Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie

Tuesday, April 27, 2010 | Posted by Hazel

So here I am in Australia!  Having a great time.  The weather is slightly cooler, but still warmer than the UK, I think it was about 25 degrees today.

I have given myself a little guided tour of the city, seen the bell tower which houses some bells from Trafalgar Square, had a look round Kings Park, which is a massive park overlooking the City and met up with some people I am not related to at all but are very nice and hospitable...my sisters, husbands, cousins!  They live in one of the suburbs of Perth and yesterday had me over for tea and today took me on a little tour of the Swan Valley, they have a whole shire called 'The Shire of Swan'! 

We went wine tasting, chocolate tasting and coffee tasting!  Here is Ethan enjoying his new found love of photograpy...

I am now headed up North tomorrow for a 10 day trip to Broome, will update more when I can!

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24 hours in Singapore City

Saturday, April 24, 2010 | Posted by Hazel

Singapore was a bit of a whistle stop tour due to time restraints, but I really liked it, and there was loads more I could have done.  It is one of the most organised and clean places I have ever been to.  I loved it.  I think someone must have been handing out iPhones, as everyone I saw had one, along with any other gadget available.  Singapore is pretty big on the shopping too, there are malls everywhere, everywhere I turned I seemed to have accidentally found myself in to a mall of some description.

Singapore was 'discovered' in the 1800's by Sir Stamford Raffles, hence the naming of the famous hotel where you can go and get a Singapore Sling (a cocktail, and here it is $30!), I am living on a budget, so opted for taking a photo of the outside of the building and got a little lost on the tour I gave myself around it and ended up inside it...I quickly escaped though, oh, but not before using their facilities.


The botanical gardens were really nice, about the only place I went that wasn't air conditioned to freezing temperatures!  It may be hot in Singapore, but they certainly over compensate for it in the air conditioning everywhere you go.

This is the famous icon of Singapore, a stone lion that spits out water.


There was other stuff I wanted to see but ran out of time.  Am now in Australia!  Culture shock again.  Arrived in the middle of the night last night. 

Just put this up because it amused me at a cafe in Singapore...



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Goodbye Thailand, Hello Singapore...

Thursday, April 22, 2010 | Posted by Hazel

I never thought I would be that interested in Thai boxing, but actually found it fairly amusing, I am not sure it is supposed to be funny, but when they let the tourists have a go and they look like a couple of kangaroos with boxing gloves on, it's, er, mesmerising.  This is a picture of a couple of the Thai's showing how it's done...or not.  Shortly after I took this picture one threw one out the ring and then the other one got a silver plate thing and threw it at him, it ended with one chasing the other out of the building...

After I left Koh Phi Phi, I had a night in Phuket.  I'd booked somewhere near the airport because my flight was early in the morning and the main town is an hour from the airport so I'd ended up with a hotel rather than a hostel and it felt like luxury!  After having been in a sweaty dorm with 1 fan between 4 people and on a top bunk, somehow having a double bed in an apartment to myself with air con and a TV was amazing...sadly only for the one night though, back to dormitory living tonight.

So, that was the end of my trip to South East Asia, goodbye Thailand.  This was last nights sunset in Phuket...


This evening I arrived in Singapore.  So far it has been a bit of a culture shock...everyone speaks English and I no longer have to do my miming (which by the way, I think I'm pretty good at), or haggling (again, I've honed this skill) and everything is so organised.  It was 25 C on my way back from the airport and I was actually a bit cold...what the heck has happened to me?!

I've not seen much of Singapore yet as it has been raining but intend to do some exploring tomorrow, people keep warning me that it gets so hot here, surely it can't be hotter than where I have just come from...

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Having a flaming good time on 'The Beach'

Monday, April 19, 2010 | Posted by Hazel

So here I am on Koh Phi Phi (pronounced pee pee).  Koh Phi Phi was really badly hit in the tsunami in December 2004, but have managed to build everything up again with the help from international volunteers and local people.  Being here now you would hardly know anything had happened, but as you wander around there are a few bits where you can see the remains of buildings.  The other night I ate in a restaurant where the guy who owns it said he was nearly killed in the tsunami, trapped underneath a building and was lucky to survive, he lost everything, but his english mate, John, had helped him to start up his own business (where I ate). 

I went on a little boat trip around the islands the other day and did a bit of snorkelling.  The fish flipping love me, and enjoyed nibbling my legs too, I enjoyed this less, but it was fun swimming with the fishes!

We got to go to Monkey Island and see some monkeys up close, I also have monkeys running around the place where I am staying, thought they were cute until I got too close to one the other day and it squawked at me.


This is the beach where 'The Beach' was filmed (apparently this was over 10 years ago, but still brings the tourists in!).


The nightlife on Koh Phi Phi is pretty cool, they have a load of fire tricks and shows on the beach.  The other night they had a flaming ring you could go and jump through...


Before you ask, no, I didn't have a go.  I am well aware of my limits and the fact I can occassionally be a tad clumsy...much as I do love a good bit of fire though. 
Last night I watched an amazing fire show on the beach, which included a girl using a flaming hula hoop and some guys doing some fire dancing...


It's surprising how tiring lying on the beach, eating and sleeping can be.  That's about it for the last few days, just been chilling on the beach.  There are no weekends for travellers you know, got to find your time to relax! 

36 more hours here and then I am back to Phuket for the night, then I fly to Singapore!

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Soaking up the new year - 2553...

Friday, April 16, 2010 | Posted by Hazel

Thailand is ahead of the western world.  Tuesday marked Thai new year, the year 2553...they run their years from the death of Buddha, which makes them apparently 543 years ahead of us in the UK.

As I mentioned before, Thai new year is celebrated as a water festival.  I had had it explained to me what this entailed, but I guess I didn't really believe it until I saw it, and it's utter mayhem.  It started Monday.  Even though officially, 13th April, is Thai new year, they seem to celebrate it all week and everyone gets a 3 day holiday, 'Songkran'.  The streets are filled with people selling supersoakers and massive water pistols, and buckets.  As you walk down the street people squirt you and soak you shouting 'Songkran', 'Happy New Year!'.  I got absolutely soaked!  Not only is most of the water out of the brown moat, but they kindly put lumps of ice in it, just to make sure it really cools you down...  I decided to try and get in to it, seems to be the only way.  The people here, both locals and tourists, take no prisoners, if you are outside, you have asked to get wet.  My purchase of a waterproof bag has come in handy this week.  Unfortunately I was unable to get any decent photos as my camera is not waterproof!


Anyway, I have just left Chiang Mai, where I was since Sunday night.  Whilst I was there I went on a tour to go to an elephant camp and to visit some hilltribe people.  I have never ridden an elephant before, I am not sure I would again.  It was fun, but not the most comfortable experience of my life, spent the majority of the hour I was on the elephant clinging on to the piece of hosepipe between me and the open air very tightly!  The elephants also did a bit of a show, which included doing some painting, it was surprisingly impressive, and slightly disturbing...


This is the elephant lifting me up by his trunk, before I had the ride...yeah, it was kind of scary


We also went to visit some hilltribe people, the Karen people, who live on the borders, and believe that they are ancestors from swans and dragons, so want to model themselves on them, so they put rings on their necks to lengthen them, like a swan or a dragon.  


On Wednesday I had my first Thai massage.  I've never had  a massage, so thought why not, it seems to be a big deal in these parts.  I wasn't exactly prepared for the pummeling I got, but I actually like it and felt proper relaxed and chilled out after.  I went to the women's prison in Chiang Mai where they teach the girls who are near to their release to do Thai massage (they also have a cafe), so they have skills to get jobs when they leave and also to bridge the gap between the community and the prison.

Chiang Mai is amazing, I love it, the culture and the markets and the food...I might have to visit again when it's not Songkran though, so I can see it without having to run for cover around every corner (and when more stuff is open, lots of stuff shut for the holidays).

Today I have arrived in Koh Phi Phi, an island in the south of Thailand.  It's amazing.  Carrying my backpack however, isn't.  I absolutely hate that thing, but luckily I don't have to carry it too often!  I booked the place I am staying on the internet the other day, but didn't realise how far away it was from the pier (the island has no roads, so there are no taxis, you get everywhere by foot), it seemed like forever to get to my guesthouse, but now I have arrived and got rid of the backpack, the pain has been forgotten.  It's easy with views like this...



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Water buffalos and bridges...oh, and men peeing in bushes

Sunday, April 11, 2010 | Posted by Hazel

So, I am back on the road again.  Yesterday I left the farm at Whispering Seeds and have headed south to Kanchanburi. I was slightly concerned about how me and my backpack would fit on to the motorbike taxi for the 45 minute journey, but luckily the driver was used to weak beings like me...and we travelled like this the whole way...


Here is everyone at the farm, waving me off...



Felicity, the other volunteer at the farm, collapsed on Tuesday and no-one knew what was wrong with her, so she was rushed to hospital, which proved to be quite a feat as it is about a 5 minute walk through the jungle to get to the river, then you have to wade through the river and climb up a steep ladder to get to the place where the Landrover is parked (never again will I moan about having to park my car at the bottom of my hill)...as Felicity wasn't really with it, and said she couldn't feel her feet and hands, she got fireman carried (whipped over someones shoulder like a sack of potatoes) to the car.  The hospital thinks it was a bad reaction to her malaria tablets, but she couldn't breathe properly all night, it was kind of scary.  She is OK now, just a bit weak, so spent the last few days recovering in the office (in the nearby town), leaving me to organise the kids and teach them maths...!  I also forgot that kids love to do things over and over, so now know quite a few of their books off by heart and am pretty good (if I do say so myself) at 'Kaboodl' - a card game Poo Pwin Whey loves!


Above is a 'duck-air' (I have no idea how you spell it, but that is what it sounds like when Thai people say what it is called, and it doesn't seem to have an English translation).  It's a lizard/gecko think that kind of barks like a dog, really loudly.  The first time I heard one was when I was in Koh Chang at the beginning of my trip, it was at the window and sounded really loud, but it took me a few times of asking people and demonstrating the sound before I found out what it was.  When we were at the Whispering Seeds office the other day we saw some, eating the insects...this one has an insect hanging out its mouth if you look closely, lovely.

Kanchanburi (where I am now), is famous for the Bridge over the River Kwai (for anyone interested, Kwai is pronounced 'Kware' (said like square), and not 'Kwy' (said like why) - the latter means water buffalo, apparently).  In World War 2, the Japanese forced prisoners of war to build this bridge so they could take over Thailands bordering countries, including Burma.  Hundreds of thousands of people died in the process of building it, due to the poor conditions and the way they were treated.  However, it still remains today (some of it is still original) and is actually still used as a train line, as well as for tourists to walk along it - health and safety at its max...just after I had got off the bridge, a train came through on the bridge, leaving everyone still on the bridge to squish themselves to the edge to avoid their own death on the bridge.  [I hope you are enjoying the little bits of history  and general knowledge I have added in to my blog for you!]

Yesterday, whilst walking towards the bridge from my hostel, a moto driver yelled at me and asked if I wanted a ride, I said I was fine walking, then 5 minutes down the road someone yelled 'hellooo' at me from the bush, 'where are you going, want a lift laidee?'...and it was the same moto driver, pausing from his wee to yell at me.  I looked at him, with some disgust, and said I was still fine to walk, maybe even slightly more so now...

So anyway, I am just here for 24 hours, which are nearly up. This afternoon I get another bus to Bangkok and then fly to Chiang Mai for my soaking experience this evening.

Here is Yeh-men-tah doing his best monkey impression up a tree on the farm, my tree climbing skills came nowhere near...

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Whispering Seeds - Sangklaburi

Sunday, April 04, 2010 | Posted by Hazel

So, I am now, and have been for the past week, in Sangklaburi, on the west of Thailand, right on the Burmese border. I didn't really know what I was going to be doing when I got here, but 'Whispering Seeds' is the name of the project, which is run by Jim, an American guy who has lived in Thailand for a number of years. He runs a childrens home with 10 kids in it, they are all very cute, and they live on a farm, in the middle of the jungle, and grow their own fruit and veg. Jim is Buddhist, so brings up the kids as Buddhists too - they don't believe in killing animals either, so they are all vegetarian (I've quite appreciated the lack of chicken feet and egg foetus' since I left Cambodia).


This is some of the kids clambering up a banana tree...




The toilet facilities I have used so far on my trip have been mixed, this is what we have at the farm...



There is no electricity (except for one solar panel which provide a light in the evening) and no running water, so we bathe in the river, it's kind of novel, although I haven't actually felt completely clean for a while, you get used to it though!  Here are some of the kids at bath time!



This week there has been a group of 'World Challenge' kids from Dubai, they come over to do some work for a charity and picked this home in Thailand. They have been helping with some maintenance of the buildings. As it is coming up to the rainy season, the buildings need to be repaired, especially the roofs, so that they can last through the heavy rain that they get. I helped to build/lay a brick patio.

The farm is separated from the roads by a river, so every day water has to be brought from the local village and then carried across the river to the farm, so everytime you leave the farm you have to cross the river and climb a steep ladder, I am just about getting to grips with the ladder, it is not my favourite, especially with wet feet once you have just crossed the river!

There is no internet on the farm, but today we have come to the office, which is in the nearest town and me and Felicity (another volunteer that is here at the moment) have just popped in to an internet cafe, so I thought I would update you all on what I have been up to!

I am having a really good time, the kids are cute and as quite a lot of the volunteers that pass through the home are western, they know quite a bit of English, which helps, as well as Burmese and Thai. Since I have been here we have watched a couple of films about the political situation in Burma and I have learnt a lot, as I pretty much knew nothing about it before. One of the films, 'Burma VJ', really showed me what the situation is like - if you don't know anything about it, I would really recommend watching this film, it was really good, and I think it was only recently released.


The kids from the home come from different backgrounds, quite a few of them have come from a brothel which is on the Burmese border, and all the kids are 'Burman'. Burman people are like second class citizens, and have no rights in their own country, they also have no rights in Thailand, so these kids are referred to as 'stateless', which means they don't belong to either country and most of these kids are unable to leave the area of Thailand that they currently live in because the border checks won't let them through. One of the things Jim is trying to do is to see if he can help with this situation. 


The green thing in Poo-Ta's hand is a jack fruit, its green and spiky and inside has small yellow pods which taste pretty good!  They have loads of amazing fruits here.



My job as a volunteer so far has been to take some photos that they can use for a cookbook/calendar they are producing to sell to make money for the home, to help teach the kids English and Maths and I've also done some building work. I am here for another week and then I head to Chang Mai (in the North of Thailand) to celebrate 'Songkran', Thai new year - which turns in to a massive water fight for 5 days, apparently you can't go anywhere without getting soaked by people in the street.


Weather is still hot!




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