We're coming home...

We are on our way home now! We are currently at Incheon airport, South Korea, back where I first posted.

We spent the morning on a 4hr bus ride to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. We stopped off for our final meal together in Cambodia before heading off to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This was an "office" designed for detention, interrogation, inhumane torture and killing after confessions. It was very moving especially when you think about how recent it was. Some of the images and rooms were quite grim but a real eye opener for us. We did not have time to visit the killing fields which is a shame but this really did remind us of some of the reasons for taking on a project in Cambodia.

After this we went to the airport and said an emotional goodbye to our tour leader, Rith, and one of his helpers, Hay.

We have over 4hrs left before we jump on an 11hr flight back to London. Fun times.

Boat trip

Today we visited two very beautiful islands. The first island we didn't actually dock at but had the chance to jump off the boat and do some swimming and snorkeling in the lovely green sea. This was great fun and was enjoyed by all. We then enjoyed a nice lunch on board the boat.

We were welcomed by lovely white sand and crystal clear waters at the second island where we had the opportunity to get off the boat and spend two hours swimming and sunbathing.

The past two days have been heaven and the rest and relaxation has been appreciated by all.

We enjoyed our final dinner by the sea tonight which was lovely and we are looking forward to heading into Phnom Penh tomorrow and do some sightseeing before heading to the airport in the evening.
 

Free Day in Sihanouk Ville

I found out today that the place we are in is spelt Sihanouk Ville (not Sihanoukville)]


Free day today. Which meant having to organise stuff ourselves for once. Mr Tongue and I ran along the beach at 7am and did a couple of circuits. We then wanted to hire a kayak and though they were at the end of the beach where we could see wooden docks. It was only 200m away, but these wooden docks were actually a small village and the contrast in wealth and conditions was extraordinary. It was like a different country but the same stretch of beach.


We spent the morning on the beach playing with tennis balls and volleyballs. A couple of the kids went to the spa for what they described as an "amazing"massage. It was buy one get one free as well! Bargain! We had our first bit of rain today. Fell quite heavily but then was hot hot hot after. Typical. We wanted rain all of last week to cool us down on the building site and then when we don't want it to, it starts to rain. We appear to be in the middle of a storm now as I type. Very scary. Feels like a hurricane!


For lunch half of the group staying at the resort whilst the other half ventured into town. The group that stayed pretty much lazed around not doing much. Very tiring stuff. The adventurous group found a public beach and settled there. Reports tell me that it was not great and was full of tourists, backpackers and people trying to sell something..


The rest of the day was spend lazing around the pool. We grabbed a ride into town for dinner at a place called Holy Cow which was nice.


Tomorrow, island hopping and boat rides. Should be fun.


PS. Breakfast is awesome!

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Today has been incredible.

It all started with a 10hr bus ride which sounds bad but was actually really good. Not sure why. It was really comfortable and I suppose the company was niot too bad. Some of the boys managed to get some lovely pictures of everyone sleeping. Attractive.

When we arrived at Sihanoukville, we got a bit lost but it was worth it. When we pulled into the hotel, I'm not quite sure anyone believed we were actaully in the right place. The resort we are staying at (Sokha, Sihanoukville) is absolutely incredible. Probably the best place I have ever and will ever stay at... The rooms are incredible and there is a private beach. And two awesome pools. And watersports. And a free gym. And a free spa. And so on...

After getting over our disbelief (I'm still not sure we are in the rigt place - this is a school trip right???), we chilled out in the pool and I tried to swim with little success.For dinner, we had seafood pizza, followed by crab and squid and brown soup. Vey nice. Very local. Very cheap.

We had a quick walk down the beach which was very romatic although the atmostpher was slightly ruined by Miss Routeldge who kept screaming at little crabs she though she could see.

Tomorrow, we have a free day. Plan is to chill out. Mr Tongue and I have devised a beachside duathlon which we shall be doing at 7am in the morning. Looking forward to catching some rays.

Which way is the beach???

Angkor Wat

Today was a pretty chilled out day. This was the case from the start with breakfast at 7:30am and coaches leaving at 8am (as opposed tobreakfast at 6:30 and leaving at 7am).

We visited the historical site of Angkor Wat, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, temple complexes in the world. We visited two other temples before climbing the main one. There were stairs up, but you basically had to climb. Not one for those with a fear of heights... However, the top was a breath of fresh air - there was a constant breeze cooling us down from the Cambodian heat.

There was a revolution at lunch today (possibly inspired by the views of Angkor Wat). Many of the kids were fed up with the Cambodian food and went off menu by ordering additional Western food as well as getting sweet and sour food for their rice. Some had burgers and chips whilst others had panninis. Consequently, dinner plans were scrapped and we went back to the amazing resturant we went to yesterday but with a western set menu which was nice. The kids were overjoyed! The chicken still had lemon on it though.

After dinner we walked the markets some more and Mr Tongue bought even more stuff.

Tomorrow we hit the road for the "holiday"section of our visit. We will leave at 7am and go south to Sihanoukville. I believe all the campling and hiking is over, although I did manage to convince one of the pupils that we were camping on the beach (which would not have been too bad). As far as I'm aware, there is no fixed plan of action although there are rumours of a boat trip and jumping into open waters which should be fun for me considering I can't swim!

Not sure waht Internet access will be like for the next few days so may not be able to blog again until our stopover at South Korea. We're staying in a hotel so it should be fine.

We built this house...

We built this house out of bamboo and wood (to the tune of Starship, "We built this city")

We built it! No pictures yet as I'm not sure how to do that on the hotel computer but we have done it!

Over the last four days, we have been camping at a village school about 1hr from Siem Reap. The showers consisted of a scoop and a rather large bucket/bin; toilets consisted of squatting with some rather large insects.

The first day we were building was mainly prep work. The team was spilit into two as there were two houses to be built. We stripped bamboo and lay the floor of the houses. It was very hard work  espicialy in the heat but the kids soldiered on and made good progress.

On the second day, we started making the wall frames out of bamboo and wire - not a nail in sight. People got lots of cuts on fingers and the dusty sandy environment did not help. We managed to finished the frames on one house, ready for weaving.

Third day was mainly weaving. Actually, it was more attaching as opposed to weaving, palm leaves with more wire. This meant more cuts. Lovely.

The forth day was a half day as the monks were due to arrive at 2pm for the house blessing. We split the team so that there were more people working on one house as it was slightly bigger and had a bit more to do. Despite a slow start, both houses were done by 12pm (and decorated with baloons!).

We have decided to name the houses Elsa and Berwick.

The food has been amazing (well, I have enjoyed it!) The kids don't seem to like it as much as me which is great for me as I get to clean their plates! Quiute a few are craving burgers and pizzas. Others are fed up with the lemon flavouring. Nevertheless, everyone seems to be having the time of their lives.

Tomorrow, Angkor Wat. Should be amazing.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Good morning Cambodia!

We arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia at 1am local time and it was straight to bed for a 6am wake up. It was 22km trek day! The first few kilometres were pretty much straight up which was very tough with the sun. Apprently it is monsoon season but it is really dry and there is a distinct lack of rain. The top was quite nice and we ended at our waterfall campsite which was amazing.

The next morning we treked back down another route. There were a lot of stairs this side and it was a much shorter route.

We visited both building sites and met the families we will be helping which was very emotional.

This morning we are off for 4 days to finish the buildings off.

Everyone is still alive!

Incheon Airport, South Korea

We have made it to South Korea!

Korean Air is amazing. I had so much legroom! The food was good. I had a Korean dish called bibimbap which is essentially rice with stuff. The kids were very excited about the entertainment on offer during the flight and general features of their seat (James had a little mini rave with a light show, taking full advantage of the light switch on his entertainment remote...) I also beat Mr Tongue twice at chess... The kids were well behaved despite being 15 mins late for the first meeting point. Everyone made it onto the plane at Heathrow as well despite a minibus malfunction!

This airport in South Korea is also incredible. I am writing this blog from a tablet pc courtesy of Samsung. There is also free Internet! Yes, free! Or complementary... A rarely used word in London.

We now have a 5 hour wait for our 5 hour flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Will update as soon as I can whilst in Cambodia! Keep checking back!

We lost the kids - some peace at last!