Manhattan. We had some fantastic views of the Manhattan skyline from across the river, and sat for a while watching a couple of different camera crews apparently filming music videos (sadly, nobody famous). As we walked the boardwalk and the bridge itself, we kept running into newlyweds having their wedding photos taken, obviously willing to freeze to death for that iconic New York backdrop. I don't blame them though, Brooklyn Bridge is amazing and it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
What a skyline
Shame about the Verizon tower
Helicopter
Engine 205
Brooklyn
From Brooklyn
On the bridge
Skyline from the bridge
We spotted a bizarre skyscraper as we crossed the bridge that looked as though it had been damaged, with what looked like cracks running all the way down it. When we got closer however we saw that the effect was intentional, the building still being finished. Built near Ground Zero, we wondered if it could be some kind of a statement or tribute regarding 9/11. Well, whatever it is, it definitely makes an impact.
Interesting new building
Later, we visited Pier 17 but found it to be a bit of an anticlimax. In the evening we took the City Lights Cruise around Manhattan, giving us yet more spectacular views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Jersey and Liberty Island, although the impossibility of getting any decent photos on a moving boat at night was a little frustrating. However, our guide was really informative and we learned a lot about the different landmarks around the city.
Sunset from the river
written by  lucy3119 on May 17, 2010 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: New York 2010

Lost in Venice
Venice, Italy
Our day in Venice mostly involved getting extremely lost in the labyrinth of narrow streets, canals and little squares that make up the old part of Venice. In between, we were given a walking tour of St Mark's Square and the surrounding area, but it was so hot we were a little preoccupied with scouting out shady spots that would shelter us from the scorching sun. (Now my literary brain is shouting 'alliteration!' after that little sentence). (And that one). We were also given a lace making demonstration by one of the few places that still makes lace in the traditional way and with traditional designs, and also discovered the incredible Venetian mask shops where I bought one of the more affordable items on offer.
St Mark's square
Gondola ride
We took the obligatory ride on a Gondola which was a good decision as it allowed us to see Venice from a different POV...from the water. And that's the best way to see Venice, in my opinion.
Winding waterways
Venice balcony
Standard
A group of us took a vaporetto along the grand canal, the plan being to make our way back to our campsite...after quite a few minutes, however, we managed to figure out that we were actually heading the wrong way up the canal. We weren't sure whether our tickets would allow us to switch to the right boat, so after a lot of confusion we finally made it back to base, and spent the evening unwinding and bonding in the pool and over a great meal provided by the campsite.
Venice
written by  lucy3119 on August 13, 2008 from Venice, Italy
from the travel blog: Eurotrip 2008

"Aren't Canadians friendly, eh?"
Niagara Falls, Canada
The minute we crossed the border we noticed something odd happening...people were becoming strangely cheerful, friendly and relaxed. We must be in Canada! Our border crossing experience, involving the most upbeat customs officials I have ever encountered, was a slight contrast to my US customs experience, which involved a hostile-looking woman impatiently barking "Fingers on the pad! Thumb! I said thumb!" at me while I dithered confusedly.
First stop in Canada? It HAD to be Niagara Falls! We took a stroll along the boardwalk, snacking on kosher hot dogs (tastes just like the normal kind.....) and trying to figure out why our hair kept going static, sticking straight up in their air every so often for no apparent reason. Of course, we then took a Maid of the Mist boat ride into the Falls, which was spectacular. One of our group had been given a tip-off that the lower deck was better than the upper deck as it gave you a more dramatic perspective of the size of the falls: most tourists headed straight for the top and ended up packed in like sardines, so down below we luxuriated in our freedom to stroll around and see the falls from different parts of the boat. The bottom deck was much, much dryer, too!
Kosher hotdog!
After heading to Toronto, we set up camp at the Indian Line campsite, my team cooked pasta for the rest of the group and we settled in for a night of s'mores (our guide Kyle taught us the "proper" way to make them), and beer/wine/other. On a trip to the washrooms, we encountered an old man with a guitar who, on discovering that we were English, serenaded us with his special rendition of the Spice Girls.
We got a little worried later on when two members of campsite staff, Phil and Caroline, approached us...we thought we were making too much noise. Turned out, their truck had broken down and they needed our help to push it to the main road. We invited them to join us and they promised to return once their truck had been rescued. True to their word, they returned a couple of hours later in time to teach us the game '21'. Aren't Canadians nice, eh?
written by  lucy3119 on July 30, 2012 from Niagara Falls, Canada
from the travel blog: Canada and a little USA 2012

Rainy, rainy Toronto
Toronto, Canada
Our abridged tour of Toronto began on an arty, alternative street of independent shops and street art everywhere you looked. Several of our group were offered weed. We settled for milkshakes.
We then headed for the CN Tower, a stark contrast considering it was packed with tourists and hour-long queues (although we did get to watch coverage of the Olympics - it was the gymnastics - while we waited). We were conned into buying more expensive tickets that included a trip to the very top level of the Tower, the Skydome, only to discover that you had to queue for a further two hours after the initial queues to get up there. We declined.
We took the standard glass floor photos and ventured outside onto the platform for aerial views of the city. We watched a storm approach ominously and experienced a strange effect in the elevator: it began to rain as we descended, but the rain looked just like snow floating gently in the air because it was keeping pace with us on its way down.
A thunderstorm hit and, not being prepared for torrential rain, we hung around the CN Tower for lunch. Eventually, we had to make a break for it and a small group of us ended up waterlogged and disillusioned in a nautical-themed pub by the harbour called Wallymagoo's, sipping delicious key-lime pie flavoured smoothies.
In the evening, once we'd dried off, we were taken to a hotel for dinner. It was nothing spectacular...until, that is, the evening's quiz was announced. Turned out we'd stumbled upon a Futurama convention involving a quiz dedicated to the cartoon and a viewing of three episodes. Four members of our group volunteered to represent us in the quiz (they scored 0.5 out of 30, in the end) while the rest of us escaped to a Mexican 'dive bar'. Most of the people there were probably on drugs, so of course we ordered milkshakes.
written by  lucy3119 on July 31, 2012 from Toronto, Canada
from the travel blog: Canada and a little USA 2012

Don't look down
Vienna, Austria
At this point we said goodbye to those who, like Sarah and I, had only come along for half the trip. While we joined for the second half, a few others had come for the first part: it was with a heavy heart that we said goodbye to the majority of the Brits on the trip (ie: four), leaving just three of us to endure the 'pommy' jokes of the Australians who made up most of the group.
The group
We had a day's drive to get to Vienna, so when we finally arrived Prater amusement park was just what we needed: famous for it's very old and slightly rickety ferris wheel, it has everything you could want in an amusement park, and looks great all lit up at night. The group finished the night by commandeering the dodgems for a few rounds of bumper car carnage.
Inside the ferris wheel
Prater amusement park
Vienna's oldest ferris wheel
written by  lucy3119 on August 14, 2008 from Vienna, Austria
from the travel blog: Eurotrip 2008

Day 3
In the morning we decide to wander in the general direction of New York Public Library and Grand Central Station and see what we encountered along the way. Although the library was a let-down being completely covered in scaffolding and sheeting, we discovered Bryant Park at the back of the building. Although it was winter and therefore deserted, we could imagine how pretty the place would look during the summer, and we saw a little carousel that seemed so out of place surrounded by towering skyscrapers.
Bryant Park
Carousel/ sky scrapers
Grand Central Station is another fantastic building (puts London's stations to shame) but again it was impossible to get a photo that would do it justice, because of the lighting.
Thanks to the rain, we spent the afternoon at the famous Museum of Natural History. The place is so huge that we were only able to take in the dinosours, extinct animals and a few ancient civilisations before we collapsed underneath the giant whale along with many other visitors who apparently had the same idea. It was funny to see so many people just lying there on the floor staring up at the huge belly of a whale suspended in mid air.
The famous whale
American Museum of Natural History
Despite the fog that was descending over the city, we realised we would have to go to the top of the Empire State Building that night, as heavy rain was forecast the next night. So, after a lot of queueing and an ear-popping elevator ride to the 86th floor we found ourselves outside on the viewing platform in what seemed like gale force winds, waiting for glimpses of the city below in the moments when the fog cleared. Definitely an unmissable experience, but obviously much better on clear nights.
written by  lucy3119 on May 17, 2010 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: New York 2010

First day at project
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Up at 6:45am so that we could make the hour-long tuk tuk ride to our project, arriving at 9am. The journey was a crazy combination of the typically mad SE Asian traffic followed by bumpy and ridiculously dusty dirt roads as we headed into the rural villages just outside Phnom Penh. Alannah, Rachna and I were sent to work at Library 2 (again, a school, not a library!), a school for rural kids who otherwise wouldn't have access to education. The kids were waiting for us just inside the school gates and their enthusiastic welcome was pretty overwhelming - when I first arrived at my project in Thailand two years ago, us volunteers were generally either ignored by the kids or gazed at suspiciously!
Road to the project
Dusty
I was assigned to Class C, the beginner's English class. They'd been slowly working their way through the alphabet for a few months and I started off by watching the usual teacher teach them the letter 'W'. They basically learn one word starting with the day's letter and learn a sentence with that word in it - for example: 'Watch...this is a watch...my mother gives me a watch'. They do a lot of reciting as a group, then take turns to read the sentences individually from the board. It was pretty straightforward but I found a real problem with this approach - the kids were memorising the sentences, rather than really reading them and forming words from individual letter sounds. It was clear they had no grasp of phonics, as when I gave them two words starting with the same letter, they couldn't grasp the fact that both started with the same sound.
However, I had to stick with the same approach that the kids were used to, as their English (and my Cambodian, I guess!) was too basic for me to be able to explain a new approach to them. I decided to see how things went over the next few lessons before getting disillusioned...
On the way home, spotted a family of six all on one moto. Was impressed.
Ate dinner at the Orussey market near our hostel at the suggestion of another two volunteers, Anna and Andy, who'd been volunteering for over a month by the time we'd arrived. We got a very edible pork dish for literally nothing at all (less than a dollar I believe), with free soup thrown in.
written by  lucy3119 on August 8, 2011 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia
from the travel blog: Cambodia 2011

Mljet to Korcula
Korcula, Croatia
In the morning, some of us headed into Mljet National Park, where we took a boat ride to a tiny island in the middle of a lake, the home of an old abandoned monastery. Apparently, the monastery was once converted into a hotel but, realising that it kind of ruined the cultural effect of the place, it was returned to its original condition (if you ignore the cafes that seem to come hand-in-hand with every historical landmark in Croatia!)
There was time for a swim in the lake - much warmer than the sea! - before heading back to the boat via an ice cream stall. It was the first of MANY MANY ice-creams consumed at all hours of the day and night throughout the trip (Beth's mantra became "let's eat ice cream"...we even found a hat at a market with those very words printed on it!).
Mljet monastery
Swimming in the lake
We set sail again for Korcula, described as a mini Dubrovnik, but we had to wait a frustrating hour or two before we were allowed to dock. We had to dock alongside other boats in size order, larger boats by the shore and smaller boats attached to each other, extending out into the water. So if you're the fourth, fifth or even sixth boat into port (which we sometimes were) our trip to shore involved passing through various other boats (trying to jump the gaps between boats is tricky enough when sober, let alone after a few drinks!)
Korcula from the boat
Our fleet
After finally docking, Charlie, Jess, Beth and I explored the old town in the short hour we had left before dinner. It's definitely a pretty place once you get within the old walls. We saw a sign for the famous Moreska, the traditional sword dance of Korcula, and the origins of Morris Dancing! We also spotted Marco Polo's supposed birthplace.
Moreska, Korcula's traditional dance
Cannons at Korcula
We started to suspect that our tour operator's reasons for choosing certain islands were based around the quality of the bars there, as we were taken to Massimo, a cocktail bar on the roof of a turret. The location was impressive, but we were packed into the tiny space like sardines and were expected to have one drink, then leave. I accidentally ordered a cocktail with a mound of cream on top...it was delicious, though. We were all proud of Jess who, despite being scared of heights, still managed to make it up and down the tower. After watching the sun set from our turret, we headed for pizza in a nice open square, followed by a night at Dos Locos, a pretty average bar and club.
Pizza in Korcula
Massimo cocktail bar, Korcula
Night in Korcula
written by  lucy3119 on July 3, 2011 from Korcula, Croatia
from the travel blog: Sailing Croatia

Korcula to Vis
Vis, Croatia
We arrived in Vis in the afternoon after a lazy morning and another tasty ship's lunch. While most people, a bit worse for wear after last night, relaxed on the boat for the rest of the day, Charlie, Jess, Beth and I joined forces with the Canadians Kira, Rylan and Katie to hunt down an old British fortress we'd been told about. We bought some food from a supermarket so that we could have a picnic when we got there, and set out. The problem was, we had absolutely no idea where we were going. Eventually, we found ourselves at an old, abandoned building with a British flag carved into the wall. This must be it, we thought. We soon discovered the place was completely derelict - clearly not a tourist attraction! Still, we settled down in what looked like the remains of an ancient outdoor washroom and had our picnic. Afterwards, we discovered a way onto the roof of the spookily empty fort and got some stunning views of the sea as we watched the sun set.
Vis
Fortress in Vis
We spent the night on the boat, 'bonding' with the group over Ring of Fire and various other bizarre drinking games ("I'm a viking, I'm a viking, I'm a viking!"). At about midnight, a group of us started to get hungry, so we wandered back onland for ice-cream, calzoni and impromptu Beatles impressions, while dodging stones thrown at us by a couple of locals lurking on a rooftop.
Midnight ice cream/Abbey Road mash up
written by  lucy3119 on July 4, 2011 from Vis, Croatia

Back to school
Back to school to teach another (slightly repetitive) lesson on the alphabet to Class C...tried to add interest with games such as Hangman. The kids love team games where they have to race to fill in the blanks in words or solve anagrams faster than their opponents. In the afternoons I teach with another volunteer, Thy, a Cambodian student on her school holidays, who gave me a few new ideas for tasks.
Helped paint the school walls white ready for a mural that Jess and Debs would be coming to help paint over the next couple of days. Somehow managed to end up looking like I'd sat in the paint pot and wandered around the Russian market after school without realising (the others said they "thought I already knew about it"...)
Mural painting
Another dinner at the riverside, panicked and ordered a pizza with a whole fried egg on top of it. Our bookselling friends returned for a banter (and to try and get us to buy books, obviously! Jess and Debs ended up with pretty much a full library of books to take home with them by the time they left!)

Our last full day in New York: we began by visiting the Flatiron Building, New York's oldest skyscraper, and discovered Antony Gormley's statues at floor level and on rooftops in the surrounding area. I also managed visit the one place that was at the top of my agenda: Urban Outfitters! Since Urban Outfitters is twice as expensive in England as it is in the States, it was a must. Naturally.
Antony Gormley
The Flatiron Building
Antony Gormley statues
After lunch we took on the Museum of Modern Art, where we discovered Marina Abramovic's performance art. I had mixed feelings about her work: her current piece, in which she sits all day at a table while museum visitors take turns to sit across from her, left me underwhelmed, while some of her previous works, also on display, were thought-provoking, disturbing or, sometimes, unintentionally comical.
I was also pleased to see an exhibition of Tim Burton's work, although only a small part of it was free to view.
Tim Burton, MOMA (Edward Scissorhands)
Marina Abramovic at MoMA
Tim Burton exhibition, MOMA
To end the day we ate at the ridiculously expensive Hard Rock Cafe and soaked up the lights and buzz of Times Square.
Guitar wall at Hard Rock Cafe
Huge plate of nachos at Hard Rock Cafe
Mum & dad At Hard Rock Cafe
Memorabilia
Times Square

Schnapp!
Vienna, Austria
We started off the day with a walking tour of the city, taking in the immense Schonbrunn Palace. After the tour, Sarah and I decided to wander the streets of Vienna and, despite not having a map (or the slightest idea of where we were going) we managed to stumble across a few interesting sites and even made it back in time for the scheduled visit to the Schnapps Museum.
Schonbrunn Palace
Streets of Vienna
Tiled roof
The Schnapps Museum gave us an insight into the history of Vienna's famous beverage, and the different types available...we even got a free tasting session thrown in. While a couple of the guys headed straight for the absinthe, the rest of us were drawn to the 'gold' schnapps...it's made with actual gold dust, which has some great health benefits (apparently, though the thought of actually drinking gold was enough for me!)
Gold dust schnapps
Schnapps man
In the evening some of us decided to embrace Austrian culture by indulging in...shnitzel and strudel. Naturally.
written by  lucy3119 on August 15, 2008 from Vienna, Austria

Amazing Algonquin
Algonquin Park, Canada
On our way to Algonquin Provincial Park we stopped for lunch in a place called Barrie, outside a slightly dodgy-looking reptile centre. Near to the picnic benches was an enclosure. Inside that enclosure was a washing-up bowl. Inside that washing-up bowl was some water. And in that water was a tortoise, floating, face down and still. We were slighty concerned.
In an unexpected turn of events we were invited into the centre and introduced to some of the reptiles: we got to hold various snakes, lizards and tortoises, while a knowledgeable volunteer guide told us everything she knew about the creatures. We mentioned the tortoise floating in the bowl outside. She looked concerned and said she'd check it out.
We eventually made it to Algonquin and within minutes of arriving we spotted a crowd by the side of the road, pulled over and experienced our first Canadian animal encounter - a moose! We joined the other tourists crowding around the unconcerned animal, and were impressed by the size of it, expecially it's long, long legs! After this, we thought it would be funny, considering the size of our group, to form a crowd by the side of the road for no reason and see how many people stopped to see what all the fuss was about.
Moose!
After setting up camp in a great forested campsite we took a short but absolutely beautiful hike to Beaver Lake, which only exists thanks to a dam created by a couple of beavers once upon a time.
Beaver Lake
Beavers at Beaver Lake
We had to bear-proof our camp before bed, which meant locking away any traces of food or toiletries in the trailer of our van. Most of our group were too afraid of bears to go to the bathroom during the night. I, on the other hand, forgot about the threat of bears and strolled casually to the outhouses without a care in the world.
written by  lucy3119 on August 1, 2012 from Algonquin Park, Canada

Demonic cows and curious giraffes
Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Hellcow
Our first night in Thailand was...eventful. Highlights included one of a local farmer's cows - which I decided to rename 'Hellcow' - escaping and spending a good half hour circling our house and ringing the VERY loud bell around its neck, followed at 4am by some early-rising rebel playing traditional Thai music at top volume for atleast two hours. Add to that a very hard mattress and a humid night and you have, you guessed it, another 24 hours without sleep to get through.
Luckily, the eventful day ahead soon woke us up. On getting up we got our first taste of the Thai rain: it feels great to stand barefoot in the downpour when it's so hot. Our breakfast was an interesting mix of rice and chicken, bread and jam, Thai fruits and chocolate milk, which we would come to both love and hate over the next two weeks.
Our first stop of the day: Kanchanaburi Safari Park where, once again, health and safety regulations went out the window as I was allowed to hold a baby leopard which decided to make a quick snack out of my arm. Ah, bless. The safari tour itself was something else you'd never see in England: the animals, particularly the giraffes and deer, decided they would rather be in the bus with us and the food.
Curious giraffes
"Mmmm, arm, nom nom nom"
Don't support elephant shows like these
The trip took a bitter turn, however, when we saw painted elephants performing in a show, balancing on impossibly narrow bridges and being forced to stand on two legs. As International Student Volunteers we would later learn the dark, secret side to Thailand's most popular tourist attraction: domesticated elephants are often abused and irreversibly injured as a result of shows such as these. More on elephants later.
Shrine at Erawan National Park
Lunch at Tesco Lotus (we sadly caved and bought KFC, eating it with our fingers as we are used to before looking around and realising that in Thailand KFC is eaten with cutlery!) was followed by a trip to Erewan National Park, famous for a seven-level waterfall. Although the lower levels are most popular for swimming, some of us decided to hike up to the top levels. Unfortunately, we discovered that the path was steep and very, very muddy - several falls and broken flip-flops later, we were hiking barefoot and covered in mud. On the way, we found this shrine (see pic) made up of robes tied to a tree. Our swim in the waterfall (to clean and cool off) was cut short by a shoal of hungry fish intent on giving us a full-body massage.
Erawan hike (pre-mud)
Erawan trek
Safari park
^The whole group at Kanchanaburi Safari Park
written by  lucy3119 on August 9, 2009 from Kanchanaburi, Thailand
from the travel blog: Thailand 2009

The day I discovered I'm worse at art than a six year old
Kanchanaburi, Thailand
We began our first ‘work’ day at Moo Baan Dek with an orientation talk in the school assembly room with the vice principal. Enlightening as it was, our attention was firmly fixed on the progress of a huge tarantula clinging to the ceiling in front of us…sure enough, it soon lost its grip and plummeted to earth as though in slow motion- it was our very own epic introduction to the month of madness that lay ahead.
But, just to prove that I did pay attention that morning despite the efforts of the attention-grabbing arachnid, here’s a bit about the workings of Moo Baan Dek. It was set up in 1979 as an alternative to mainstream Thai education, having seen so many struggling pupils dismissed without attempts by teachers to discover the root of the problem. Moo Baan Dek focuses on vocational subjects such as music and art, which the children can make money from, although they are always encouraged to further themselves academically: one of the older kids we met is planning to go to university next year. The kids aren’t forced to attend lessons: they go because they choose to, they want to learn. Punishments for misbehaviour are decided in a council meeting every Friday, which all the kids attend: they are each given a democratic voice. Punishments are usually just chores such as cleaning or litter picking. Most importantly, however, Moo Baan Dek is not just a school: it is a surrogate family for kids who have none, and the principal Meh Aew (‘Meh’ meaning ‘mother’) is seen by many of the kids as a foster mother. For more info visit the website: http://www.ffc.or.th/mbd/history.html
We took a tour of the school and saw the library, the outdoor dining area where the kids eat all their meals, the art rooms and the gift shop, where the kids get to sell their handiwork to tourists and keep the profits. We joined the kids for some batik painting, where I sat pretending to be creating my own masterpiece while actually letting my little helper do all the tricky parts for me.
My little helper
My other little helper
Batik
How to do batik painting:
1) stretch white fabric tight over a square wooden frame
2) sketch a design, usually floral, onto the fabric using pencil
3) using a special tool, trace the outline in hot wax, then wait to dry
4) when dry, paint canvas: the wax should form the outlines to shapes, and water can be used to blend colours
5) leave to dry, then treat to remove wax and preserve colour
6) the finished product should be a colourful picture with white outlines
The day wasn’t over yet: after being used as human climbing frames by the younger kids for far too long we moved on to the football pitch to challenge the older local boys to a game of football or, as the Canadians would say, soccer.
Volunteers vs locals
written by  lucy3119 on August 10, 2009 from Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Steve and the swimming squirrel
Algonquin Park, Canada
Today was the day of our canoeing expedition. Our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, Steve, took us out on one of the lakes in Algonquin for a few hours of paddling. We ended up in a beautiful and peaceful marshy area carpeted in water lilies. On the return journey Steve got ridiculously excited at the site of a swimming squirrel, something he'd never seen before in all his time as a canoe guide.
We also dropped into the park's visitor centre, complete with stuffed bears, creepy talking mannikins and a board for reporting animal sightings - according to it, a bear had been spotted in our campsite that morning. We suspected this may not have been a serious report, though, because the same person had also reported a "mosquito...on my arm".
Some of us finished the day with a 7km trek along the trail of an old railway line, followed by a BBQ and beer.
written by  lucy3119 on August 2, 2012 from Algonquin Park, Canada

Munich via Mauthausen
Munich, Germany
On our way to Munich we stopped off at Mauthausen concentration camp for a sombre afternoon. It incorporates a museum and memorials and allows you to see all the key areas of the camp first hand, from Nazi offices to the gas - or 'shower' -rooms and the furnaces used to burn the bodies of the murdered. It was an incredibly moving experience, particularly when we walked down a long flight of steps into a beautiful grassy valley only to learn that prisoners were once forced to carry rocks up and down these steps, often falling to their deaths after losing their footing.
Walls of Mauthausen
Inside Mauthausen
R.I.P
Steps at Mauthausen
In the evening there was a definite change of mood (and weather: it started raining torrentially) as we arrived in Munich and headed straight for sausages, pretzels and beer at the famous Hofbrauhaus beer hall.
Obligatory beer shot
Obligatory pretzel shot
written by  lucy3119 on August 16, 2008 from Munich, Germany

For our last day we really wanted to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island but the rain ruined our plans once again. Instead, we took the free Staten Island ferry for a closer view of the Statue of Liberty...still, it was a bit too foggy for any decent photos. We also escaped the rain at Macy's flower show, which was a tad overrated in my opinion.
Flower show at Macy's
Later we discovered the National Museum of the American Indian, set in the old US custom House...unfortunately, it was ten minutes before closing time so we didn't have time to fully take in the amazing building and the really interesting exhibitions.
Roof of the custom house
Native American art
So, out of time, we had to say goodbye to NYC. 4 days just isn't enough to take in this awesome city!
written by  lucy3119 on June 7, 2010 from New York, United States

Covered in paint
Another day of reciting words from the alphabet for Class C. I should probably have explained that there are two different Class C's, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, each with different students in them, although a handful of students do come to both classes when they can. Each class gets three 45 minute lessons a day with 15 minute breaks in between, when they can play in the yard. Once or twice a week they get 'sport' sessions, and on Fridays there are no classes: instead the kids get 'sanitation' sessions, otherwise known as a good wash.
Because some kids attend both classes, and the morning class is a good three letters behind the afternoon class, it's a bit of a nightmare trying to keep track of who knows what already! Still, whether they know what they're doing or not, the kids are ridiculously enthusiastic, standing up on their chairs and screaming 'I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW' whenever I ask them a question, and literally ploughing each other down when I ask one of them to write on the board! If only kids in England tried to impress their teachers as much!
Jess and Debs came to paint the mural onto the outside of the school wall, and since we got a 2 hour lunch break, the volunteers, teachers and even some of the kids AND our tuk tuk drivers (who wait around all day to take us home as it's the only way they're guaranteed business) joined in.
The finished mural
After work Alannah, Rachna and I went shopping for supplies for the school, and we unintentionally discovered where all the tourists hang out...very oddly, in stationery shops.
We spent another evening at the riverside, this time accidentally wandering down the slightly more expensive (by Cambodian standards, anyway!) side of the road and ended up eating on the balcony restaurant of a hotel - at least it meant one night of not having to come up with excuses as to why we didn't want to buy any books from our bookseller friends!

Vis to Hvar
Hvar, Croatia
This morning, we woke up to discover the storm we saw on the first night had caught up with us. We were disappointed to hear that our trip to the Blue Caves in Vis had been cancelled due to the weather. Instead, we set sail early for Hvar, the captain confident that the weather was going to improve - he claims he can feel the weather changing in his bones. In this case, his knee was telling him the wind was changing!
We hoped our captain was right as we sat aboard the rocking boat, playing endless card games to distract ourselves from the seasickness taking hold. Eventually, I succumbed and had to go and lie down.
We arrived in Hvar to calmer waters and sunnier skies, and set out to visit yet another fortress. This one, at least, was an official historical site. Once again, there were some stunning views of Croatia's trademark red roofs from the battlements. Afterwards, to recover from our trek, we sat down but were soon interrupted by a pack of probably stray puppies. We escaped back to the boat.
Straddling cannons in Hvar
The evening was one of the most fun, with a seafood dinner followed by a night at Kiva Bar. I wasn't too optimistic about the tiny, normal-looking bar, but the atmosphere and the music was great. We spent the night jumping up and down to some decent music and burning off the ice-cream calories of the past few days.
Night out in Hvar
written by  lucy3119 on July 5, 2011 from Hvar, Croatia

Hvar to Makarska
Makarska, Croatia
Another relaxing morning/early afternoon sunbathing on deck and swim stops. We arrived into Makarska in the afternoon. Makarska is pretty touristy, with markets, restaurants and watersports being about the only things to do there. We wandered along the beachfront trying to find something to entertain us and settled for eating dinner at a restaurant called (what else?) Bum Bar. The restaurant owner was really friendly, asking us where we'd been and where we were headed and trying to persuade us to try all the local delicacies.
After dinner, we had to head to the markets to hunt down accessories for our pirate party the next evening. I'm not really a fan of markets on holiday, firstly because they all seem to sell exactly the same thing, but mainly because shopping is one of those things (along with watching TV, surfing the internet and worrying about what I look like in public) that I spend way too much time doing at home and therefore like to avoid at all costs while on holiday.
Again, I think our tour operator's only reason for coming to Makarska might have been Club Deep, a club located in a cave that we spent maybe twenty minutes at (just enough time for a dance-off) before realising that the music was terrible and we'd much rather sit out by the sea and chill.
Outside Club Deep
written by  lucy3119 on July 6, 2011 from Makarska, Croatia

Volunteering cut short
My last and best day at the school, helped finish The Amazing Mural and got to take my class out for their 'sport' lesson which actually involved the kids sitting around me and teaching me to count in Cambodian, which I forgot within about 30 seconds of learning.
I will miss the "Hello teacher!"s and the "PICK ME PICk ME PICK ME"s and the hugs and high-fives, and the little notes and pictures snuck into my back pockets when I'm not looking.
Actually, tomorrow was supposed to be my last day at the school, but my volunteering was unexpectedly cut short when my foot swelled up to twice its Normal size and became ridiculously painful, thanks to a bite (the only bite!) that I'd got three days before. The kids' attempts at blowing on my "balloon foot" didn't really help so it was off to hospital for a second opinion! Left the Royal Rattanak hospital with about a million different kinds of pills to take, handed to me in a slightly too cheerful paper bag! A pair of volunteer medical students we met one day informed me that I really didn't need all those pills but I wasn't taking any chances - I needed to be able to walk again in two days time, ready for our tour of Phnom Penh! So I had to pass up dinner and spend the night (and the following day) in bed under the fan in my stuffy room with my foot in the air.
Phnom Penh hospital's cheerful bags

Wandering in Prague
Prague, Czech Republic
No time to catch our breath in Munich: we headed straight on for our two days in Prague. We spent some time on the Charles Bridge, which was heavily crowded with tourists and souvenir vendors.
Charles Bridge
We spent our free day wandering the beautiful old streets and grounds of the castle, glimpsing the red roofs of Prague and seeing an ironmonger at work. We watched the changing of the guards as they marched right past us.
From the castle
written by  lucy3119 on August 17, 2008 from Prague, Czech Republic

Surprising Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada
I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much of Ottawa. As the capital city, I envisioned something like Toronto but bigger and greyer. Turns out we were all wrong: Ottawa has a much smaller population than Toronto and the city centre is beautiful. We arrived to the sound of live music, and everywhere we went, there was some kind of performance or cultural activity going on. While some of the group went shopping after our visit to parliament, Charlie, Ross and I wandered down to the canal and watched boats moving through the locks towards the main lake. We wandered through the cultural quarter of the city and discovered a quiet and very French courtyard where we relaxed for a while.
Parliament, Ottawa
written by  lucy3119 on August 3, 2012 from Ottawa, Canada

Lesson planning and Thai massage
First thing today we joined in with the morning activities: after meditation, the children play games and, despite having been up since 5am for chores, they are little balls of energy, fighting for our attention and demanding cuddles and treats. Afterwards, we planned a simple lesson on prepositions (under, over, etc) for Thursday, while trying to fight off yet another child invasion. If I remember rightly, this is the point at which Steve, having surrendered his camera to one of the little terrors, discovered that his photos had been completely deleted. We were a bit more protective of our belongings after that.
Morning 'meditation'
Human climbing frames
In the afternoon we travelled by songthaew (see pic below) into Kanchanaburi town for a Thai massage, discovering that it's not so much relaxing as, well, torture. My particular favourite part was when my masseuse sat me up, grabbed hold of my shoulders and twisted my whole upper body round so that every single bone along my spine cracked.
We were joined by Nicole, another British volunteer travelling alone who happened to be staying at Moo Baan Dek at the same time as us ISV-ers. Nicole was sharing a House with Tess, an 18-year old Burmese student who had spent a month at the orphanage already and was totally and unconditionally adored by all the kids.
Songthaew

Mother's Day, Thai style
Today is Mother's Day, a celebration of the Queen of Thailand and of mothers in general. The problem was, most of the children at Moo Baan Dek either do not have, or do not see, their own mothers. Despite this, a big ceremony is planned each year and the eleven of us ISV-ers were about to experience something that hardly anybody who visits Thailand ever gets to see. It was both heartbreaking and inspiring and it's a day that I'm pretty certain I'll never forget.
The ceremony began with each child writing a note - either addressed to their surrogate mother the principal Meh Aew, or their own absent mothers - and hanging it on the branches of a tree. These would later be read out, sending us volunteers into yet more floods of tears.
This was followed by a play, based on a Thai nursery rhyme about a rabbit who asks the sun to help him sleep, performed by younger and older kids as well as one of the teachers. Our project leader Claire translated the whole thing for us, and told us that they would be going to Bangkok to perform the play at a festival next week.
The most moving part of the ceremony came when one of the girls, aged around fourteen, attempted to read a poem she'd written thanking Meh Aew for everything she has done for her pupils. The girl was so overcome with emotion that she couldn't finish her poem, and that was enough to turn us volunteers into blubbering wrecks, as we realised how much Meh Aew and Moo Baan Dek really mean to children who would otherwise have nothing and no-one.
Finally, each child in turn lined up to pay tribute to Meh Aew, hugging her and bowing to her in the most sincere way. We volunteers also took our turn to thank the principal for all she has done for the children.
Meh Aew
That evening, to recover from the emotion of the day, we made a campfire outside our house so that the Canadians could teach the Brits how to make s'mores. Later, some of us lay on the veranda, stared at the stars and listened to the sound of mating gekkos.
Around the campfire
written by  lucy3119 on November 30, 2009 from Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Dinner in the dark
Montreal, Canada
We arrived in Montreal late afternoon and checked into our hostel (a welcome change from camping on mats for a week!) With no time for sightseeing we headed to O. Noir, a restaurant where you eat in complete, pitch darkness with only the blind waiters to help guide you. It was one of the most bizarre and interesting experiences I've ever had. We all had a few moments of panic as we were led into the blackened room and sat down, but we soon adjusted as the food and wine arrived. Eating was bizarre: we had to use our fingers to feel around our plates and often lifted our Forks to our mouths to find that there wasn't actually anything on them. Ross even started chewing on his napkin at one point. We all ordered the mystery starter, and had to guess what it was based on the taste before our waiter revealed it afterwards. Definitely a memorable meal!
After the meal, somebody decided karaoke would be a good idea...we ended up at Pang Pang's, a true Chinese-style karaoke place with our own room. Such a hilarious night...
written by  lucy3119 on August 4, 2012 from Montreal, Canada

More wanderings in Prague
Prague, Czech Republic
Today we took a tour of Prague, checking out the sights from the wonderfully Gothic Tyn Cathedral, the astronomical clock and the incredible St Vitus' Cathedral, which was worth queueing in the rain for.
St Vitus'
Gothic Tyn Cathedral
Astronomical clock
Some of us took a chance on the Torture Museum in the afternoon, which was just delightful....!
In the evening we took part in the Topdeck 'tradition' of drinking as much watery Czech beer as possible at Beer Factory: there's a screen on the wall that keeps track of how many pints have been drunk by each table....thereby making alcoholism into a competetive sport! Incidentally, our group beat the Topdeck record, although some members were probably regretting their contribution by the end of the night...and the three Brits left on the tour (Sarah, Hannah and I) apparently started to feel a little bit outnumbered at this point and decided to proudly assert our nationality with the help of the marker pen used to keep the drinks tally.
Outnumbered
written by  lucy3119 on August 18, 2008 from Prague, Czech Republic

Snake - the cure for balloon feet?
This blog entry should be a short one - I spent most of the day in bed with my big, swollen foot up on a pillow. Even the TV refused to take pity on me, jamming up and blasting out music at top volume until I could drag myself out of bed to turn it off. I would have expected nothing less from good old Narin 2!
Was rescued at lunch time by Jess and Debs, who I hobbled downstairs to eat lunch with before they left for a weekend in Siem Reap.
In the evening, I decided to ignore the doctor's instructions and head out for another BBQ dinner to celebrate Ritthy's birthday, with volunteers, his friends and teachers from all the volunteer schools. The restaurant not having a cake knife handy for cutting his birthday cake, Ritthy decided a meat cleaver would be a good enough substitute.
We also got to try snake on a skewer, but the thing was all bones and we soon gave up gnawing on it for fear of broken teeth.
Snake snacks
Barbequed snake

Makarska to Pucisca
Pucisce, Croatia
Another luxuriously lazy morning on the boat and in the sea. As we arrived into Pucisca we sailed past a quarry famous for providing the stone for the White House. Now that's impressive. Pucisca is renowned for its stonemasonry and we visited a school where children go to learn the craft. Although the school was closed for the Summer, they had some of their works on display, everything from sculptures to water fountains. Apparently, the students work on one piece throughout their years at the school, improving it as they learn more skills.
Our guide Carla told us about a nice lightHouse in the area, so we - Brits and Canadians again - walked the coastal path in search of it. Half way there, we discovered some huge webs made by equally huge spiders, which made some of us a little bit more jumpy after that. At one point, I spotted a huge insect on Jess's back, screamed "WHAT IS THAT??" causing Jess to perform what I can only describe as 'the bug dance'.
Panic over, we arrived at the lightHouse, only to find out it was just...a House. With a light on top. We made our way back to town, where a combination of E-numbers and tiredness turned Beth, Kira and I into hysterical wrecks as we suddenly found the unintentional innuendos of the Croatian language hilarious.
We had a captain's dinner - risotto and pancetta - on the boat that night, followed by a trip to the Island's only bar (with music by 'DJ Blizzard') for our pirate party. We met up with the Ika, the other boat, for a fun night, but thanks to Croatia's unhealthy acceptance of smoking indoors we were eventually smoked out of the club and back to the boat.
Pirate night
written by  lucy3119 on July 7, 2011 from Pucisce, Croatia

The limping tour
Today we got our walking (make that limping - my foot was still huge!) tour of Phnom Penh, starting off at the Royal Palace. Our guide was a fount of information but honestly, it was so insanely hot (especially since we were all covered up as per the palace rules) it was difficult to keep track of which king ruled when and so on. Alannah and I escaped to the slightly cooler throne hall, but sadly we didn't spot any royalty. As we followed our tour guide back to the exit we spotted an interesting looking staircase leading up to an unexpected little temple surrounded by trees and buddha statues.
Royal Palace
We moved on to Wat Phnom, the city's best known temple. We noticed cages full of birds outside, and discovered you could pay a dollar to release two birds (one for you and one for your partner) for good luck re: marriage/babies. Being single, our main priority as we handed over our cash was just to help our birds fly away to freedom, though I wouldn't be surprised if the same birds keep ending up being caught over and over again!
My bird ready for release
Releasing birds at Wat Phnom
Mural inside Wat Phnom
We then visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (also known as S-21, an old school converted into a prison by the Khmer Rouge). It's where political prisoners were interrogated and tortured (and often killed) before being sent to the Killing Fields. It was a pretty moving experience seeing the converted classroom/prison cells (some apparently still with blood stains on the floor tiles) and the mug shots of all the victims - many of them children. Only 7 prisoners are known to have survived, and one of them was actually selling and signing his autobiography outside the prison.
S-21 prison (Tuol Sleng)
They left the blackboard
Not surprisingly we then headed on to the Killing Fields, where we walked along a path scattered with the clothes and fragments of bones of the buried victims, washed up each year during the rainy season. Apparently bones were placed along the footpaths so that new arrivals to the camp would have to walk over them. The memorial, filled with the bones of those found in the mass graves, was eerie but fitting.
Victims' clothes are still washed up
Killing fields memorial
For our final dinner in Phnom Penh we found ourselves accidentally back at the restaurant we ate at on the first night, and our bookseller friends soon found us - by this point, they didn't even bother to try to sell us anything, they were just happy to have a banter and tell us about their lives.

Last day in Croatia
Split, Croatia
We disembarked from the boat for the last time at 8:30 in the morning. We were 5 boats out to (a very choppy) sea which meant jumping the increasingly wide and moving gaps between boats with all our bags...apart from a few cuts and bruises, we made it in one piece.
We were now on our own to explore Split. We left Beth and Charlie and the Canadians to check into their hostels (only Jess and I would be leaving Croatia that day) and met up with them later in the old town square. We decided today we'd conquer the old bell Tower, but when we got inside and discovered just how open and shaky the metal stairs were, some of our group had to turn around. The view at the top was stunning, though, and worth a bit of danger.
Belltower
View from the belltower
In the afternoon, some of us climbed the bajillion steps up to a public park where, having almost passed out with heat exhaustion, we took in the great views and then sat and chilled for an hour.
Then, it was time for me and Jess to say goodbye to the Canadians and Charlie and Beth. We spent way too long at the airport, discovered an army of Australians from our tour heading for Milan, and I bought a ridiculously overpriced can of Coke only to pour most of it down my front. We wondered how long it would take before our bodies realised we weren't on a boat anymore, and the ground stopped moving beneath our feet.
...Almost a week later, whenever I think about Croatia, the ground starts to sway all over again.
written by  lucy3119 on July 9, 2011 from Split, Croatia

Berlin via Dresden
Berlin, Germany
Our trip to Dresden was, sadly, more of a lunch stop than anything else, but we did get to see the Procession of Princes mural, one of the few things to survive the 1945 bombing.
The Princes mural
Our first stop in Berlin was, predictably, the Berlin wall and Checkpoint Charlie. They were two of the sights on our driving tour that passed the early evening.
Berlin wall
Checkpoint
written by  lucy3119 on August 19, 2008 from Berlin, Germany

Pirates of Montreal
Montreal, Canada
Our day of sightseeing in Montreal. Most of the group went for some jet boating while Ross and I went to see what we could find around the harbour. We ended up stumbling upon an art exhibition of work by indigenous Canadians, as well as a pirate-themed restaurant that we thought looked like fun: we tipped off the rest of the group and we ended up booking a table for the evening.
Streets of old Montreal
We were hit by torrential rain but decided to carry on sightseeing regardless; luckily, the sun soon came out and we wandered the very French and atmospheric streets of Montreal, eating ice cream and watching a street performer climb a ladder made of knives while offending passers-by. We also tried maple lemonade served in classic American red plastic cups.
Maple lemonade
In the evening we returned to our pirate restaurant, which turned out to be a great find - not only was the food fantastic, we also had a pirate musician playing sea shanties and Irish folk music on the fiddle and banjo (with audience participation) and posed in the stocks with our pirate host.
Piratical entertainment
written by  lucy3119 on August 5, 2012 from Montreal, Canada

Teaching hyperactive children is no picnic
Our first lesson with the kids went well: nobody died, although I think somebody cried. We used all sorts of increasingly desperate measures to teach the kids their prepositions: "under", "over", "in" and "out". We started off with the tried-and-tested Hokey Kokey (or Hokey Pokey, if you're Canadian) but then gradually descended into ball games, relay races and limbo, although the latter should probably be renamed "several clueless volunteers attempting to stop a seven year old running around poking other children with a big stick".
The under-over game (we made it up, don't you know)
Later, we took a large songthaew into town with some of the kids and teachers for their daily fruit and veg shop at the local markets: the journey was unbearably hot and cramped and the market itself didn't improve things, the smell of meat and fish was overpowering.
Well, we had to get ill some time.
written by  lucy3119 on November 30, 2009 from Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Doing it for the kids
Well, today was a relaxed day. In the morning, we tried our hand at bracelet weaving in the school's weaving room (weaving clothes is a skill that could earn some of the kids money later in life)...it's more tiring than it looks and takes forever! Well, for us novices, anyway. In the afternoon we settled down with the kids in the assembly hall to watch 'Slumdog Millionaire'. It was in English, without subtitles, but the kids sat riveted nonetheless. Although the triplets were more interested in examining each others' hair for lice (as Claire, our project leader, forgot to mention, most of the kids have lice, a fact which the Canadians appeared to be disgusted by and the Brits couldn't care less about!)
This is probably a great opportunity to talk more about the kids themselves. Although they appear perfectly happy on the outside, always smiling and playing and desperate for attention, their early childhoods have been anything but happy. As Claire told us the stories of how the children ended up at Moo Baan Dek, we realised how much they have had (and still have) to overcome.
Lunchtime
Toto
Children at Moo Baan Dek range in age from 3 years old to 6th grade level, although many of the older kids stay on to help out, grateful for the opportunity MBD has given them. 18 year old Toto is one example. When we visited, he'd just been offered a place at university but was staying around to help out at the project over the summer. He tried to scare us volunteers with stories of ghosts haunting our house, so there was no love lost between us and him!
Cheeky triplet
This is one of the seriously mischevious triplets, Mei, Tam and Muay (no, I never could tell them apart, especially since they shared clothes). They lost their home when their mother remarried: their step father didn't want to care for some other man's kids, so the triplets were sent to Moo Baan Dek. Apparently it is common in Thailand for single mothers to have to choose between their children and a new husband, and it is often the husbands who win that battle.
Jop
Jop became attached to Steve while we were visiting, and Steve treated him like a little brother. Jop has cataracts in both eyes and there's a good chance that he will some day (sooner, rather than later) go completely blind. While we were there, he was having treatment, but who knows if it will be successful.
Sleepy Mei
This is Mei: she may look like a little angel but her friendship with the Trouble Triplets means she's become just as mischevious as they are. She was given away by her mother, who did not want her. It's incomprehensible to many of us but for the poorest families, an extra mouth to feed is just not welcome.
Other heartbreaking stories of the children at Moo Baan Dek include:
- one of the older boys came to the school after his father was murdered in front of him by his mother. When he first arrived, he refused to speak, but has gradually recovered from his childhood ordeal and made many friends. He joined in to play football against us volunteers.
-a little boy, infamous at Moo Baan Dek for having tortured one of the kittens that live at the school, certainly has reason to be volatile. He was abandoned in the jungle as a baby, forced to fend for himself until he was found by a monk. However, the monk could not cope with his behaviour and sent him away to Moo Baan Dek. We hope that one day he will be able to put his past behind him and become the boy he should have been.
-another musically gifted boy had the odds stacked against him from the very start: his mother attempted a DIY abortion which resulted in him being born disfigured and missing a leg. Nonetheless, he is one of the most positive and friendly people at Moo Baan Dek and entertains everyone with his musical performances.
Although these stories are heartbreaking, seeing the children now is truly inspiring: despite the odds, they're making the most of everything they have been given at Moo Baan Dek, and live every day to the full. We were warned that the children would be distrustful of adults as a result of their ordeals, but we found them welcoming, loving and positive. They will never stop inspiring me.
More pics of the kids:
Bubbles!
My little photographer
Nap time
Best friends
Siblings
Monkey child
Balloons!
Helping in the garden
written by  lucy3119 on December 1, 2009 from Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Everything's breakfast in Tennessee
Quebec, Canada
As we were packing up the van ready to head to Quebec, a man approached us, informed us that "everything's breakfast in Tennessee", and asked us if we were selling beer.
Back to camping again in Quebec after two comparatively luxurious nights in a hostel. We arrived late afternoon in time for a ghost tour of the old town lead by a Liverpudlian girl dressed as a Victorian man. The highlight of the tour was being allowed into the Notre Dame cathedral at night, sitting on the pews in the dark listening to ghostly tales. It was lovely seeing Quebec all lit up, particularly the Chateau Frontenac on the hill.
Chateau Frontenac
Ghost tour
written by  lucy3119 on August 6, 2012 from Quebec, Canada

Best of Berlin
Berlin, Germany
We began with a walking tour of key sights linked to the third reich. We stood above the site of Hitler's bunker during WW2, saw the SS and gestapo HQ and the imposing Reich chancellery, and followed the Berlin wall through the city.
Imposing Nazi architecture
In the afternoon some of us forked out on a bus tour of the city, stopping off at the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the Holocaust memorial.
Berlin bus tour
Holocaust memorial
In a spending mood, some of us ate at a great steakhouse in the evening.
written by  lucy3119 on August 20, 2008 from Berlin, Germany

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap
Siem Reap, Cambodia
We took a six-hour bus journey to Siem Reap - we almost didn't make it as our coordinator Kimlay had completely forgotten about us! We made our own way to the bus station and he met us there, laid-back as always, to say goodbye. He gave us each a traditional Cambodian scarf (endless ways to wear it!), which was lovely of him.
We couldn't believe just how bad the main road through Cambodia was - if it had been a proper surfaced road, it would have taken less than half the time to make the journey to Siem Reap. It was a reminder of how much Cambodia still has to recover from its all too recent struggles.
We kept ourselves entertained on the bus journey by watching Cambodian music videos, which divide into two categories:
a) miserable videos, in which the heroine ultimately dies in the arms of her lover (dying of shock was our favourite)
b) covers of English-speaking songs with hilarious subtitles (my favourite being a toss up between "...lying a roll on..." and "ho ho ho, where do I go?")
During our lunch stop Alannah and I hunted down and bought tasty tarantula snacks, but considering I couldn't even touch the thing without feeling nauseous and Alannah wasn't a fan of the hairy legs, we never actually made it to the sampling stage.
The main road to Siem Reap
Spiders for lunch
We arrived at our incredible, luxurious, AIR CONDITIONED hotel WITH POOL, the Angkor Spirit Palace and met Lily, Kimlay's sister and our Siem Reap coordinator. We went for dinner at Lily and Kimlay's father's restaurant (keeping it in the family, clearly!), next to the Central Market which has been all but abandoned by tourists in favour of the night market next to Bar Street. As a result it was cheaper and we bought most of our souvenirs there.
written by  lucy3119 on August 14, 2011 from Siem Reap, Cambodia

Pucisca to Split
Split, Croatia
We woke up this morning to find ourselves in Omis, a town with a pretty amazing pirate fortress (apparently....only one of our group made it on the early morning, hour-long uphill trek to the fort). The rest of us were stuck at ground level, where a very busy through-road made the noisy town smell overwhelmingly of petrol...not so good when you're slightly hungover. We tried to retreat to the quietest place we could find and ate chips for breakfast.
Luckily we were out of Omis pretty quickly, and on our way to Split. We squeezed in one last sunbathing session and one last swim stop: Beth and I FINALLY worked up the courage to jump from the second level of the boat...but not the top!
We got into Split in the afternoon and a few of us joined our guide Carla on a tour of the old town, which for some reason also included a trip to a launderette and a juice bar run by Australians. On a recommendation we ate huge meatballs with mash at a buffet restaurant, where I accidentally ordered lemonade which was, basically, lemon squeezed into water.
After joining up with the Canadians again, we spotted a couple of Roman soldiers hanging out in the pretty square of the old Dioclesian's Palace, and of course had to get a picture taken with them. We also came across a huge stage where a group of performers were rehearsing Croatian singing for some kind of musical show.
Split balcony
Split
Gargoyles in Split
Show in Split
In the evening we were taken to a backpacker's bar, but as the atmosphere wasn't so great - or cultural! - we Brits and Canadians headed off in search of other entertainment. We found it in the form of a couple of musicians playing and singing live music - mostly old hits - in the square of the Diocletian's Palace: surrounded by old pillars, it was a great atmosphere. As we sat down at the front we got a shout-out from the singers straight away - "WHERE YOU FROM?"..possibly because we were the only members of the audience showing much enthusiasm. At one point, a drunk tourist in a cowboy hat tripped over and nose-dived into us. And we wonder why tourists get such a bad name sometimes...
Last night in Split
Live music in Split
Romans in Split
written by  lucy3119 on July 8, 2011 from Split, Croatia

Temple time!
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Let the temple tour begin!
First stop - Bayon in the Angkor Thom complex. Not being the biggest fan of tour guides as you can't really soak up the atmosphere of an incredible place like Bayon when you're listening to endless temple trivia (sorry!), Alannah and I were forced to get 'lost' in the endless labyrinths of the temple, stumbling upon all sorts of places the tour guides don't take you - at one point, we ended up in a pitch-black chamber with two more tourists with a torch, bat-spotting...until one of them almost collided with Alannah's face (a bat, not a tourist). We finally made it up to the top of the temple, where we came face-to-face with...er...faces. Huge ones. Made of stone. Had to join the queue for the obligatory nose-to-nose tourist shot.
Next stop - Ta Phrom. I was most excited about this one - the trees growing out of the rock just blow my mind. It was wonderfully atmospheric and not as crowded as Bayon (our guide informed us that this was because "all the Japanese tourists have gone for lunch"!), but for some reason viewing platforms had been built in front of the most picturesque parts of the temple, which slightly ruined the effect!
Ta Phrom
And finally - Angkor Wat - not as amazing as the others, particularly because the incredible, iconic front of the temple was covered in scaffolding!! Oh the irony of scaffolding - ruins famous landmarks but at the same time stops famous landmarks from becoming ruins! Things really got exciting when it started raining - taking another little breather from our guide (who was at this point complaining about Korean tourists!) Alannah and I were gazing out at the scenery when we started to hear the sound of torrential rain...the thing was, we couldn't SEE the rain. We waited, completely baffled, until eventually about 100 metres away we saw torrential rain. It took another five minutes for the rain to actually reach us - it was the most bizarre weather-related thing I'd ever seen. Weather in England tends to be slightly more predictable. Climbed to the top of Angkor Wat, which had some great views of the temple and surrounding landscape, and watched monkeys walking along the roof. Had 5 minutes of panic when I couldn't find the way out thanks to the symmetrical nature of the place, and suspected I would be stuck there for ever.
Angkor Wat corridor
written by  lucy3119 on August 15, 2011 from Siem Reap, Cambodia

Cheese and clogs...it's Amsterdam!
Amsterdam, Netherlands
We arrived in Amsterdam just in time for some demonstrations on cheese and clog making at a farm. The variety of cheeses made on that farm was amazing, and with plenty of free samples to taste I found a new love for Dutch cheese. we even got a visit to a windmill thrown in as well.
The creation of clogs
It can only be Amsterdam!
In the evening, we experienced another Topdeck 'tradition' and one of the things that defines Amsterdam: a sex show. It had more of a comedy feel to it for the tourists, and some of the guys were pretty pleased to be called up as volunteers...
We spent the night at a bar known for its **completely legal in Amsterdam** special cookies.
written by  lucy3119 on August 21, 2008 from Amsterdam, Netherlands

When in France...
Quebec, Canada
Quebec is by far my favourite Canadian city. The old city is beautiful, atmospheric and cultural and, as usual, the locals were really friendly.
We began with a visit to the Citadelle to watch the changing of the guards, a 40-minute long process involving soldiers in English-style red uniforms, a marching band and a goat with golden horns.
We wandered around parliament, the Chateau Frontenac, and quirky streets complete with giant murals. On the search for some good poutine (a local dish of fries covered in gravy and cheese curds) we asked an off-duty local tour guide who led us to a restaurant apparently frequented by the locals. We weren't disappointed: despite not usually liking fries with cheese OR fries with gravy, I ate every bit of my delicious poutine.
Poutine
Charlie and I, separated from the group, stumbled upon a glassware shop where you could watch live glass blowing, and then settled down at a cafe in a beautiful courtyard opposite the cathedral. We made bets on how long it would be before we spotted another member of our group and, sure enough, Ross soon wandered by and joined us for a drink. We wandered around a bit more, stopping to watch street musicians and artists.
Not very nice, eh?
Earlier in the day Charlie, Amanda and I had visited the Morrin Centre, an ex-jail that now houses a beautiful library. There, we met a man who referred to himself as 'The Ben' and informed us that if we returned at 5pm, we could join a tour that would give us the chance to be prisoners: "we WILL treat you like prisoners". How could we refuse?
We arrived for our tour and were forced to line up outside, in handcuffs, before being led to the 'medical room', where we were examined and given a 'tonic'. We then proceeded to the cells.
Charlie and 'The Ben'
Me and 'The Ben'
After the tour, we thought "when in France..." and went for crepes at a great little creperie.
The torrential rain caught up with us again just as we were headed to a a free Cirque du Soleil performance under an underpass. After much deliberation we decided to stick it out and I'm glad we did: despite a completely bizarre and disturbing concept the performers themselves were amazing, with their gravity- and death-defying acrobatics.
written by  lucy3119 on August 7, 2012 from Quebec, Canada

A very busy day off
On our day off from teaching (well, I say teaching, it's really more project leader Claire took us on yet another whirlwind tour of Kanchanaburi district. We began with a very speedy longtail boat ride (they use the propellors from old helicopters, apparently) up the River Kwai to visit a labyrinth of caves, each with its own shrine. Far from being cool below the ground, it was closer to a sauna in temperature, so this part of the day is all a bit of a haze to me now.
Longtail boat
Longtail boat ride
Second stop was the war memorial, commemorating those who died in Thailand during WW2 - many of them during the construction the Death Railway that connected Thailand and Burma. The POWS were mainly British, Australian and Dutch: it was odd and moving to see such familiar names all the way out here in Thailand.
The highlight of the day was a visit to a pretty amazing waterfall flowing down over a strange type of rock: we expected it to be smooth and slippery but it was actually rough like sandpaper, so that we could climb all the way to the top and sit under the water flow. It was a much needed chance to cool off and relax. For some reason, at this point we became tourist attractions ourselves, with a group of school kids asking to have their photos taken with us! (See below).
Who are the tourists here?
We also stopped off at a pretty awesome site (not sure where exactly) with a fantastic view of the Death Railway carved into the side of the mountains. We walked along the tracks a short way for some amazing photo opportunities.
At the death railway
Death Railway
Death Railway again
Then the monsoon began. We'd planned to go into town to finally sample a Chang or four...so that's what we did anyway. We stopped to pick up a very, very drenched Nicole and Tess along the way, extremely grateful for the songthaew that was keeping us dry. We spent the night at Tony's Bar, a little live music venue run by, you guessed it, Tony. We listened to the good old rock classics (and, for some reason, 'Achy Breaky Heart') sung in Thai, only interrupted by a group of very drunk Frenchmen who went and chatted up the Canadians (or was it the other way around?)
When we finally got back to the house, we found the monsoon had knocked the power supply out, which is pretty entertaining when you're drunk.
Tony's Bar
Tony!
written by  lucy3119 on December 1, 2009 from Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Hot springs, Hellfire Pass and yet more waterfalls
We spent the morning at the Hindad Hot Springs, used mostly by locals for its health benefits. You have to spend a few minutes sitting in the cold River (while trying not to get swept away by the current) and then hop right into the hot (and when they say hot, they mean HOT!) springs. It probably took me about 10 minutes to lower myself into the hot springs the first time. But you get used to it. Sort of.
Towards the end, we met a friendly old woman who offered us coffee powder to rub all over our bodies...apparently it's great for cellulite! Not that I'm trying to find an excuse to post a bikini pic or anything, but we did look pretty funny covered in coffee.
Coffee treatment! (Not an excuse for a bikini shot!)
We also visited the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum, set up in memory of all the POWS who died during the construction of the Death Railway during WW2. Visitors to the museum should definitely go outside to the balcony, the view is INCREDIBLE! Yet again my camera couldn't capture that scene well enough. I guess I'll just have to go back there some day. The strangest part about visiting local attractions such as museums is that you have to take your shoes off to go inside...there's something so liberating about wandering around museums in bare feet!
Later, some of us ended up back at the Waterfall we visited yesterday (the one with the odd rock), and we had a great time trying to climb as high as we could (well, I couldn't be bothered, so I took the photos). Claire (who gets funnier everyday) took us to some stalls selling snacks: fruit and veg is sliced, fried and then coated in salt or sugar...but be careful or you might end up with salted Banana and sugared taro (a type of potato)...Thai food always seems to involve making sweet things taste saltier, and salty things taste sweeter!
Lauren on the rockiest bridge ever
Salty or sweet?
You can't tell, but this is really, really high
Back at the waterfall
written by  lucy3119 on December 1, 2009 from Kanchanaburi, Thailand

To New England
Boston, United States
A day mostly of travelling back across the border to the USA, and onwards to Maine, New England. We stopped for lunch on the beautiful Banks of a River. We sat with our feet in the water for a while and then headed back up the Banks for lunch. Imagine our Surprise when we discovered that, within minutes of us moving, the water level had risen by about 4 or 5 feet, submerging the rocks we had been sitting on. With the help of a sign we figured out that the River was linked to a hydroelectric dam...but it was still a bizarre experience!
We arrived at our campsite in Acadia National Park and spent the evening around the campfire bonding over some beer, wine and card games.
written by  lucy3119 on August 8, 2012 from Boston, United States

Last day
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Our last day began with a bicycle tour around the city...it's the only way to travel in Amsterdam! I think most of us were concentrating more on not being run down by the locals/not falling into the canals than on the sights, however. Although I do remember seeing the narrowest building in Amsterdam. Afterwards, we had some free time so we decided to see what the shops had to offer: not a lot, it turned out.
Amsterdam bike tour
The big finale of our tour came in the evening, when we visited a floating Chinese restuarant and then took off on a canal cruise in a glass-topped boat. I know we then went on to a club but as the wine on the boat was free and unlimited, everything is rather hazy from this point on...judging by my photographs we ended up at McDonalds in the early hours. Just classy.
River cruise, final night
Sarah and Amy before things got a little less dignified
written by  lucy3119 on August 22, 2008 from Amsterdam, Netherlands

And yet more temples
Siem Reap, Cambodia
My balloon foot had shrunk enough to fit into actual shoes, which was lucky as today we were hiking up a 'mountain' (our guide liked to call all hills mountains) to Kbal Spean, a sacred waterfall with motifs carved into the rock it flows over. The hike was quite interesting, lots of clambering over rocks and twisted tree roots. We picked up some hot banana wrapped in sticky rice to keep us going on the way. The views of the forest canopy from the top were stunning. We saw locals chopping down trees to get hold of a beautiful dark wood that they use to make extremely expensive furniture and sculptures.
Kbal Spean
Expensive wood
Afterwards, we checked out Banteay Srei, the pink temple, which was really interesting - it wouldn't have looked out of place in India, and it's actually covered in ridiculously intricate carvings of Hindu Gods. The grounds were also really pretty,even the bridge to the toilets passed over a gorgeous lily pond (I guess that makes it a sight witnessed only by people with weak bladders!) although two children running around blowing whistles and shooting toy guns ruined the atmosphere a little...
For some reason, we were then taken to an orphanage where we were given a slightly too-warm welcome - the kids put on a music performance for us, taught us how to dance like Cambodians and then put flowers in our hair and took us on a tour of the orphanage. The whole thing seemed a bit too well rehearsed, but we understood this is how they get the sponsors they need to keep the place running - pretty much every building had a plaque revealing which business had sponsored it. Although this was all a bit strange, the kids' personalities came through later on when we joined in with their games, and I was asked to help carry firewood into the kitchens and heard some of the kids' stories. It was pretty funny when we had to leave, and all the kids tried to get hold of our email addresses so that they could add us on facebook.
My guides at the orphanage
Games at the orphanage
written by  lucy3119 on August 16, 2011 from Siem Reap, Cambodia

"You're tourists - that means you're very rich!"
Today was an odd one. It started off normally enough, with a boat ride around Siem Reap's floating village. Our 21-year-old tour guide was a bit of a legend, claiming that he wasn't going to bore us with facts, and then proceeding to tell us his life story. From the 'facts' he did get around to telling us, we learned that most of the people who live in the floating village are Vietnamese, they cook, wash and dispose of waste all in the same water, and the kids who float around with snakes around their necks are doing it purely to lure in the tourists. Same with the crocodiles. We floated around on Tonle Sap lake - the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia - and had a long debate with our guide as to whether the mountain-shaped thing on the horizon was a mountain or a cloud. As we climbed off the boat we were confronted by children holding tacky souvenir plates...we said 'no thanks' and were about to move on when we suddenly realised that the plates were decorated with incredibly unflattering photographs of us! We were completely baffled for a second before realising that the 'creepy man' who walked past pointing a camera at us as we queued to board the boat must have had a purpose after all! That would explain our mildly annoyed expressions in our plate-photos.
Floating school
Crocs for the tourists
After this, we were literally coerced into eating at Kimlay and Lily's restaurant again - our tour guide was operating under strict instructions to bring us there despite our claims that we'd 'rather try somewhere new'. However, it did give me a chance to go a bit crazy in the market, finally caving in and buying a few quirky ceramic opium pots. In the afternoon Lily joined us on another money-spinner: tours around a silk-making workshop and a craft project run by Artisans of Angkor, finishing with obligatory visits to the gift shops. The silk products were gorgeous, but ridiculously expensive. Clearly, a bunch of debt-ridden students wasn't quite the market they were looking for, but we knew from previous experience that Cambodians tend to assume that tourists = rolling in money.
The creation of silk!
Silk weaving
In the evening we decided to check out the night market - Alannah and I, all marketed out and ready for a Singapore Sling - our Cambodian beverage of choice - came across a bar in the middle of the market and relaxed for a while. We were the only people there. At least it meant we got to hog the hammocks. Later, we headed to a bar on Bar Street (which could be anywhere in the world, it's so westernised) to meet some of Melissa's friends who happened to be in town at the same time as us.

Lobster special
Boston, United States
Despite a foggy start to the day we hit the beach, with only Katie, Katy and Lorna being brave enough to swim in the freezing Atlantic. They weren't out there for long before a crab attack drove them back to shore.
Later on, we headed to the campsite's pool to warm up, and decided to start practicing for the 2016 Olympics with a highly professional synchronised swimming routine that involved doing the YMCA.
While most of the group hung around the campsite in the afternoon, Charlie and I took the free shuttle bus into Bar Harbor, where we accidentally bought the largest and most delicious ice-creams known to man, and barely managed to eat half of them before admitting defeat.
American-sized ice-creams
We sat on a green overlooking the bay for a while before heading back to meet our group for a typical Maine dinner: lobster! Some members of our group bought lobster for the first time ("when in Maine...") but hadn't quite realised what they were in for: Lorna's disgusted face as she dissected her lobster was priceless!
That night, as we slept soundly in our tents, we were interrupted by a huge crash. Scared to investigate, imagining a bear prowling around our tents, we waited until morning to inspect the carnage: all our food had been eaten during the night by raccoons.
written by  lucy3119 on August 9, 2012 from Boston, United States

Back to work...we spent the morning teaching the kids their alphabet, giving them chalk so that they could practice by writing on the floor. We each worked with a two or three kids, but despite the individual attention some of the kids were soon off running around or napping in a corner...after all, they're not forced to learn!
Learning the alphabet
Our captivated audience
Balloons!
In the afternoon, we set about planting trees and flowers to brighten up the forest (yes, we were planting trees in a forest...). We were soon joined by some little helpers, and everything was going well until someone uncovered a nest of scorpions. Since they're poisonous they had to be carefully removed so that the kids wouldn't get hurt (although I'm pretty sure the guy who took them planned to keep them as pets!)
Planting
Scorpion!
We had a quiet but fun evening playing card games and chatting. I don't know how many times we played Uno while we were there...probably too many to count.

Brushing, cooking and dancing
Today our mission for the kids was...teaching them to clean their teeth properly! We gave them all their own tooth brush, but our attempts to write their names on them failed as the kids kept rubbing the pen off so that they could come back and get us to write their names all over again!
The brushing song
"Brush to the left and brush to the right, brush in the morning, brush at night..."
In the afternoon we decided to bake chocolate chip cookies for the kids, forgetting that in Thailand, people much prefer savoury to sweet. The suspicious and doubtful looks we got from the kids when we offered them the cookies were hilarious, and we ended up having to eat a lot of them ourselves! Meanwhile, Lauren, Sarah and I scrubbed up on our batik skills, and everything was going well until I tried to rescue a falling paint pot and ended up dumping paint all over my best batik so far...
Batik experts :P
My batik! (Background's black because I spilled paint all over it)
Later, we visited the gift shop and bought t-shirts, cakes, postcards and batiks, all made by the kids: half the money goes directly to the kid who made it, the other goes into maintaining Moo Baan Dek.
The kids are just going to love us...
We spent the evening practising a dance that we would be performing for the kids at the farewell show they had planned in our honour...inspired by watching 'Slumdog Millionaire' a few days ago, we decided to go with 'Jai Ho', the Bollywood dance at the end of the movie.

The Boston Detour
Boston, United States
A spur of the moment decision had us heading to Boston before returning to New York, our guide booking us into a hotel where we would be sneakily sleeping 5 in a 2-person room.
It was up to us to decide where to go once we arrived in the city, so Charlie, Amanda and I took the subway to Harvard University where we sat and soaked up the Ivy League atmosphere and battled with tour groups for a photo with John Harvard himself.
Harvard
Losing Amanda, Charlie and I sat outside on the street eating pizza and iced tea, before heading to Monument Park, hoping for great views over the city. Unfortunately, the torrential rain that had been following us around the US and Canada caught up with us again, and by the time we arrived at the park, the monument had been closed due to the weather. We stumbled upon Amanda again at this point and made our way back to our meeting place on the Ferry. As we waited for our guide to pick us up, a clock Tower nearby bizarrely started chiming 'God Save the Queen'.
For our final dinner of the trip we visited an all-American restaurant which served us portions big enough to feed four men rather than one: I swear I had at least half a turkey piled up on my plate. To recover from the meat sweats Charlie, Lewis and I wandered around the city, soaking up the pretty lights and live music.
American-sized portions in Boston!
written by  lucy3119 on August 10, 2012 from Boston, United States

Last day in Siem Reap
We had a free day today - we made the most of a sunny morning by the pool and then retreated to the restaurant Terrace to watch a storm hit. We were a bit creeped out by a huge swarm of dragonflies that appeared out of nowhere just before the rain started - pretty apocalyptic. Later on we headed out for massages (neck and, er, fish). I'm not sure the fish massage did anything apart from reveal just how ticklish I actually am, though.
Had a delicious curry at a really nice restaurant that puts on free apsara dancing shows - it's all about the double-jointed fingers!
Fish massage
Amazing Cambodian curry
Apsara dancing
This is quite a short entry so might as well mention that the next day, Friday, we got the bus back to Phnom Penh ready to catch our flight on the Saturday. Alannah and I got the early bus back so we could go out for dinner with the other volunteers still staying in Phnom Penh. Arriving back at the Narin 2 and seeing all the familiar faces actually felt a bit like coming home. We had a goodbye BBQ at one of the local restaurants and ended the night by trying to fit as many people on one moto as possible in true Cambodian style.
Riding a moto Cambodian style!

To Canada...again!
Calgary, Canada
I arrived in Calgary at 11am and met up with Rylan, who took me to Nosehill Park for views of downtown Calgary, before we headed back to his House to meet his parents and various overexcited animals. We then headed to downtown itself, where Rylan very helpfully couldn't think of a thing to see or do there. So, we bought some ice cream and walked along the River which was, unlike the Thames in London, beautiful, clear and bright blue. That's one of the many things that Canada definitely doesn't have a shortage of: water.
On the way home, Rylan got fed up of me making fun of his terrible driving of the standard-drive car he'd borrowed (of course, most Canadian cars are automatics) so as we entered his quiet neighbourhood he made me take the dRiver's seat. At which point I executed the smoothest gear changes I have ever managed in my life and was happily rubbing it in his face until we unexpectedly came to a 90 degree bend in the road and almost died.
Downtown Calgary
Calgary from Nosehill park
For dinner, we barbequed some huge Calgary steaks and I got to catch up with Kira before Rylan and I headed off on our tour of the Rockies. As dinner ended, a thunderstorm of epic proportions hit Calgary. While the Canadians didn't seem particularly concerned by the lightning flashing relentlessly every second, I stood at the window like an English fool repeating "THIS IS INSANE!!" until gigantic hailstones began to fall from the sky.
Thunderstorm excitement wearing thin, we all watched Tim Minchin in what I like to call their 'home cinema' to finish off the day.
written by  lucy3119 on August 12, 2012 from Calgary, Canada

Just when we felt like we'd been here forever...
Our penultimate day at Moo Baan Dek. We planned to redecorate one of the classrooms with new activities, displays and our own special ISV touch, so we took a trip to Tesco Lotus to buy everything from alphabet posters and floor mats, skipping ropes, writing boards and stencils. Below is a photo of the finished classroom:
The ISV corner
Our special ISV touch
In the afternoon we took another trip into town by songthaew (via a beach) for a bit of pampering after all our hard work: foot massages and pedicures all round (well, apart from the guys)…they’re so cheap, we just couldn’t resist! Another thing none of us could resist was the adorable kitten that lives in the salon we visited: even Steve, a self-proclaimed cat hater, had trouble ignoring it, although he did later blame it for giving him dengue fever…
Plus, I couldn’t resist taking a sneaky pic of project leader Claire having a bit of time off…
Steve, secret cat lover
Claire having some time out
We thought these were meant for food...
At the beach
For our last night in town, we had dinner and far too many cosmopolitans at a restaurant and then moved on to good old Tony’s Bar.

Sad goodbyes
Our last day at Moo Baan Dek! Just when we were really starting to feel like we belonged there, it was time to start saying our goodbyes.
First, however, some of us set to work repainting some old ping pong tables while the others decorated a classroom. I don’t know quite what was in that paint but we all soon started to feel a bit…trippy, until somebody noticed and fetched us some masks. You know, the swine flu kind. Not sure how effective they are against paint fumes, but wearing fabric masks in the heat of monsoon season is…not something I’d want to try again.
Ping pong painting
Now, for the big finale…a big leaving show and traditional thank you ceremony for us volunteers by the kids and teachers. It was an emotional night, but also really interesting and a lot of fun.
We began with games, including the kids’ favourite relay race…I seem to remember I let my team down by tripping over my own feet half way through.
Next up, a speech by Meh Aew (the principal) and the thank you ceremony: we volunteers all had to line up while each kid moved along the line tying thin white string bands onto each of our wrists and supposedly making wishes (although I guess some of the younger kids were probably just wishing they could tie a proper knot!) Apparently, we had to let the bands fall off by themselves over time, so that each wish would be granted. With so many kids, our wrists were soon completely covered in bands.
Next up: the talent show. The girls showed off their dancing skills in colourful outfits and quite a large amount of make-up, followed by some of the boys doing a hilarious rap and break-dance. Then…it was our turn. We took to the stage and performed our ‘Jai-Ho’ dance, to much laughter from the kids, and then jumped down from the stage to dance in the crowd. It was two minutes of mayhem but the kids loved it and so did we.
Now for the emotional part: a goodbye song from the kids, a hug from everyone, and plenty of tears. Our stay at Moo Baan Dek was officially over, but I know quite a few of us were already thinking, “I’ll be back soon.”
Ready for the farewell show
Last night

To the mountains!
Banff, Canada
With the truck packed with our camping equipment, we set off into the Mountains! First stop: Takakkaw Falls. These falls were a lot more spectacular than New York's Taughannock Falls...Rylan suggested we climb alongside the raging water and within seconds we were soaking wet. Lucky we had some super-attractive, bright yellow raincoats to wear!
Takakkaw Falls
We gradually dried off on the drive to Lake Louise. The bright blue, Crystal Clear Lake was beautiful, I admit, and I always knew it was going be touristy...but I wasn't quite prepared for the swarms of tourists in and around the lake. We decided not to linger there for long, heading off on our hike up to Lake Agnes Teahouse. Again, I was expecting the teahouse to be jammed to the rafters with tourists but we managed to grab a table with a lovely view of the lake and ordered delicious chai teas. We saw a 'staff wanted' ad on the wall and asked our server what it's like working there: during the week they stay in lodges near the isolated teahouse, which has no electricity, and must hike up and down the Mountain to bring in supplies/dispose of garbage. Sounds like one person's idea of heaven, another's idea of hell!
During the hike, I very nearly slipped off the edge of the Mountain - "ooh, that was close!", a passing stranger commented - and Rylan won the award for first injury of the trip when he fell flat on his face.
Our accommodation that night was...a cabin! Called Deltaform.
Lake Louise
written by  lucy3119 on August 13, 2012 from Banff, Canada

Kicking Horses down the river
Golden, Canada
A whole day of white water rafting! The day began with a drive to the upper canyon of the Kicking Horse River in real American-style yellow ex-schoolbuses, which was a huge novelty for me (not just seeing one, but RIDING in one?!?) and completely underwhelming for Rylan, who used to get one to school every day anyway.
We were eased into rafting on the calm upper canyon, and then stopped for a barbeque lunch. We then headed to the middle canyon, which flowed slightly faster with several runs of Class 3 and 4 white water along the way. During another break, we mentally prepared ourselves for the lower canyon, a stretch of mostly Class 4 rapids. It was hard work, and we had several man-overboards, but the highlight was a stretch of rapids that our guide assured us was "totally safe" for us to jump out of the raft and swim through. The only warning: "oh, by the way, your head will definitely be underwater...just ride with it".
After a freezing cold yellow schoolbus ride back to base in Golden, we headed to our campground at Canyon Hot Springs, between Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks. We recovered from rafting with a visit to the hot springs, and then cooked sausages on skewers over the campfire.
written by  lucy3119 on August 14, 2012 from Golden, Canada

The adventure tour begins!
Khao Sok, Thailand
But first...a whole day of travel. We had to take a van (cue bad karaoke) to Bangkok airport (where we said goodbye to project leader Claire and, randomly, met her mum) and an internal flight south to Phuket, followed by another van journey to Khao Sok National Park and our accommodation, Art’s Riverview Lodge. We just had time for an orientation, where we met our hilarious adventure tour leaders Steph and May, as well as the two other volunteer groups we’d be touring with, making 26 of us altogether: they’d been volunteering at the Gibbon project and Elephant Nature Park.
Our accommodation was a real jungle lodge, surrounded by thieving monkeys and impossible to find at night without a torch! Lauren, Sarah and I were lucky enough to share one of the rooms with an open-air bathroom and a freezing cold waterfall-style shower. But who cares if it’s cold, it’s a waterfall shower!
Waterfall shower at Art's
Art's Riverview Lodge
written by  lucy3119 on December 2, 2009 from Khao Sok, Thailand

Khao Sok National Park and reggae night
Khao Sok, Thailand
We set out by songthaew (after an amaaazing English breakfast buffet…baaacooon…) to the longtail boats that would take us to the rainforests of Khao Sok National Park. Each time we took the boat, I managed to be the one person to get soaking wet, despite consciously trying to pick a seat away from the spray.
After a ‘baby’ hike through the forest - we were all ready to pass out after about five minutes – and a visit to some coral caves via a very rickety bamboo raft, we had yet another awesome meal (fish and curry) by the river. Sarah, Lauren, Steve, Andy, Jenni, Julia and I went for a kayak on the river while the rest of the group chilled in the water – the river was so calm and quiet, it was a stunning experience.
Lunch!
Outside the coral caves
Bamboo rafting
River huts
In the evening some of us set out for the little village nearby for a pizza (on a side note, proper cheese is very hard to find in Thailand…getting a pizza with more than a speck of cheese on it is a cause for celebration). We then moved on to a ‘reggae’ bar (‘reggae bar’ in Thai meaning, ‘has-large-painting-of-bob-marley-on-the-wall-but-plays—techno-music-that-can-in-no-way-be-categorised-as-reggae) where we ordered Sex in the Jungle cocktails that looked completely different each time we bought one.
'Reggae' bar
written by  lucy3119 on December 2, 2009 from Khao Sok, Thailand

Meadows in the sky
Revelstoke, Canada
A day of 'easy' walks to recover from rafting the day before and to ease us in to our big hike the following day.
We started off at the Giant Cedars Boardwalk, which was quite mystical and awe-inspiring. Next, Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk, where we saw recent evidence of bears...but sadly (or luckily, depending on how you look at it) no bears themselves.
Next, we took a chance on Meadows in the Sky, which involved a long, winding drive up a Mountain and turned out to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Despite being stalked for the first fifteen minutes of the walk by a horse fly that took a shine to (and a bite out of) my head, we made it to the summit for some absolutely stunning views of snow-capped peaks and bright blue rivers. Our Mountaintop meadow itself was also beautiful, covered in a carpet of brightly coloured wild flowers. The experience is impossible to describe or replicate through photos.
Meadows in the Sky
We finished off the day with the Loop Brook trail, which followed the route of an old railway line through the Forest. We accidentally started at the end of the trail instead of the start, managing to get ourselves lost for a while.
Back at the campsite, we cooked fajitas with rice-a-roni (flavoured instant rice, slightly crunchy, my new favourite lazy food) and made the most of the hot springs again.
written by  lucy3119 on August 15, 2012 from Revelstoke, Canada

Falling down a mountain
Revelstoke, Canada
Into Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park for our big hike up the Asulkan Valley trail. 8.5km struggling up a Mountain, 8.5km sliding back down again. The first stretch of the hike took us through shady trees strung with gigantic spider's webs, many of them suspended across the trail path, so obviously I made Rylan go first. The next stretch gave us great views of raging waterfalls and a treacherous walk across some late snow. The final stretch was torture. The way became ridiculously steep and exposed to the sun, and for a good few minutes I was concinved I was going to have some kind of organ failure. However, we made it to the top and sat and ate at one of the most epic lunch spots I will probably ever experience.
As if the uphill trek wasn't painful enough, on the way down I lost my footing and tumbled, head over heels, a good ten feet down the trail. Luckily, my legs took most of the impact...I still have the cuts and bruises to show for it.
After the hike, we headed to the town of Revelstoke where we limped around looking for jeans for our horseriding adventure two days away. We were intrigued by a restaurant advertising German-Indian cuisine, so we stopped in for deep-fried bratwurst wonton, korma and rose-flavoured milkshakes.
Another evening at the hot springs burned and then eased my Mountain-related injuries.
written by  lucy3119 on August 16, 2012 from Revelstoke, Canada

Railey Beach, interesting shrine, M.I.N.E
Krabi, Thailand
Another travelling day – to Railay Beach. The Sand and Sea Resort, which we got to by longtail boat, was luxury compared to what we were used to, a real tourist resort with – yep – air-conditioning! We hit the pool in the afternoon followed by a walk around the island, stopping at one of the five most beautiful beaches in the world (unfortunately it was getting quite gloomy at this point and we only stayed for a few minutes). Worth a mention is the ‘penis shrine’, which you suddenly stumble upon unawares as you walk along the beach. Apparently they’re in tribute to some goddess or other, yes I should have paid more attention.
Penis shrine
Railay beach
In the evening some of us walked into town to eat, then took advantage of having a TV in our rooms for the first time this trip by watching a film with the guys. I don’t remember what it was…but it was good. Oh, and meanwhile, Jessi broke her foot.
Railay Beach bar
It was around this time that we invented the M.I.N.E game. There was just one rule: if you say the word 'mine', you have to hit the deck wherever you are and perform 10 push-ups as penalty. Of course, we were soon trying to catch each other out - "Who's bag is this?" "Mine!"..."Can I have this seat?" No, it's mine!" - in the most awkward places, such as on planes, rocking boats, half way up a mountain...
A scenic M.I.N.E penalty at the Lahu Outpost
Tour leaders Steph and May caught out at the airport
Penalty at the massage parlour
Andy's penalty at Elephant Nature Park
written by  lucy3119 on December 2, 2009 from Krabi, Thailand

Choppy seas and friendly fish
Krabi, Thailand
We spent the day on a boat on a very choppy sea – cue much seasickness and scrabbling around to rescue belongings threatening to fall overboard. Today was our full-day snorkelling adventure: although we had to switch diving sites due to the rough sea we eventually got to dive with the seahorses and other bizarre looking creatures of the not-so-deep.
Paradise
Me and Lauren under the sea
Snorkelling
The guys tried scuba diving
After one of the best lunches we’ve ever had – a sailor’s lunch is the lunch for me – we returned to the sea for our second snorkel. I soon found myself totally surrounded by a huge shoal of angel fish, which must have been starving because they mercilessly started nibbling every bit of me they could reach. Apparently they were attracted by the bait of the (illegal) fishermen moored there.
In the evening at the Sand and Sea Resort, we forked out on the most amazing meal at a classy restaurant: I had Chicken stuffed full of real, yes REAL, GENUINE cheese. I was in cheese heaven. Many people were jealous. I offered them my leftovers.
written by  lucy3119 on December 2, 2009 from Krabi, Thailand

A "relaxing" day...
Sicamous, Canada
I was promised a relaxing day today after barely being able to walk thanks to falling down the Mountain the day before. So we packed up camp and headed off to Sicamous and the lakefront home of Lossie and Jan, Rylan's aunt and uncle. Jan had made sure he was here especially so he could take us out on his motor boat, so after lunch on the balcony we headed out onto the lake for a few hours of deep relaxation.
However, the relaxation didn't last as long as I'd hoped...before I knew it I was in the lake, at the end of a rope attached to the boat, humiliating myself on (or mostly off) a wakeboard. Followed by a battering on the inflatable tube as Jan tried his hardest to throw us off, driving into the wake of other passing boats.
Finished the evening with an incredible dinner from Lossie as we talked about Peru, Lossie's home country.
written by  lucy3119 on August 17, 2012 from Sicamous, Canada

You can lead a horse to water
Lumby, Canada
We were up at 6am for our day of horse riding in Lumby, BC. We arrived at the Silver Spurs Wilderness Ranch for 9am and spent some time getting the horses and ourselves kitted out (I got to steal our guide's son's new cowboy boots because my own shoes didn't have a big enough heel for the stirrups).
We then headed out on our 7 to 8 hour ride up a mountain to a lake and back again. At this point I discovered that, when Rylan originally booked our trek, even the guides themselves had tried to persuade him to opt for the 5 hour ride instead. He insisted. They gave in. I began to think this might be a bad idea.
Things were fine until lunch time. The horses were very familiar with the steep, uphill trail: all we had to do was lean forwards and leave the work to them. My horse, Diamond, preferred to canter up the steeper parts of the trail, which meant I spent most of the uphill stretch holding on for dear life.
We stopped for lunch at the summit, with a brown paper bag packed lunch and lovely views of the surrounding mountains. We then pressed on for our next stop: the lake. The thing was, our guides hadn't used this trail for a while (clearly, other visitors were more easily discouraged from booking the 8 hour ride than we were) so we ended up hacking our way through the forest. Soon, we were lost. Very, very lost. We had to dismount and lead our horses through the increasingly thick and wild undergrowth in the stifling heat. It was only by chance that, after a lot of false leads, we stumbled upon our original trail and were able to retrace our steps back to the main trail.
We eventually made it to the lake, which was beautiful, and we relaxed for a while before beginning the return journey. By this point, my battered legs were in all kinds of agony and my horse had decided it was going to try to consume every blade of grass in sight. This meant a battle of wills between me and Diamond - one that Diamond usually won.
The downhill journey was slightly terrifying, particularly considering Diamond's tendency to stumble even on flat ground. I spent the steep downhill ride leaning so far back in my saddle I was practically lying down.
Safely back at the ranch, we hobbled to the verandah of the ranch and drank the most delicious home-made iced tea with freshly-baked cookies.
When we'd recovered a little, we drove to Rylan's aunt Linden's house, our base for two nights. We arrived late evening.
written by  lucy3119 on August 18, 2012 from Lumby, Canada

Kayaks, mangroves, BBQs and boxers
Krabi, Thailand
We set off early for our two day sea-kayaking adventure. The morning kayak took us through mangrove swamps, which were incredibly still and calm, almost eerie, with monkeys and immense lizards watching our every move and bats hanging in huge groups from the trees. Well, it was calm until a particularly sharp bend left me and Lauren wedged among the roots of the mangroves until we had room to reverse and try again.
After yet another amazing sailor’s lunch we spent the afternoon jumping into the sea from the top of the boat, trying and failing to pose in mid-air for photos. The kayak guides invented a game which I shall name ‘’, which was pretty fun until all the seawater we swallowed started to take effect. Also…did you know that there are such things as sea lice? And that they bite like mad? Well, now you do.
And...freeze
Aaand...pose (I said pose, Lauren!)
We arrived at Koh Yao Noi, a small Muslim island, for the night – Lauren and I managed to bag ourselves a two-person seafront bungalow complete with hammock while the other girls found themselves sleeping ten to a hut. Oh, how we laughed. We spent the early evening on the beach, followed by an incredible BBQ. We ended the night by watching young trainee Thai boxers practise their moves, and having a go ourselves. Sarah showed off her two years of lessons, making the rest of us look slightly inadequate.
BBQ on Koh Yao Noi
Trainee Thai boxers
Beach Bungalow, Koh Yao Noi
Koh Yao Noi
written by  lucy3119 on December 2, 2009 from Krabi, Thailand

Koh Yao Noi to Chiang Mai
Phuket, Thailand
No time for breakfast on the island: instead, we had it on the boat, and set out kayaking again. I somehow ended up in a single kayak this time, which was slightly scary to begin with but turned out to be surprisingly easy: it’s great when you only have to try and move your own body weight around…I recommend it! Being in my own kayak was particularly exhilarating today, as we were kayaking through pitch dark caves with only a few head torches and shouts of “Argh, rock!” to guide us.
Mangrove swamps
We stopped off at a little Sandy inlet, so that we could paddle through a series of tunnels and caves and emerge onto another hidden beach surrounded by mangroves. Mangroves are awesome: I can’t believe the government ordered them to be cut down, only to find that they’d been the only thing stopping tsunamis from wiping out the islands. Fact of the day.
On the hidden beach
After lunch on the boat, we flew from Phuket to Chiang Mai. This meant getting on the plane wearing, essentially, bikinis and sarongs. We like to set a good example…
Our hotel, the Parasol Inn, is modern, stylish and amazing.
written by  lucy3119 on December 2, 2009 from Phuket, Thailand

Supposedly relaxing and "aren't Canadians nice, eh?" take two
Kelowna, Canada
Another supposedly "relaxing" day with an unexpected turn of events. The day began relaxing enough, with a lie-in followed by a tour of some of the Okanagan valley's wineries. We tasted and we bought, including the super sweet ice wine, a Canadian speciality. I like sweet wine, but ice wine is a whole new level of sweet. We stopped for a tapas lunch at the Little Straw winery, my personal favourite, with stunning views over the lush wine country.
On the way home, our day became a little less relaxing when Rylan casually drove into a ditch. Stuck, we managed to summon the owner of the driveway we'd got stuck on. He wasn't impressed: he'd just had his asphalt done. He wasn't able to help us as his tow cable was in his other truck; however, a family in a 4x4 took pity on us and pulled over, then generously offered to go home, pick up their tow rope, and come back. We felt absolutely terrible when, on their return, the weight of our truck snapped both of their ropes. Just as we were beginning to despair, a man across the road appeared at his door and offered us a chain. This was also a spectacular act of kindness considering that he was attached to a drip at the time. Luckily, the chain was enough to pull our truck out of the ditch, although the brand new asphalt hadn't fared too well. In a final act of kindness, the owner of the driveway, who had originally warned us that we'd have to pay for any damage to his new asphalt, told us not to worry about it after all.
Aren't Canadians nice, eh?
Our evening was much more relaxing: we lay by the pool in the garden overlooking Okanagan lake and the valley; we barbecued Chicken; we witnessed a beautiful sunset and lazed in the hottub. Perfect!
written by  lucy3119 on August 19, 2012 from Kelowna, Canada

Still alive...I think
Vernon, Canada
Today, w left the luxury of the House at Kelowna and headed to Ellison Provincial Park for another night of camping. On the way, we stopped at the Log Barn, a very corny shop selling food and gifts run by Mennonites. We picked up some beef jerky, fruit and taffy, posed with a stuffed black bear and watched goats cross 'Dave's goat walk', a walkway bizarrely suspended across the carpark.
We made it to Ellison and, after putting up the tent, we spent the afternoon and early evening at the beach.
Rylan told me about a rock that you could jump off into the lake, so we decided to give it a go. In the dark. Of course, we scouted out the route to The Rock beforehand, spotting a chipmunk behaving in a very odd way, jumping up and down, spinning and rolling around. Suspecting some form of chipmunk rabies, we made a hasty exit.
As darkness fell, we made our way back to The Rock with the aid of torches and, after making Rylan go first to prove that I wasn't, as I suspected, at risk of death, and then dithering for at least another 10 minutes, I jumped.
I'm still alive. I think.
written by  lucy3119 on August 20, 2012 from Vernon, Canada

Spa days and cooking class chaos
Chiang Mai, Thailand
We spent a divine morning at the luxurious Legend Spa, built in a stately home. After a full body massage I ill-advisedly chose to have a mineral mud body mask which involved stripping, being covered in mud and wrapped in cling film, unable to move for twenty minutes while desperately needing the bathroom. Meanwhile, Jenni next to me was having a pretty amazing looking facial.
Jenni at the massage spa
Cup of tea?
Afterwards, we checked out a shopping mall, but the chances of me fitting into any of the Thai-sized clothing in those shops was…nil. Especially since I’d just scoffed a large Dairy Queen.
In the evening at our cooking class we cooked and ate five Thai dishes – pad Thai (mine was pretty delicious if I say it myself), Spring rolls, something with cashew nuts, Thai green curry and sticky rice with mango. Meanwhile Steve, in an attempt to woo Sarah (in the absence of Tess), bought her a rose from a street seller, then felt guilty and bought the rest of the girls one too. Such a gentleman.
Thai cooking class!
The finished product
written by  lucy3119 on December 2, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

Elephant Nature Park, Hill tribes
Chiang Mai, Thailand
We spent a full day at Elephant Nature Park, helping out with the feeding and bathing of the elephants and learning how they ended up at the park.
The park is a sanctuary for elephants who have suffered as a result of the tourist trade in Thailand. Elephant trekking, for example, often ends up crippling elephants: their backs are surprisingly weak and aren't meant to take the weight of tourists. Elephant shows, which require them to perform dangerous tricks and stunts, often end in disaster, while elephants used for work (eg logging) are often injured or abused by their owners. The process of domesticating elephants can be traumatic too: the fastest but most brutal way to train elephants is to 'break their spirits' by starving and torturing them for days on end. This is the hidden side to the elephant tourist industry: although elephants are respected and sacred to most Thais, they are unaware of the suffering many of them face.
Nom
Elephant Nature Park
Elephants!
We then spent one night at the beautiful and tranquil Lisu Lodge, run by the Lisu hilltribe, before setting out on our hilltribe trek the next day. I felt a little sorry for a couple of honeymooners whose quiet holiday was interrupted by 26 students, but atleast it was just for a night! During our dinner buffet some of the Lisu kids appeared to perform some dances for us - it was very touristy, but still fun.
Lisu children
Musical instrument
written by  lucy3119 on December 5, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

"Welcome to the U.S.Eh!"
Vernon, Canada
We spent another morning on the beach at Ellison Provincial Park before packing up camp and setting out for Kaslo, and our B&B.
For some reason, we ended up taking a route that was twice as long as the one originally planned...although, admittedly, it was a beautiful route. We drove very close to the Canadian/USA border, experiencing ranches and frontier-style towns, complete with clapboard houses and saloons. We spotted a sign with the brilliant message, "Welcome to the U.S.Eh!" It's nice to know Canadians can make fun of themselves, not to mention their relations with the USA!
During the entire trip I'd been mentioning that I wished I had a cowboy hat (particularly for our epic horseback trek up a Mountain), but I wasn't expecting Rylan to pull up at a ranch selling riding gear and ask to see their selection of cowboy hats..!
Below: the cowboy hat plus other cheesy Canadian attire...
The hat
We got near to Kaslo much later than we'd anticipated but, because of the route we'd taken, we came across Ainsworth Hot Springs and decided to stop for some relaxation (you can never have too many hot springs!) and dinner. The hot springs themselves are reached by swimming inside a cave: it's ridiculously hot and stuffy inside, but there's also an icy cold plunge pool and an outdoor pool for some relief from the heat! Ainsworth Hot Springs are attached to a hotel, so we decided to eat in the hotel's restaurant. I had a fantastic creme brulee.
We arrived at our B&B around 10pm, the owners seeming a bit confused as to why we'd taken so long. Our B&B was a great place, remote, hand-built in wood and with only one guest room.
written by  lucy3119 on August 21, 2012 from Vernon, Canada

To Eldorado!
New Denver, Canada
On our way to Kimberley and our second B&B, we stopped at New Denver, a brilliant little town of colourful clapboard houses and stunning Mountain views, once known as Eldorado City in its mining days. We were searching for the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre, where Japanese Canadians were interned during WW2, but a wrong turning unexpectedly took us to a scenic beach. When travelling, sometimes the best things are unplanned!
We eventually found the internment camp, which was interesting, particularly since I had studied the novels of Joy Kogawa, a Japanese Canadian interned during the war. We then headed back to New Denver's mainstreet for lunch - it was fun seeing how everybody seemed to know each other in such a small town!
We made it to our second B&B at a more reasonable time than the night before, and the welcoming proprietors recommended us some places to eat. We ended up at the Old Bauernhaus Restaurant, a log barn moved from Germany to Kimberley, serving traditional German food. Naturally, I had schnitzel and strudel.
Our room at the West Winds B&B was gorgeous, with a unique patchwork quilt covered in Canadian animals, from bears to moose. It took a lot of willpower not to smuggle it out of there in my bag the following morning.
written by  lucy3119 on August 22, 2012 from New Denver, Canada

Shamans, spirit gates and a lot of sweating
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Before our two-day trek into the hills began, we stopped off at the Lisu shaman's House for some lychee wine and a bit of a sit-down. Our trekking guide, Charlie, also showed us the giant swing, which represents freedom to the tribe, and the spirit gate, which we were forbidden to touch in case we released evil spirits into the world: the punishment for touching it is "to buy a pig and sacrifice it", as our tour leader May put it. Since pig slaughter wasn't on the intinerary and our budgets didn't really cover the purchase of livestock, we stayed well clear of the spirit gate!
Lisu giant swing
Lisu spirit gate
Hilltribe children
Lisu shaman
The trek itself was uphill torture until lunchtime. I've honestly never sweated so much in my life, it was pretty much free-flowing for the first hour. Talk about attractive. Luckily, we had a chance to recover during our eco-lunch, packed in woven grass baskets and wrapped in Banana leaves. We all felt slightly guilty eating our cooked Chicken in front of a bunch of live Chickens...until they turned cannibal and tucked into our leftovers.
After lunch, the temperature dropped a little as rain seemed to be on the way, making the going a lot easier, but I was still very glad to reach our camp, the Lahu Outpost ,at the top of our third hill - even if it had no electricity!
Eco-lunch
Recovering at the Lahu Outpost
Lahu Outpost
written by  lucy3119 on December 5, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

White water rafting back to Chiang Mai
Trek: day two took us downhill, past a waterfall and through a Field full of cows that decided to follow us for the last leg of the journey. We were all relieved to see the songthaews waiting to pick us up at the end of the trek, but also really proud of ourselves for what we'd achieved in the last two days.
Trekking
Awesome bug
After lunch, we were rewarded with white water rafting: one of the highlights of the tour! I shared a raft with Team We're Not Going to Die, which included tour leader Steph, Lauren, Kirsten and Ginny. Sure enough, we didn't die, but there were some pretty hairy moments when we had to hit the deck to avoid being thrown overboard...On a calm stretch of the river, each boat tried to take as many hostages from other boats as possible: we quickly lost Lauren and had to initiate a sea Battle in order to get her back.
White water rafting!
Back at the good old Parasol Inn, we hit the walking street Sunday market, a huge market that spans several streets around the hotel, much less touristy and tacky than the daily night bazaar. At one point, the Thai national anthem was played from speakers in the street: everybody froze where they stood, in silence, until the song had finished. It was a surreal moment but just demonstrates the huge amount of respect people in Thailand have for their royal family.

The last breakfast
Calgary, Canada
Our last breakfast was one to remember: our hosts cooked us up bacon, eggs, pancakes, fresh muffins and pastries and, oddly, a flower. The other couple staying at the B&B promised us a 'Surprise' if we ate the flowers...sure enough, while the petals and stalk tasted like lettuce, the centre was peppery and HOT.
As I said, you can never have too many hot Springs, so on our way back to Calgary we stopped off at Whiteswan (also known as Lussier) hot Springs, quite a ways up a Mountain. Rylan was very secretive about them, so I wasn't quite expecting natural hot Spring pools located next to a cold running River surrounded by Mountains. Or the overwhelming sulphurous smell of rotten eggs.
Our penultimate stop on our route home involved a walk beside a bright blue River running through a canyon that grew deeper and deeper the closer we got to the falls at the top.
Finally, we stopped in Banff so that I could stock up on cheesy Canadian t-shirts. Banff really is a very touristy place - I'm not entirely sure why people visit the Rocky Mountains only to stay in Banff. Soon, it was time to leave the Mountains altogether and return to Calgary.
Back at the Alston's, we feasted on spicy goat curry, deer sausage, and our newly-acquired ice wine served in little chocolate cups. We ended my trip as we'd started, with a freak thunderstorm and a Tim Minchin DVD in the home cinema.
written by  lucy3119 on August 23, 2012 from Calgary, Canada

Canyoning!
Today was a free day to spend as we liked: most of the others took part in a tour of Chiang Mai's temples while four of us - Andy, Lauren, Sam and I - went canyoning. This involved sliding down waterfalls, wading and jumping into pools, and rapelling 100 metres down a huge waterfall! This turned out to be one of the most exciting activities of the trip, particularly since a morning downpour meant the water was nice and high, and the small group size meant we didn't have to wait around for long. It was challenging - the rock was wet and slippery during the abseil and I got some impressive rope burns on my hands - but completely worth it.

Caving and yet more 'reggae' bars
Caving and abseiling today - although after our incredible canyoning adventure yesterday Lauren, Andy, Sam and I found it a bit of an anticlimax. The best (and most terrifying) part of the day was a tyrolean traverse across a huge, deep cavern followed by an abseil (we were pretty much suspended in mid-air for several minutes) down to the cavern floor. I somehow drew the short straw and ended up going first, and despite having just yesterday abseiled 100 metres down a waterfall with no problems, I felt a bit too queasy looking down into the abyss today!
After lunch came rock climbing, when I managed to get myself stuck just a few metres from the ground, as all the strain of the last few days' activities finally caught up with me and my muscles completely gave out...half way up a rock. Couldn't go up, couldn't come down. Great timing, muscles.
For our last night in town we went out for dinner and then some of us hit the Rooftop Bar, yet another one of those supposed 'reggae' bars with the pictures of Bob Marley but the music of a dance club. The best thing about the bar, though, was that it was, as the name suggested, on a rooftop and open to the stars. My personal favourite part of the night was when I discovered a cockroach...on Kim's back.
Last dinner in Chiang Mai
Rooftop Bar
Last night in Chiang Mai

Sleeper train to Bangkok...or is it?
This morning, Lauren, Andy, Sam and I decided to check out the temples of Chiang Mai: we'd missed the temple tour the other day while canyoning. We discovered a really ancient-looking temple right next to our hotel, which was pretty interesting.
Ancient temple guards
Ancient temple
In the afternoon we were meant to be boarding an overnight train to Bangkok...but things didn't run quite according to plan. We should have known something was going to go wrong when, as we boarded the coach to take us to the station in the middle of a storm, there was a huge bang and a flash of light as a lightning bolt struck a building directly across the street! It was a warning that we foolishly ignored...
Outside the Parasol Inn
No sooner had we boarded the train with all our bags than we had to get right back off again. Turned out ISV had booked tickets for the following night by mistake...as we watched another group of students taking what should have been our seats, we wondered if we'd be getting to Bangkok in time for the cultural dinner show the following night...
Of course, ISV got it all sorted, hiring a nice coach and even organising a stop-off at a fancy hotel for dinner! We got to our hotel, the New Siam Riverside Guest House, earlier than planned and had time to catch a few hours sleep before morning.

Is it really the end?
Bangkok, Thailand
Our last day in Thailand! And we definitely packed a lot in!
We spent the morning touring the city, first by boat - we visited the royal barges, which for some reason, you had to pay to photograph - and then on foot. We spent a couple of hours at the Grand Palace, a huge area full of beautiful buildings decorated with gold leaf and coloured glass tiles. We ventured into the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which holds a Buddha statue so sacred it can't be photographed...I think I must have gravely offended the Buddha when I burst into uncontrollable hiccups that might have disturbed the spiritual energies of the place a bit...
At the Grand Palace
Guard at the Grand Palace
Grand Palace
We also visited the huge Reclining Buddha, a statue so large it doesn't fit in a single photo. Although the pillars that surround it don't really help...
Giant reclining Buddha
With hardly any time to breathe, we were off to the Siam Niramit cultural dinner show, a very touristy, big-budget spectacle that takes you through the history of Thailand, with an absolutely huge dinner buffet thrown in.
Siam Niramit
Farewell dinner
Back at the hotel, reluctant for our last day to end, some of us searched desperately for somewhere to have a Chang or two. We ended up at a tiny little bar with pink walls and a slightly questionable drinks menu...as Andy found out after ordering a glass of whisky and coke for about £1, what he actually got was a whole bottle of rum.
After this, we all got a little emotional during our goodbyes, jumped on a plane for a very boring 11-hour flight, and ended up back where we'd started a month ago. Lauren and I were once again sitting in a car, driving back to our hometown, only this time we knew a hell of a lot more about each other, had a lot of in-jokes and anecdotes to share, and a lot of memories.
written by  lucy3119 on December 5, 2009 from Bangkok, Thailand

Show in Split

Split

Split balcony

Gargoyles in Split

Belltower

View from the belltower

Vis

Massimo cocktail bar, Korcula

Moreska, Korcula's traditional dance

Korcula from the boat

River cruise, final night

The creation of clogs

It can only be Amsterdam!

Holocaust memorial

Imposing Nazi architecture

Checkpoint

Berlin wall

The Princes mural

Astronomical clock

Gothic Tyn Cathedral

Charles Bridge

St Vitus'

From the castle

Obligatory pretzel shot

Obligatory beer shot

Schnapps man

Streets of Vienna

Schonbrunn Palace

Vienna's oldest ferris wheel

Winding waterways

Gondola ride

St Mark's square

Venice balcony

Standard

Venice

Roof of the custom house

Times Square

Memorabilia

Flower show at Macy's

Marina Abramovic at MoMA

Empire State through the fog

The famous whale

Sunset from the river

Interesting new building

The Flatiron Building

Tim Burton exhibition, MOMA

Tim Burton, MOMA (Edward Scissorhands)

Antony Gormley statues

Antony Gormley

A cat selling shoes

Carousel/ sky scrapers

Bryant Park

Classic NY

Brooklyn

From Brooklyn

On the bridge

Skyline from the bridge

Engine 205

Helicopter

Shame about the Verizon tower

What a skyline

New Yorker 39th floor

Grand Palace

Giant reclining Buddha

Guard at the Grand Palace

Ancient temple

Ancient temple guards

Farewell dinner

Rooftop Bar

Last dinner in Chiang Mai

Outside the Parasol Inn

At the Grand Palace

Last night in Chiang Mai

Railay Beach bar

White water rafting!

Hilltribe children

Lisu shaman

Eco-lunch

Lisu spirit gate

Lisu children

Lisu giant swing

Elephant Nature Park

Nom

Musical instrument

Recovering at the Lahu Outpost

Lahu Outpost

Elephants!

Thai cooking class!

The guys tried scuba diving

Snorkelling

Me and Lauren under the sea

Paradise

Tour leaders Steph and May caught out at the airport

Penis shrine

Railay beach

'Reggae' bar

River huts

Bamboo rafting

Outside the coral caves

Lunch!

Art's Riverview Lodge

Waterfall shower at Art's

At the death railway

Ready for the farewell show

We thought these were meant for food...

Claire having some time out

Steve, secret cat lover

Ping pong painting

Our special ISV touch

Last night

The kids are just going to love us...

The ISV corner

Batik experts :P

My batik! (Background's black because I spilled paint all over it)

Scorpion!

Our captivated audience

Planting

You can't tell, but this is really, really high

Lauren on the rockiest bridge ever

Back at the waterfall

Tony's Bar

Who are the tourists here?

Longtail boat ride

Tony!

Siblings

Best friends

My little photographer

Bubbles!

Nap time

Helping in the garden

Balloons!

Jop

Learning the alphabet

Monkey child

Cheeky triplet

Sleepy Mei

Toto

Lunchtime

Death Railway

Team Mischief

Death Railway again

Coffee treatment! (Not an excuse for a bikini shot!)

Erawan trek

Sad goodbyes

At the beach

Goodbye wishes

Who's the better artist here? A clue...not me.

The brushing song

Erawan hike (pre-mud)

The under-over game (we made it up, don't you know)

Around the campfire

Meh Aew

Human climbing frames

Songthaew

Morning 'meditation'

"Mmmm, arm, nom nom nom"

Hellcow

Batik

Volunteers vs locals

My little helper

My other little helper

Shrine at Erawan National Park

Safari park

Don't support elephant shows like these

Curious giraffes

First encounter

River Kwai after rain (view from our house)

Our house at Moo Baan Dek

Outside the school

The swimming jetty on the River Kwai

Bridge over the River Kwai

Siam Niramit cultural dinner show

Longtail boat

Longtal boat again

Siam Niramit