Greetings again from Cambodia which has now been for over a month and has flown by! (and I have a seriously defined right bicep!)
House Build #4 comes from the nearby village of Phnom Krom where we're building a brand new wooden house for a kind young lady named Lisa and her struggling husband with an 18 month old son :)
Greetings from Cambodia on Week #4 of my volunteer building relief work in Cambodia.
No house building this week, so I decided to go to a Cambodian School partnered with Volunteer Building Cambodia in the Treak Village Community. The school which I have to ride 4km from Siem Reap on a bicycle, provides free schooling for children aged nursery age plus, have been raising money through volunteer donations to build a vast expansion to their school as a community centre - new classroom, toilets, meeting room, library, workshop rooms for women's courses, wash facilities and a playing field to provide modern and fresh facilities to the community.
Welcome to blog #3 of my adventures here in the Great Kingdom of Cambodia! Thank you again for your donations towards my project here with Volunteer Building Cambodia . I have now completed my third house build in Thnung Village about 50 minutes out of Siem Reap. The family receiving the house is a 47 year old mother with four children who were sharing this small thatched palm leaved dwelling on a plot of land her mother had given her behind her own house. They had one room, one bed and two of the children are teenagers who had to drop out of school to go help their mum by working on a rubber tree farm. The others can't go to school because it is too far away for them to walk there - so we came to change that!
I have finished the second house build in my international relief trip to Cambodia. This is house build #2 and I'm out 45 minutes from Siem Reap city in a place called Kror Peu Village (Crocodile Village) We''ve started a brand new 'stilt style' house of Khmer Kadar style wood with a team of about 20 of us so hence all the bangin'! The family we are building for are a young boy and his mother who was abused by her alcoholic husband who eventually committed suicide. The two of them were living in a small one room thatched palm tree leaved roof house which we demolished and built a stilt style house with a room and porch for them to have. It’s a beautiful setting of rural Cambodia and the community are very sweet and appreciative.
'Yarr, I was riding past to verk along de Singel and stopped outside de Oude Lutherse Kerk and looked at zis canal boot and thought....hey zat boot is full of kats!'
A canal 'boot' full of cats!....meaning 'boat' in Dutch that is, said my strong accented dutch guide.... I'd been staying at the friendly Shelter Hostel right in the heart of the 'City of Diamonds' and took the opportunity to join their free guided walking tour of Amsterdam on a gloriously light but chilly Friday morning in the core of wintertime in The Netherlands. Funny enough as cold it was for this chick from Blighty, Amsterdam was experiencing its mildest winter for many years.....only - 6 C. Brrrr.
It's the
morning of Monday 22nd July 2013
in London, England and a historic event is about to ignite a spark in the slumbering world
and the future of the British monarchy and Commonwealth. The morning news and
tabloids are fired up with the unexpected headline that Kate Middleton, The Duchess
of Cambridge has gone into labour....a baby is on its way.
But this is no ordinary birth that the world are ruffling
their feathers over in colossal anticipation - its the birth of a baby that is
destined to rule a nation and commonwealth. The future heir of England.
G'Day! Thanks for checking in to my latest instalment of my adventures on the Aussie road...
Up at the crack of dawn, I took day trip to the famous Kakadu National Park a 22,000 sq region east of Darwin on route to the only really place that traditionally Aboriginal people still live in the Top End - Arnhem Lands. A four hour trip first to the wetlands we met an Aboriginal Man 'Graham' from the Limi Ingan - Wulna tribe and his family who educated us about the Didgeridoo, ochre painting, basket and dilly bag weaving and Dreamtime Aboriginal Stories they base their life on. Even got an arm painting myself! Dots signify the desert, and stripes and cross hatching are more accustomed to the Top End and Arnhem Land Area representing the land and waves of the land. His daughter gave a demonstration of weaving baskets and dilly bags. Indigenous people are great craftsman. Didjeridoo's actually come from Darwin originally, whereas the Boomerang actually originates from South Australia.
I'm finally here, the vast, rugged and edgy province of this great continent's 'Top End'. As this blog shows, I'm extremely interested in the mechanics of Indigenous communities in each country, which is my main drive to travel and explore this world. Like I say meeting the REAL people and not just the safe and secure chocolate box experience that cushions many travellers. The Northern Territory to me is the gateway to understanding the foundations and culture of the 'First Australians' so without haste, I left Brisbane on Australia's fabulous no frills budget airline 'Jetstar' to get me to Darwin.
Welcome to my latest instalment of my endeavour to discover the wonderful Land of Oz...
Last time I left you I had been introducing myself to the Fraser Island Dingo's and continued travelling south down the east coast of Australia to the swanky sunshine town of Noosa Heads. The town had a lot of roundabouts but good surf, not that I can surf well, but I rented a board from a backpackers that the hostel owner in 1770 had built himself and sent me packing there. Man, its fun having fun on the water out here! but people are very protective of their waves out here though which is pretty trivial to me, but I was rooming with a ex marine from the United States who was educating me about his four year life in the marines which was pretty fascinating. This is what I love about travelling, it gets you out of your familiar social circle and throws you in the mix with individuals from all different cultures and all walks of life. Love it, Love it, Love it! At the bottom of the road we had the Noosa river, perfect for a spot of chilling and fishing for my marine friend!
Hey Guys - Sal here reporting from Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia.
Wow 8 months in Oz already! Last night I jumped on a boat under the starry sky back to Hervey Bay here from the beautiful Fraser Island. But more about that later....
Recently the rain in Queensland has dominated and is flooding the areas but I had nothing to hang around for so I caught a lift with an American guy called Baz (his middle name was in fact Duke) in my backpackers in Rockhampton who was heading to Agnes Water in the Town of 1770 a nice lil laid back fishing town, lined with surf shops and restaurants which has great surf - but no one locks their doors which coming from London couldn't fathom the trust of the environment!. It was quite a trip and we were actually pulled over by the police because Baz took his seatbelt off for 30 seconds - they are very strict on road safety out here so we were majorly caught off guard. The Aussie road is full of unpredictability and adventure - even in the pouring rain!
I took a 3 hour surf lesson for $17! from the local surf shop who told me ''Just show up at 10 and we'll give ya a board'' in fact its probably the best price for surf lessons on the whole of the East Coast! yep sharks in the water, won't get a better price than that in Australia - but because Oz is such an outdoorsy place it can be a bummer when it rains so I couldn't go motorbike riding, but its a good excuse to go back.....I did get a free tour of the Agnes Water by 'Macca' who worked at the backpackers. I helped clean the backpackers in 1770 and the owner who I'd discovered actually invented the backpacking industry in Australia paid me a bit for my efforts! Super! Was very impressed by 1770, but not the weather!
Hitching a ride with Baz to the Town of 1770...
Deciding to move on from the downpours of 1770. I arrived in Hervey Bay, which is the gateway out to Fraser Island with a fantastic hip guided tour calledCool Dingo Tours
Fraser Island is a beautiful Aboriginal territory east of Hervey Bay, the 2 day tour consisted of a quirky tour guide driving us on an extremely bumpy 4WD bus over the rough terrain time (seatbelts were a must) and educated us about the aborigine habitats whilst walking in the beloved rainforest, swimming in crystal clear lakes of Lake McKenzie and checking out the decayed 100 year old shipwreck of the Maheno Wreck. We also stopped off to view some sandblows which make you feel like you're really in the middle of the desert and Eli Creek which you allegedly meant to float down (we sure didn't float) On route along towards Indian Head in the north of the Island, Mr Dingo introduced himself to us but they're wild dogs so no poochie kisses (our tour guide was very protective of us, but the Dingo didn't seemed bothered). It was extremely special to see a wild dingo in its natural habitat. Once we reached the top of Indian Head, I watched Stingrays, a pod of dolphins swim pass and hump back whales migrating back to Antartica. Cool! The Champagne Pools were incredible. The sea causes a pool of water to bubble like a champagne glass as it thrashes against the rocks, was exhilarating and nothing I'd ever seen before. The night was spent playing funny drinking games in the on island Dingo Bar but overall we were lucky with the weather as it perked up a little bit by then lucky for us so I had a great trip. Here's some photos from my Fraser Island Adventures...
Lake McKenzie.....gorgeous lake on the Island
Hello Mr Dingo....:)
On top of Indian Head
Wild Dolphins!
The 100 Year old Maheno Wreck
Now I'm settled back in Hervey Bay and I'm going to head south to check out the surf and Steve Irwin's famous Australia Zoo - as far as Brisbane and then head up to the deserts of the Northern Territory before looking for work again (fingers crossed). But this is a beautiful country and want to see as much as possible but of course I do find myself thinking about the charms of London every now and again - must be getting cold there now - haha!
Anyway, thanx for reading and hope life is being kind to you, there's so many more stories but my fingers hurt now so signing off...until next time dudes!
Hey Guys - Sal here reporting from Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia. Wow 6 months in Oz already! Think when I last left a blog I had just finished travelling with the Australian carnival circuit. Well, they were good enough to pay me for my time which got me down to AirlieBeach further down the east coast which is the best place to get out to the WhitsundayIslands, something not to leave Australia without seeing with your own eyes. Anybody who knows me well, will know of my fantasy of pirates and adventure (this was a girl who dreamt of being Indiana Jones sidekick) - well I found the perfect boat to sail the seven seas of the Whitsundays.....for three days
The Solway Lass M'Hearties....she's a beauty
A 127ft 'Tallship Defender' ship named The Solway Lass - a proper pirate ship named by the Scottish with 10 sails and a Jolly Roger flag and everything. I was sold! If there was going to be one ship I would sail it was going to be this beauty. Its was actually haunted by a past captain that died on the boat..it's been through a lot since 1902
On board a Pirate Ship...
The Three Day Voyage
I had taken it upon myself to map out my adventures at sea, where we were heading for the next three days on board the Solway Lass around Australia's Whitsundays Islands. We would first board the boat at night from 1.Abel Point off Airlie Beach for our captain 'Lloyd' and sail us into the moonlight to drop anchor at 2. Refuge Bay on the tip of Hook Island and then set off on Day One to 3. Tongue Bay.I have a confession...If I could have one wish, it would be that I didn't suffer from sea sickness...to be fair the water was very rough on route to Tongue Bay actually spilling over on deck - some techniques you might like to try is stick cotton wool in your ear and suck an orange but man it was HELL ON EARTH!!! But first phase of becoming a pirate I think.....Sitting up at the bow of the Solway Lass with nothing out ahead of us but ocean...70% of the earth y'know
After anchoring on dry land at Tongue Bay on Hamilton Island, relieved to get on dry land we took a short walk through the forest to reach the look out of Whitehaven Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, the purest white sands zig zagging its way dreamily into the island.
Our crew consisted of'Lloyd' our skipper, 'Andrew and Damo' being the deckhands, 'Kylie' the Chef, 'Kate' at the on board bar, 'Max'who's the volley (the skivvy) and 'Trevor'our security -- I'm sure he'd be seeing off any of those pirates that would come aboard.Being a guest on the ship though doesn't mean we'd escape helping out on deck - when the wind picked up, the mammoth sails needed to be raised and the girls would climb the masts to fix the sails to them - very impressive! it was good fun to help haul them up as deck hands too...
'Are you ready with the main sail?'
'Yes, B'osun!'
'Haul Away, Pull, Pull, Pull' .....hard work, blood and sweat
We continued sailing north past Border Island and round the top of Hook Island towards BluePearl Bay, but of course being at sea on a pirates ship is anything but boring. We would pass the time relaxing in the bow nets, swinging off the rope swing - or playing pirate games on deck when the sea's where a little bit calmer.
We dropped anchor at 4.Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island for our second night at sea. The ocean as flat as a sheet of glass with millions of the most magnificent stars blazoned across the dark sky - if there's anywhere where you want to see stars...out to sea is the place with the peace and tranquillity (A couple on their honeymoon were passengers on board with us - how perfect for them.)
On Day Two of the voyage, I awoke in my cabin to the repulsive stench of sewage or something leaking out the through the cabin walls. Urghhh now that was enough to make you puke if not the choppy seas. It was good to get off the boat and onto the beach of Blue Pearl Bay to do some snorkelling alone the corals and reefs - when a HUGE sea turtle came swimming past me nearly making me choke as I breathed in awe and a mouthful of water with it. But soon disaster would strike, I brushed my hand against a sharp coral and tore the skin on my middle finger, reddening the water around me with drifting blood - ahh shark!! Of course I had to go back to the ship and be nursed at, it was so badly torn I thought I'd need stiches, ummmm....would have had to been a amateur boat job which I wasn't keen on. Antiseptic water and dressing would have to do for this injured sailor :(
I went back to snorkel on though, with a rubber glove haha. We pressed on as the winds picked up (oh no) travelling south around Hayman Island on the Hayman Channel with the sailing becoming quite a challenge. We tucked into 5. Black Island for more snorkelling as well as being bombarded by pesky black crows stealing our things on the beach and then fighting the other girls to the shower room below deck.
We dropped anchor for the night in 6. Cid Harbour in a place called Saw Mill Bay to watch the gorgeous sunset to mark the night to have a little Pirate Party with the ships own fancy dress accessories, keeping lookout for any foreboding tall ships on the horizon. Eat your heart out Capt. Jack Sparrow.....
or... maybe not
The crew had made us a real good old fashioned banquet for the final night spent at sea - such good service from a Pirate Ship which was actually deliberately sunk in the past to obliterate all the vermin. Day Three was the voyage home to mainland Australia and my finger is still in need of first aid which I'm hoping will heal in time for my fruit picking job at the end of the month. Damo and Andrew took us by motorboat after dislodging in from the beach to Saw Mill Beach to climb the painstakingly sweaty walk uphill into the forest to the top of the lookout over our sailing route over Hook Island....
It was well worth it....
See for your self....
So after a few turbulent three days - my adventures at sea are over and back on the steadiness of dry land. If you ever come to Airlie Beach get yourself onto the Solway Lass...the only sailing experience you'll ever need.
Howdy! I've been non stop on the Aussie road for a while but have had quite an adventure...After crashing in a memorable backpackers in Cairns, I headed down the coast to Townsville failing to pick up a lift from another traveller and got my self a volunteer job on an animal and amusement farm that supply animals for fairs and rides for carnivals. My job was to be up at the crack of dawn to feed the menagerie of hungry squawking farm animals, ducks, guinea pigs, chickens, cows, horses, you name it... even bottle feeding adorable baby goats! and then repeat the whole process again in the evening.
Taking care of the kids....
In return as Aussie's love their sports as I do, the friendly neighbours 'The Cullens' who had a café next door to the farm took me to a game of 'Polo Cross' which is pretty much like lacrosse but played on horseback, super skilled riders and was very impressive. My host also took me to see a NFL Football Game between the Townsville Cowboys and Canberra Raiders which was quite an experience sitting around hard core Australian football supporters. A night out to see the horse show 'The Man From Snowy River' was quite a treat - you ever seen a horse dance?
Sporting Outings in Oz
Two weeks later, I was asked to come on the road with them and their other showman friends Adrian the Snake Man, a motorcycle stunt man and a Family Circus.
We did shows down the East coast stopping off at towns towards Mackay, setting up a petting zoo and inviting people to come feed and pet them, which has been quite an unique experience (especially working with children and animals) chasing escaped pigs in the showground and rounding up baby ducklings that were let out and find hanging out at the pizza stand is a few of the mishaps that comes with working with animals as well as cruising the mountains on the stunt mans motorcycle (wheelies! no not really) I feel extremely lucky to been allowed to sample this exclusive carnival lifestyle as an 'outsider' and a 'Pommie Sheila' one at that. I count my lucky stars everyday, this is something not every traveller will get to do....
A common sign on lavatory doors for us 'Ladies' ha
On to the next show....
My nights were spent on the bumper cars, wandering the magnetising showground full of glow and folly, taking photography for the circus and trying to learn the more easier circus tricks aswell as sleeping on the circus stage under the big top..with the show snakes!
Trying to master the art of circus
Behind the curtain at the circus....I helped out backstage
The life of a circus performer...
I'm making my way further down south of Queensland to Emerald to meet my friend at the end of the month, we have a job at a mandarin farm this month - in the meantime, my circuit as a 'show woman' has ended and I've pressed on to Airlie Beach after getting a nice lil bit of money for the shows.
I have my eye on a pirate ship that takes you out to the Whitsunday Islands so we'll see....hope you're all well.
I had taken it upon myself to map out my adventures at sea, where we were heading for the next three days on board the Solway Lass around Australia's Whitsundays Islands. We would first board the boat at night from 1. Abel Point off Airlie Beach for our captain 'Lloyd' and sail us into the moonlight to drop anchor at 2. Refuge Bay on the tip of Hook Island and then set off on Day One to 3. Tongue Bay. I have a confession...If I could have one wish, it would be that I didn't suffer from sea sickness...to be fair the water was very rough on route to Tongue Bay actually spilling over on deck - some techniques you might like to try is stick cotton wool in your ear and suck an orange but man it was HELL ON EARTH!!! 
On Day Two of the voyage, I awoke in my cabin to the repulsive stench of sewage or something leaking out the through the cabin walls. Urghhh now that was enough to make you puke if not the choppy seas. It was good to get off the boat and onto the beach of Blue Pearl Bay to do some snorkelling alone the corals and reefs - when a HUGE sea turtle came swimming past me nearly making me choke as I breathed in awe and a mouthful of water with it. But soon disaster would strike, I brushed my hand against a sharp coral and tore the skin on my middle finger, reddening the water around me with drifting blood - ahh shark!! Of course I had to go back to the ship and be nursed at, it was so badly torn I thought I'd need stiches, ummmm....would have had to been a amateur boat job which I wasn't keen on. Antiseptic water and dressing would have to do for this injured sailor :(
.JPG)
