After a night in Nairobi (on a real bed!!) we crossed the border into Tanzania, passing Massai men wrapped in their bright red and purple blankets, herding their goats and cattle through the mountains and fields. Our first night was spent camping at a snake park, luckily we did a tour of the snakes the following morning because if I had have found out that snakes who eat whole people while they’re sleeping and snakes that have venom so strong that you die within seven steps were in enclosures less than 100m away from me, I probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep.

The next day we stopped for a tour through a village, I can’t remember the name of the village but the translation was Mosquito River, argh! We walked through the rice fields where the locals were yelling and banging pots to keep away the birds.

We continued driving through Tanzania and stopped at a town not far from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park – where we would be heading the following day. We were up early and packed our tents and day packs onto Safari 4WD’s to drive into the park. Our drive to the edge of the crater was rather chilly, and with thick cloud surrounding the mountain we didn’t get much of a view. We continued down the other side and saw Baboons, then some Giraffes, Buffalo and Zebras who were staying away from the Hyena that was also wandering along the roadside. The Massai were grazing their goats and cattle on the plains as they are allowed to graze in the Conservation Area but not in the Serengeti National Park. Our drive to the campsite was incredible; we saw so many animals including a leopard in a tree and a pride of lions with the large male perched high on a rock just like in the Lion King!

As we slept that night lions roamed around our campsite, calling to each other in low growls. When a couple of people from our group got up early to go on a hot air balloon ride they saw them eating a buffalo they had killed during the night. We spent the morning on a game drive searching for a cheetah or something being eaten. We didn’t see either of those, but we did see more giraffes, lions, hyenas, some hippos and some elephants. It really is an amazing experience to see these animals roaming around in their natural environment. After a relaxing lunch back at the campsite we headed out for another game drive. Before long we came across hundreds of vultures circling, which usually means something just died. We drove over and the smell hit us before we saw anything, the smell of death (which STINKS by the way). As we got closer we passed more scavenger birds perched in trees and a couple of crocodiles in the river. The smell told us that it was not a recent death and when we saw a number of buffalo carcasses in the river our leader Moses guessed that they probably drowned with a sudden flood down the river.

The next morning we returned to the Conservation area and made our way into the Ngorongoro Crater, the whole time on the look out for a kill or a cheetah. On the way we almost got to see a kill when we spotted a group of lions stalking some zebras, but quite a few vehicles had arrived and frightened the zebras away from the waterhole. Still no cheetah… From the rim we had an amazing view of the whole crater with a lake in the middle and hundreds of animals that looked like tiny dots in the distance. As we got closer we could see the zebras and wildebeest grazing on the grass. We finally got to see a cheetah hiding in the grass and some flamingos in the lake. As we drove around we saw more warthogs, elephants and lions and apparently a rhino in the distance, but it was REALLY far away.

The next day we drove through Arusha and Moshi, stopping at Amani children’s home for a game of soccer (which we lost), before arriving in Marangu; a village on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro. While there we had a tour of the lush green village and learnt about the Village Education Project. The project was set up by Katy Allen who was determined to improve the standards of the school buildings and support teachers to further their subject knowledge and teaching practice. The school had an amazing library full of resources and the community also had a computer lab for use by students and the wider community. It really was an incredible achievement.

After Marangu we drove up into the Usumbara mountains to Lushuto and spent some time walking through the surrounding villages before heading to Dar es Salaam and then on to beautiful beaches of Zanzibar. The main town on Zanzibar is Stone Town where we stayed one night, spending the day wandering around and getting lost in the maze of narrow streets then eating a local dinner at the food market. I had a meat Zanzibar Pizza for dinner then a Banana and chocolate pizza for dessert, YUM! We stopped for a Spice tour on our way to the northern beaches, where we spent most of our time relaxing on the beach.

Back on mainland Tanzania we headed south to Malawi. The first stop was Kande Beach on the shores of Lake Malawi, where the waves were bigger than on any other beach I’ve seen since being away. The threat of scary parasitic worms that may or may not live in the water and the crazy windy weather kept me out of the water, so I spent most of the time reading on the beach. We had a night in Luwawa forest then a night at a nearby village where slept in the house of the Village Headman, watched a traditional dance performance and got to taste local food.

We left Malawi behind and drove to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, then on to Livingstone the next day. The Victoria Falls were amazing!! The mist from the can be seen from quite far away, and as you get closer you can hear the thunderous sound of the falls. Because the rainy season had just ended there was lots of water in the Zambezi river so as we got close the mist was like pouring rain. As we walked around the falls we got SOAKED, but it was so much fun : )

Our campsite was right next to the Zambezi river, so we spent some time relaxing at the restaurant and spent some time in town. We also decided to do a package of adventure activities in a nearby gorge. The first one was an abseil which was lots of fun, then we did the zipline, where we pretty much ran and jumped off a cliff then glided out into the middle of the gorge. The last thing that we did was the gorge swing, where you fall off the cliff then swing out between the two sides of the gorge. Chris and I decided to do a tandem jump where we fell off the cliff backwards. Turns out that wasn’t the best idea. I was terrified as we stood with our backs towards the cliff and our heels out over the edge. The guide started counting down and when we got to one we began to fall together. It was a horrible feeling, we seemed to freefall for ages. When the rope became tight it felt like we were in a car accident and Chris got whiplash quite badly. As we swung through the gorge I tried to appreciate the beautiful view, but got distracted by Chris who thought that he had broken his back. When we got off the swing another girl from our group was still sitting down there, she also had whiplash. We spent some time waiting for other people to have their turn, but seeing the three of us sitting in the bottom of the gorge had put off a few people. When Chris and Leanne could walk again we began the long walk back out of the gorge. About half way we heard someone getting ready to jump and when we turned around we saw their poor bodies falling from the cliff then almost snapping in half when the rope became tight. Had we seen that before we had our turn perhaps we would have reconsidered. We heard later that the girl who had just jumped ended up with a broken rib and that a high percentage of people who jump backwards and who go tandem end up with whiplash.

We left Livingstone early the next morning on a public bus back to Lusaka and were hoping to catch a connecting bus back up to Tanzania, but there weren’t any on that day so we had to find some accommodation for the night. We made our way to the only hostel in town and were so lucky to get the last two available beds. The next day we got on a bus for the 30 hour ride to Dar es Salaam. We arrived in the middle of the night and caught a taxi to our accommodation right on the beach. For the rest of the week we spent time sleeping in and relaxing on the beach.

Early in the morning on Saturday 19th June I left our little hut on the beach and braved the chaos of the bus station to catch a bus to Moshi. I my seat was between a child and a man, which was fine until another man got in and sat on the kid’s seat, then we had three adults and a kid squished onto three small seats with no leg room… it was a long bumpy 10 hour journey. From the bus station in Moshi I caught a taxi to the Big Mzungu House where I met the staff and volunteers I’ll be living with for the next few months. Everyone seems really nice. I’ll post an update about my time volunteering on the ‘Teaching in Moshi’ page.

A huge thank-you to everyone who has made a donation. After seeing the school I know that the money will make a big difference. I can’t wait to let you know about it, so stay tuned!

Miss you all, keep the messages and emails coming!

Our tour through Africa was split into two sections, so I’ve also split my blog in two. The first tour began in Nairobi, Kenya. We boarded our truck which would be our home for the next 16 days. It had lockers for our belongings and space for tents, chairs, table, gas cooker, cooking utensils, cutlery and food. We then set off to Lake Nakuru, being stared and waved at by locals as we drove along. Lake Nakuru is in the Rift Valley, and while it is not originally home to many animals, the animals that have been introduced into the park have flourished. We set up our tents then got back on the truck for our first game drive, it was so much fun! I thought that a safari would be interesting, but never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did. The first animals we saw (apart from the baboons hanging around our campsite) were zebras, only about 2 metres from the truck. Seeing them in a natural environment and amongst other animals was such a different experience than seeing them in the zoo. We continued on past a number of birds, including Flamingos which make a really weird sound as they eat, as well as lots of buffalo and more baboons. In Lake Nakuru we were also lucky to see some giraffe off in the distance, a warthog, a lioness in a tree and a couple of rhinos! After the national park we spent some time at Sadia Childrens Home, in the nearby town of Gil Gil. The kids were so happy and full of energy, it was lots of fun to spend time playing around with them.

The next day we left Kenya and crossed the border into Uganda. Passing through it’s capital of Kampala and stopping in Kabale Forest, home to a number of primate species. Our main aim on our walk into the forest was to find Chimpanzees, which didn’t take us long as they are VERY loud! When we found them they were high up in the trees eating figs, then throwing down the outer skins… which landed awfully close to where we were standing. After that we visited Queen Elizabeth National Park where we took a boat cruise around the lake to find hippos! They also make a pretty funny noise, sort of like an old man with a deep voice laughing. As well as hippos we saw buffalo, a crocodile, some lions in the distance and lots of birds.

We continued East through Uganda then crossed into Rwanda, first stopping at the capital Kigale where we visited the genocide memorial museum. It was an interesting and saddening experience, especially since the massacre occurred so recently. While the events leading up to it span decades, the killing occurred when the one tribe were called by their political leaders to wipe out another tribe. Neighbours turned against each other, people who were once friends became enemies. As an outsider it’s so hard to imagine what it would have been like to experience such a horrific event. Bodies of men, women, children and babies were left in the street for days. People who had sought refuge in a church were crushed when the building was demolished by bulldozers. It’s really no surprise that the people of Rwanda want to move forward, and now hat tourism has returned they are so welcoming to visitors.

Our main reason for visiting Rwanda was to track the mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park. We left early in the morning, prepared for a long hike into the National Park, but it turned out that the hardest part was walking to the start of the trek after our “4WD” couldn’t make it up the road (it was a rather precious vehicle). After a short walk we were at the edge of the park and joined by armed rangers, then only a few minutes after entering the thick forest we had spotted our first gorilla. Instinctively we all pointed at it as we passed to alert the person walking behind, breaking the very first rule we were given ‘Do not point at the gorillas’ – they find it threatening because it looks like you have a gun and could be a poacher.We followed these giant creatures as they made their way through the forest in search of food. Before long they had climbed the park fence and found their meal… eucalyptus trees! The gorillas in Rwanda, in Africa (!) apparently love to chew on the bark of the Aussie eucalypt. The trees were introduced into the region because they grow very fast and straight, and are used for constructing houses and fences. After an amazing hour following the gorillas we had to leave and let them go about their business in peace. We returned to our accommodation to find that the truck with all of our belongings was missing, along with the crew, and the guy who had the key to our room was still on his trek…so we ate the lunch up at the bar. The truck did eventually return, but before we had a chance to get to it the crew had already left again leaving the trucked locked and us without a key. When the other group got back we could get into the dorm room, but most people needed things from the truck to have a shower or do washing after our muddy trek. The crew didn’t return with a key until 5pm and by that time the whole group was quite annoyed. That night our nightly meeting was a little tense to say the least.

The next day we left Rwanda behind and returned to Uganda stopping at a campsite by Lake Mburu where warthogs, hippos and hyenas roamed around at night. We then continued across the country to Jinja, the adventure capital of Uganda. Megan and Chris did a Bungy jump over the Nile then later we walked into town with some others from our group. We felt like celebrities as we walked along the road and kids ran out from their homes waving and yelling “MZUNGU!!!” ( which means white person or traveler depending who you ask). One lady wasn’t so pleased to see us and started yelling angrily as we walked passed. I’m not sure what we did to offend her, but even with my limited knowledge of Swahili I picked up that her anger was directed at us (imagine raving angry cat lady… except no cats). The town was quite big but the market was disappointing, although apparently there is a better one that we didn’t see. After a couple of hours we decided to head back, picking up a Rolex on the way (delicious street food made with a round flat bread, called chapati, and omlette rolled together). Over the day and a bit I spent in Jinja, probably the most adventurous thing I did was walk past the angry lady!

We were soon back in Kenya and after a stop over in Eldoret, and a rather strange cheese factory tour, we were back in Nairobi saying goodbye to some people from our group and hello to some new people who will be joining us on our trip South.

Well that’s all of my internet time for today, hopefully the second part will be up within the week!

Miss you all, and keep the messages coming!

We flew into Cairo early Friday morning and spent our first few hours there sleeping in our hotel room! When we ventured out into the city and were surprised to find many shops closed. A man we met in the street told us that for them Friday is a day of rest, like Sunday at home, but that many of the tourist places would still be open. He recommended some places for us to visit, taught us some useful Arabic words and offered to give us his contact number incase we needed any help. We followed him into his papyrus shop where he offered us tea and coffee and showed us how they make papyrus paper. In his shop he sold Egyptian style paintings on papyrus paper and because he was in such a good mood, as he had become a grandfather the previous day, he offered us an apparently good price. I really liked one of the paintings so I ended up buying one. Little did we know that during our time in Cairo we would be approached by many helpful men offering to take us back to their papyrus gallery. Ahh well. We did take Uncle Ahmed’s advice (he insisted that he was our Egyptian uncle now) and visited the Cairo tower that night just before sunset. The sky was a little hazy, but from high up we got a sence of how big the city was and we could even see one of the pyramids faintly in the distance, it didn’t seem real. We also visited the Egyptian Museum while in Cairo, my favourite exhibitions were the Royal Mummies, the treasures of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the ancient jewellery, although it was all very interesting.

The next day we visited the Bent and Red Pyramids at Dashur and the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. We were able to go inside the Red pyramid, which was very exciting, but just as we got to the burial chamber (the point furthest away from the entrance) the lights went out. Luckily we happened to have torches with us, but some of the other tourists were really freaking out. That night we joined our tour group and the next day headed out to the Giza Plateau to see the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. We also got to go inside the pyramids at Giza, but these ones were a lot more crowded. It was quite hot outside, but definitely felt hotter squished inside the pyramid with all the other people breathing the same air. Inside the burial chamber sat the sarcophagus, but there were no decorations on the walls. We had some time to take photos outside, then we headed back to Cairo to visit the Citadel. The guidebooks don’t seem to like this place, but I thought it was really nice. The Mohamed Ali Mosque was quite beautiful, and because the citadel is up on a hill you get a fantastic view of the city with the Pyramids in the background. That night we caught an overnight train to Aswan, but unlike the sleeper trains in Thailand, we just got a seat. It sure wasn’t the cleanest train I’ve ever travelled in, but we made it to our destination in one piece (although I was busting to go to the toilet because the ones on the train were so gross).

Aswan is by the Nile in the Southern part of Egypt and has become home to many Nubian people since the Nile was dammed and forced the relocation of their villages. We were lucky enough to visit a Nubian Village and eat a traditional meal in one of the houses, quite a unique experience. The house was made of sandstone and only partially roofed. The floor is covered with soft sand and we ate our meal on mats on the ground, the food was delicious and very filling. The next day we got up really early to join a convoy to take us further south to visit the Abu Simbil temples. Only 40km from Sudan, the convoy is supposed to make sure the tourists are safe on their journey, however, when our driver decided to stop for a smoke the whole convoy passed us by and we didn’t see them again till we got there. The Temples were incredible, firstly the giant statues standing 18m tall, but also inside we found hieroglyphics and intricate wall carvings, some of which still had colour on them. What was even more amazing was that these temples used to be at a different location, but when the Nile was dammed that area was flooded so they had to move the temple piece by piece to higher ground. Later that day we visited the Philae temple which also had to be moved due to the dam.

We left Aswan on a Falucca (traditional boat) powered by the wind. Unfortunately there was no wind so we floated slowly with the current, occasionally catching a slight breeze when we had the chance. It certainly was a relaxing day, the top of the boat was flat with a giant mattress over it and all I did all day was write in my diary. The toilet was the river bank (I’m guessing we stopped at the same place most other boats stop… eww) and the shower was the Nile, but only our sailors Mustafa and Amada were brave enough to go in. At the place where we stopped overnight we had a luxury toilet, a seat over a hole in the sand and canvas walls. After eating dinner by candlelight on the boat we joined a group from a different boat around the campfire for some Nubian singing and dancing, then fell asleep under the stars.

We left the felucca behind and boarded a minibus , stopping at Edfu temple (which is one of the best preserved temples in Egypt and dedicated to the Falcon headed god Horus) on our way to Luxor. That afternoon we visited Karnak temple, the largest temple in Egypt, which was built over many years by a number of different kings. In ancient times the only one who was allowed to enter the temple was the king, who would enter twice a day to make offerings to the gods. The next day Chris and some others from our group went Hot Air Ballooning early in the morning, then we all met up again to visit the Valley of the Kings on the West side of the Nile. I really enjoyed visiting the tombs, the carvings and decorations inside are so beautiful and often showed scenes from the Book of the Dead. In one of the tombs we visited we could see the different stages of construction, even lines where drawings had been corrected by the supervisor before they were carved. We also visited the Valley of the Workers, where the people who built the royal tombs lived. Only ruins remained of their village, but the tombs were quite beautifully decorated and showed scenes of daily life. After that we drove to Hatshepsut’s Temple, which has a unique design and is built into a mountain. Hatshepsut was the only female Pharaoh and she had to make up a story about being the daughter of a god before the people would accept her. She also took the throne from her young step son, who then later destroyed images and monuments dedicated to her. As we walked around her temple we could see all the places where images of her had been completely removed. After dinner that night we visited the market, which is always an experience. We got hassled by men yelling for us to come into their ‘No hassle’ shop. And it was pretty good for my ego being called beautiful as I passed by, or Chris being called a Lucky man… until you realise that they say it to every female that passes by…

From Luxor we headed west into the desert where we traded our air-conditioned minibus for a 4WD. We then continued further into the desert stopping at an Oasis overnight before heading to the White Desert to camp. What an incredible landscape. Natural chalk sculptures, caused by years of erosion, tower overhead unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The whole area used to be covered by ocean, so if you look carefully around the base of the sculptures you find fossilised shells, quite bazar. That night we ate and slept under the stars which was absolutely magical until the sandstorm hit. I slept curled up with my sleeping sheet tucked completely over my head as the wind and sand pelted us relentlessly. I woke expecting to be completely covered by sand, but luckily that wasn’t quite the case. when I got up you could see exactly where I had been positioned on the mattress, as everywhere else was covered with sand. I touched my face and could feel a layer of dust and sand that was now stuck there, even a wet wipe couldn’t get it all off. We packed up camp and got back into the 4WD’s to head further into the desert over the sand dunes. We nearly didn’t make it up a couple of times and almost got bogged, but our driver knew what to do and had us hurtling down the other side eventually. It was so much fun! (You might have to take me on a 4WD trip when I get home Dad) We passed through another oasis and the Black Desert before arriving at Siwa Oasis.

Unfortunately our arrival here was not a pleasant one. While driving through the outer streets of the town (a little too fast in my opinion) our car was involved in a crash, hitting a boy on a bike and a truck parked at the side of the road. Luckily the driver had seen the boy and slammed on the brakes so the collision was not as bad as it could have been, but as soon as we stopped we jumped out (first aid kit in hand) to see what had happened. The windscreen was cracked, where Heather collided with it, the front corner of the 4WD was smashed, where it hit the truck, and the boy was on the ground, luckily he was awake. They sat him down as a crowd began to gather. We brought him some water and encouraged them to let him lay down, but no one understood English and our tour leader was in the other 4WD. They were trying to make the boy walk around, and it was then I saw the huge bump on the back of his head. When the car hit, it had got the bike and flipped the boy onto the road (which was luckily made of dirt and sand, not concrete). An older local man was starting to get quite angry, and when our leader arrived he organised another car to get us away as quickly as possible. We heard later that the boy was ok.

The people of Siwa have been less exposed to Western culture than other towns, so here we were encouraged to wear a head scarf, long sleeves and to cover down to our ankles. With our scarves on we walked to the Sheli Fort in the middle of town which used to be houses made of sand and mud, but were destroyed when a huge storm brought lots of rain through. On top of the fort we had a fantastic view of the city, lake, the Mountain of the Dead and a magnificent sunset. The next day, wearing long sleeves, long pants and a head scarf, we set of on bikes to see the town (I was very cautious of passing cars).We first stopped at the Mountain of the Dead, where the people of Siwa used to be buried, then continued passed the Oracle Temple, finishing at Cleopatra’s Spring. The spring was warm so a few of us went for a swim then enjoyed a delicious juice while we dried off. Riding around and interacting with some of the local people was such a nice way to see the town.

The next day we left on a minibus to Alexandria, the second largest city in Egypt and in my opinion much nicer than Cairo. Sitting right next to the Mediterranean Sea, we explored this city by foot, visiting the library, fort and the best juice shop in Egypt. We also happened to be there during the second annual Alexandria World Music Festival so after dinner we walked down to check it out. Being as stingy as we are, we decided not to pay for tickets, but rather just listen from outside the barrier. Up on stage were a French band called Les Poulettes then later an Egyptian band called Salalem. We were having a great time dancing at the back when we were approached by one of the organisers who invited us in without a ticket! We continued to dance (now 10 metres closer to the stage than before) and Chris noticed that we were being filmed. I guess since not many other people were dancing they must have asked us to come in so they could get some dancing footage! By the end of the night quite a few more people had joined us, and it seemed like more people were turned towards our group than the stage. Once the music was over we caught a micro-bus back to the best juice shop in Egypt (well the bus took us about 100m in the right direction before we had to get off because it was going somewhere else) then headed back to the hotel. It was a fantastic night.

We drove back to Cairo the next morning then caught a flight to Nairobi in Kenya. The place we are staying here has a large mansion surrounded by beautiful gardens (sure our room is a box with a bunk in it, but we’ll only be sleeping in there anyway!) In a couple of days we’ll be starting our next tour, but until then some sleep ins and lots of relaxing are in order.

Thanks again to those people who have sent me emails and messages, I love hearing from you! Not sure how often I’ll have internet while I’m travelling around Africa, so I’ll get in contact when I can.

Bye for now,

Karen

We spent a few days in the city of Chiang Mai, but didn’t really do a lot. We made the most of being able to sleep in, spent time exploring the city and the night markets, and on one of the days did a zipline tour through the jungle (kind of like a high ropes course where you get to go on flying foxes from one tree to another, it was lots of fun!).

In Chiang Mai we also met up with our new group for the hilltribe trek. Leaving our big backpacks behind at the hotel, we made our way out of the city and up into the mountains. Stopping for our leader Chai to eat some crickets and ant eggs at a local market, and to pick up our food for the next few days (thankfully our food didn’t involve insects of any kind… that I know of). We were dropped off half way up a dirt road, then with our day packs on, we began our trek. The narrow track wound its way around the mountains, down into valleys and then all the way back out of them again. While we were under the shade of the trees it was still quite hot, and I had turned a delightful shade of red by the time we reached half way. Before getting the first village Chai and our local guide Boon made us waterproof hats out of giant leaves, which we were still wearing as they lead us through the village and introduced us to some of the local people… we looked ridiculous! But it was all good fun. We then made our way to the house where we would be sleeping that night. Just out of the main village the wooden house stood next to a bubbling creek and terraced rice fields, a spectacular place to wake up to in the morning! The creek also doubled as a shower, but only had the one temperature… cold! Which actually wasn’t so bad after a few hours of walking. That night we ate lots of food, sung around a campfire, were baffled by brainteasers and fell asleep to the sound of the nearby creek.

On the second day our trek took us through bamboo and pine forests, different from the jungle the day before. Parts of the forest had recently been cleared by fires which left blackened trees and the smell of smoke. After climbing up a never-ending hill we walked along the top of a mountain for a while before descending into a valley where lunch, and our transport for the next part of our journey, awaited us. The Elephants were waiting for us by the river and after lunch a couple of people from our group helped give them a bath before the saddles were put on. A rope was all that held us in place as we began our slow journey to the next village. It was quite amazing to see such large creatures negotiate their way along narrow tracks, over fallen trees and down steep pathways. Even more amazing was how the flimsy rope managed to stop us from falling off while all that happened! The second village was larger than the first (it even had a boarding school for children from smaller nearby villages to live at during the school term) and the house we were staying at was behind some other houses and had chickens, pigs and dogs roaming around. With a path straight down to the river from our house it’s not surprising that the first thing we did was go for a swim. After that we joined Chai, Boon, another tour group and a whole heap of locals for a game of soccer on the school oval. I was on the No Shirt team, but they kindly let me keep my shirt on! It was very dusty, and I think the whole time I touched the ball about 4 times, but it was still fun.

On the last day of the trek we took the option of floating to our final destination on a bamboo raft. Moments of crazy fun white water rafting broke up the otherwise peaceful journey through the jungle valley to the restaurant for lunch. We then headed back to the city and enjoyed a night in the hotel before getting on an overnight train to Bangkok, the end of our tour. We then spent the day wandering around, trying to avoid large groups of people wearing red. We ended up at a shopping centre (air conditioned!) where we watched a movie and I bought a new waterproof camera. We then headed back to the railway station to board another overnight train to Surat Thani. The next morning we caught a bus the rest of the way to Phuket.

Our accommodation in Phuket was on Banana Beach, Coral island. A 30 minute long-boat ride from the main island and the smaller of two beaches on that side of the island, we slept in a hut on the beach with a mosquito net as our walls… it was awesome! We fell asleep and woke up to the sound of the ocean, and for some reason there was lightning every night we were there. During the day we spent most of the time relaxing on the beach or swimming amongst the hundreds of fish in the coral reef just off shore, it doesn’t get much more relaxing than that.

A few days ago we flew from Thailand to Egypt, a completely different world. After spending the last couple of months in Asian countries I’m looking forward to learning about a completely different culture. We will spend the next two weeks travelling around Egypt, so I’ll fill you in on our next adventure soon.

I hope all is well back home and that you have enjoyed your easter holidays. I’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to so don’t forget to send me an email or leave me a message. Also a HUGE thank-you to those people who have made a donation to help the kids at the school in Moshi, I really appreciate it. Can’t wait to hear from you!

From Karen

The first day we rode 13km through local villages, greeted by smiles and “Sa baa dii” (hello) from some of the locals as we passed. We turned onto a dirt track that led off the main road then left our bikes and walked across the bridge into a beautiful little village of wooden houses. We soon noticed that we were being followed by a local man who showed us the way when the track forked in two directions. When he followed us into the cave we realised that he would be our guide for the day. We spent over an hour exploring the first cave. As we descended further into the darkness I had to push horror movie plots, about two unsuspecting tourists who follow a murderer into a cave and never return, out of my head. The formations in the cave were beautiful, lit up by only our three torches. All we could hear was the sound of our own footsteps, we didn’t even see any other people in the cave. We continued until we got to a small hole with shallow water at the bottom, “water tat” said our guide, Goi, making hand motions in the air. “Ahh waterfall, yes” Chris and I said together, not quite realising that we had agreed to something. Goi crouched down and made his way through the opening, then Chris and I followed, trying not to stand in the water. On the other side we could hear the sound of running water and Goi showed us that in the rainy season the water level rose so high that we wouldn’t be able to get this far. We kept walking, avoiding puddles of mud and water, until we got to a BIG puddle of water. “Off” said Goi, pointing to our shoes and then to a rocky area above the water. We looked at each other then took off our shoes, “water tat” Goi said again, pointing into the darkness. We followed our guide further upstream, the water cooling our feet, until we got to an area out of the water. “Water tat” said Goi, this time making swimming motions with his arms “swim” he said. We did have our bathers on, but that was because there was another cave called the Water Cave and this was not it. “Umm…” I looked at Chris unsure “Not far” said Goi. So we got changed and stepped into the water. It was freezing and the ground was very slippery. We made our way into deeper water. I attempted to stay by the rocky edge so I didn’t have to get completely wet but that didn’t last long. The waterfall was beautiful, it looked like a series of ponds at different heights with water cascading down from one to another. Definitely worth the swim. We headed back into the water and I stupidly kicked my foot onto the bottom. With one hand to hold the torch out of the water and one foot out of action, my attempt at swimming was not very graceful. In wet muddy clothes and reunited with our shoes, we made our way back out of the cave, still not passing any other tourists. It was a lot warmer outside now. We walked to the second cave, known as the Elephant cave (or Cave 2 if you’re Goi) which was not as big as the first cave but had more beautiful formations. My favourite was like a white, sparkly curtain that hung from the roof of the cave. The thrid cave was the Water Cave, which had tubes (the inner tube from a large tire) sitting at the front, headlamps for us to wear and a rope to pull ourselves along. There was no walking in this cave, we just floated around and paddled with our arms. It was good fun! After the water cave Goi took us back to the village, we paid him, then said goodbye and made our way back into town.

The next day we rode out to the Blue Lagoon on bumpy, unmade roads (not so comfortable after riding bikes the day before). The cave was pretty much 200 metres up a cliff and opened out into a huge cavern. A white skull and cross was painted on one of the walls above a hole that seemed to go on forever (according to Chris that is, I was too scared to go anywhere near it!) and we found a huge clicking spider. Back down the cliff some local kids were playing in the blue lagoon dressed in regular clothes, because it is considered rude in their culture to wear anything less than shorts and a t-shirt in public. We jumped in too and had a great time laughing with the kids, playing on the rope swing and jumping off the tree. Eventually more tourists arrived and the kids left. When other tourists got in wearing only board shorts or bikinis we understood why. Of course with a few more guys there now, displays of manliness were sure to follow. They started flipping off things and climbing higher off the tree to jump off. One guy from Australia climbed to the high branch and flipped off. As he got out of the water limping I realised that he had cut his foot on a rock, so I took over the first aid kit that I just happened to have (What… I’m travelling with Chris, usually he’s the one doing crazy stuff) He, and his very unsurprised girlfriend, were very grateful. After seeing that (and me reminding him that the medical system in Laos is basically non-existent) Chris decided he had to jump from the high branch too.

We dried off a bit and headed back, stopping at the Shake Shack restaurant for lunch, really nice food plus it supports local farmers and uses profits to provide English Lessons, bonus! On our ride out that morning we had passed a number of fake blue lagoon signs where locals had tried to trick unsuspecting tourists to go to the cave on their property. We decided to stop at one on our way back, and met some of those poor unsuspecting tourists who were a little shocked that there weren’t more people and that the blue lagoon was actually green! There was also a cave that was once again up a cliff (ok so they’re just really steep stairs, but it’s still hard work). We were met at the bottom by two boys wanting to be our guides and after negotiating a price they led the way. It was only a small cave and very steep inside too, but good fun. After our climb I was bright red and sweating more than I thought was possible, so we headed to the lagoon. Weary of the green colour I just dipped my feet in. The last cave we visited that day was a cave with a lagoon inside. With dwindling funds we couldn’t pay a guide, so we headed into the cave by ourselves. Well we tried to, it took us about 10 minutes to figure out how to get in. The water inside was freezing! but luckily there were free tubes to float around on. Our torches were almost dead and because it was so late in the day not much light was coming in from outside, so we decided to get out. While we were changing, a tourist with a young local guide wandered down, she didn’t want to go swimming, but we were lucky that they came because when we lead the way back out of the cave, we went the wrong way and her guide helped us out!

After Vang Vieng we travelled to Luang Probang, a world heritage listed town dotted with temples. Here we got up early to give alms to the many monks in the town and visited a beautiful waterfall that we could swim in. The air here was very smokey, as there were fires burning in the surrounding areas. At this time of year the local people burn large areas of land to clear them before they plant rice in the rainy season. After the terrible bushfires back home last year, it was very eerie to be walking around while ash fell from the sky. Our trip out of Laos was completely different from our trip in. We caught a slow boat up the Mekong, passing small villages and people panning for gold along the river. We then got in vans and made the 6 hour journey on bumpy, windy, unmade roads to the border. We passed a number of hill tribe villages along the way, where people lived in bamboo huts and seemed not to have many possessions. As the most bombed country in the world Laos is home to some of the poorest people, but with a huge reliance on tourism as a major source of income I could see why the towns we had visited were geared towards tourists.

We will spend the next few weeks in Thailand so I’ll let you know about that soon. Thanks for all your messages and emails! For those who are interested in making a donation to help the school I will be volunteering at, I have set up a PayPal link on the site (thanks mum for helping me test it out). I hope you all have a safe and happy Easter and enjoy your school holidays!

Missing you all (and the hot cross buns and the chocolate eggs), can’t wait to hear from you soon. From Karen

Before starting our Vietnam tour we visited Cu Chi with people from our last group (we actually went there twice because we didn’t realise that it was included in our next tour). The town is known for the narrow tunnels that run underneath it and were used by the Vietnamese people during the Vietnam/American war. Not only were they a way for soldiers to escape attack, or to sneak up on the enemy, but other men, women and children were forced to live in them while their villages were being bombed above them. The tunnels were very narrow and dark and joined various rooms and levels together. They had kitchens, living areas and even a hospital room, all under ground, it was quite amazing. Of course the tunnel we went through had to be made bigger for tourists, but we got to squeeze into one of the original entrance holes and it was very small! (See the video on the Photos page if you’re interested)

The next day, with our new group and tour leader we got to explore the city on Cyclos (like a bike with a seat at the front for the passenger). Coming from Phnom Pehn a few days earlier, it was a shock to see such a clean, modern looking city. We visited the War Museum and saw images of how chemicals used during the war not only effected people at the time, but continue to affect later generations of people who were exposed to it. We also saw the tiger cages, made of barbed wire, where a number of prisoners would be forced to stay out in the blistering sun without moving… as well as other horrible forms of torture. I was happy to leave. While it’s interesting to learn about, it’s quite depressing. We continued our tour of the city past the Palace and Cathedral and Pete and Chris both had a go at riding the Cyclos, their drivers both glad for the rest!

Leaving Saigon behind we headed further south to the Mekong Delta, home of our tour leader Thinh. It is a beautiful area, a network of rivers and creeks with bridges connecting islands together, and countless boats travelling around. You would think it to be a peaceful place, but many of the boats have really loud engines and sound more like a helicopter is coming in to land (which was more annoying at 3am). We were very privileged to have our home-stay here, at a house on stilts over the river which the owner designed himself. Lisa and I (being girls) got to help prepare spring rolls for dinner, while the boys played cards. That night Chris was sick, possibly from fish, possibly from a bad coconut (but definitely not from the spring rolls!), and when we had to get on a boat the next day he wasn’t all that excited about it. With the rivers now shallow from low tide we carefully made our way to a floating market. For some people these boats were not only their shop but also their home. They pack their boat full of produce, with one flying high on a stick to advertise what is for sale, and head out onto the water. Pineapples, sweet potato, pumpkins, bananas (just to name a few) were all for sale as boats floated between stores to make their purchases.

If the boat wasn’t bad enough for poor sick Chris, we then boarded a bus and made our way into the mountains on a narrow, windy road that is currently under construction. Miraculously we survived the chaos as hundreds of cars, scooters, buses and trucks weaved their way up and down as workers continued work on the road. We stopped at the Chicken Village near Prenn, home to a rural minority group who have their own language, and were greeted by excited children and a lovely lady who showed us how they weave materials and guided us through her village. The houses reminded me of those in Cambodia, small wooden dwellings often housing around 8 people, and most had animals or crops on their property. We then continued on to Dalat which in complete contrast resembled a European Town. Set amongst pine forests and hugely influenced by the French who settled here because of the cooler climate, the town was definitely something different. At night almost every building, and even trees, glowed with coloured lights. The night before we left, now that Chris was feeling much better, I got sick.

The next day we travelled back off the mountain, and me not feeling well with nothing left in my stomach, and being too scared to eat anything in case it came straight back out again, I was dreading the chaotic bus trip that was to come. Luckily… I thought… we went a completely different way. The road was still windy, but well made and not very busy. When we had our first stop and I found out that we only had 45km to go, I was sure I would survive. However, less than 500m into the final stint the road turned to dirt, and not a smooth dirt road, a bumpy, windy road that was also under construction. Large rocks being moved by machinery tumbled down the mountain from above, narrowly avoiding our bus. The 45km journey took a couple of hours, and by the time we arrived in NaTrang, I was happy to get off the bus. Still not wanting to eat, but needing something in my tummy I opted for some of Chris’s steamed rice and when we got to the hotel I slumped on the bed and was ready to sleep myself back to health. Less than 10 minutes had passed when Chris woke me to say that his throat felt funny. Thinking it could be an allergic reaction I suggested an antihistamine tablet, which he took then sat down on the bed, an anxious look on his face. About a minute later that anxiety was beginning to look like panic and he was complaining that it was getting harder to breathe and talk, so I left him in the room to go and find Thinh (our leader). At reception I saw Pete and Lisa, Pete is a human physiologist so I asked him if he could go and look at Chris, I then called Thinh and he told me to meet him at the room. The adrenalin had kicked in and from the person who could barely carry my backpack onto the lift, I bounded up two flights of stairs to find everyone surrounding Chris in our room. Thinh decided it was best to take him to the clinic so we quickly made our way to the taxi. By this time Chris was struggling with every breath and at the clinic they rushed him to a small room and got out a tank of oxygen. Still not any better they inserted a drip and gave him some tablets. For a couple of minutes he seemed to be getting better, then panicked he told me that he was having trouble breathing again. I called back the doctor and they put something else in his drip and gave him another tablet. I was so scared! and so very thankful to have Thinh there to interpret what was going on. Finally, when he was breathing normally again, they took some blood and an x-ray then hooked up to an old-fashioned heart rate monitor to try to find out what happened. They determined that it was an allergic reaction, probably to a medication he took for nausea the past few days. Even though he was feeling much better Chris had to stay until the drip finished, then had to come in the following day to have another one… not liking needles, hospitals or drips he wasn’t very happy about that.

Before going back to the clinic we took a boat tour out to a fishing village and I did some snorkelling around a nearby island. NaTrang is actually quite beautiful, especially once you are away from the many hotels and buildings (and hospitals) in the main town.

We left NaTrang and continued to travel North through Quy Nhon to Hoi Ahn, the town to get any item of clothing you want tailor-made in a day. I got some shoes, a skirt, some pants and a bikini, lots of fun! I wish I had a place like that at home that was similarly cheap and quick. The town is quite old and has a great atmosphere. Like Dalat, the buildings are influenced by the French, but it doesn’t have the coloured lights. It does have lots of traditional lanterns though, which look spectacular lit up at night. I also really enjoyed the cooking class that we did here that introduced us to a couple of simple Vietnamese dishes. Our teacher was very bubbly and made sure we had a great time, she even let us come upstairs to her house and do Karaoke after the class! The next morning we collected a bicycle each, left the main part of town and caught a boat to a nearby island. From there we caught a wooden canoe (one canoe, 3 passengers, 3 bikes and a driver) to another island where we met some of the local people and got to look around one of the houses. The family had quite a large block of land and used it to grow a number of fruits and vegetables, as well as keep pigs, cows and chickens. When they are not tending to the crops or animals the women weave sleeping mats as an extra source of income. During our time in Vietnam we have been collecting the free toiletries at every hotel, and as we rode around the town we gave them out to the local people. Toilet paper, cotton buds and combs were the biggest hit with the adults and the kids were happy to get a toothbrush or pen.

Leaving Hoi Ahn we made our way to Hue where we visited the ancient Citadel, a city complex surrounding the Kings forbidden city. The site was currently being restored, as parts of it were damaged during the war, but what we did see was very beautiful. Many of the ancient buildings and temples in Vietnam are built in a Chinese style – even complete with Chinese characters and writing that the Vietnamese people can’t read. We learnt that the buildings with dragons on the roof were for the King, and if there was a Phoenix then it was for the Queen or the King’s Concubines. That night we had a royal banquet where we got to dress in traditional clothes and were serenaded by traditional music while we ate dinner. Chris got to be the King and I was the Queen, but I don’t know how they survived in the warm weather wearing such heavy robes!

The next day we had a boat ride up Perfume river (named many years ago when the water was fragrant after flowing down from the mountains. It doesn’t smell like perfume anymore) then had a scooter ride through rural towns. I was a little nervous about going on the scooter, especially with a strange man driving, so our leader offered to be my driver. It was lots of fun and the country side was beautiful. That night we had to get food supplies for our 10 hour train ride the following day, so upon advice from Pete and Lisa we headed to the Big C, kind of like Coles and Kmart bundled together. Normally a trip to a shopping centre wouldn’t be an event, but this place was crazy. I wasn’t allowed to take my handbag in, so I left it as the lockers and headed inside. First stop: Bakery. Most of the bread on the shelves was gone (as we went at about 9pm) but a crowd was forming in the corner, when we got closer we realised that they were about to get fresh bread out of the oven. With already around 50 people milling around we decided to do other shopping first and come back later. When we returned there were only about 10 people, so I stood in the line. As the timer counted down closer to zero I realised that the line didn’t really mean anything, so I tried to make my way as close to the front as I could. Security guards were standing at either side of the counter sending people to the back of the crowd. As the bread came out of the oven the crowd of people surged forward and arms started waving everywhere calling out how many loaves they wanted. The upside to being in Asia was that I was taller than most of the other people! Eventually I got to the front of the crowd and scored my bread-stick, I’ve never been more excited to be holding a piece of bread, it was almost like a trophy. When I found Chris again he said that from where he was standing he could see that one of the security guards was taking bribes in return for him getting the bread without the customer having to line up! The shop also sold live food, including eels that attacked anyone who got to close to the tank. Good fun.

The train to Nihn Bihn was long, but gave me a chance to write my diary and do some reading. When we got off the train we were a little surprised by the drop in temperature, I even put a cardigan on when we went for dinner. The next day we continued on to Cuc Phong National Park, first visiting the Primate Rescue Centre, then walking through caves and forests, past the 1000 year old tree and finishing at an old swimming pool where our driver and Noel were fishing. I had a go and managed to pull out one of the biggest fish, which changed colour from black to pale grey when it was put in the bucket. The forests were beautiful, it was so nice to spend time in a natural environment away from the busy towns.

Our next stop, Halong Bay, was equally stunning. Hundreds of steep rocky islands surrounded by calm blue ocean. From the mainland it was hard to see the islands as the weather was quite overcast; all we could really see were faint silhouettes. But as we got closer by boat we could appreciate how beautiful they are. We stopped briefly to walk through a cave, along with hundreds of other tourists. It was quite stunning, but lit up by different coloured lights I felt more like I was on a movie set than at a natural cave. Later, we hired canoes and had a chance to get up close to the islands… they’re really big! We even stopped and explored a cave that had bats in it. Just before dark we returned to our boat, as that was our accommodation for the night.

Finally we made our way to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. A very busy and very old town (about to celebrate its 1000th birthday at the end of this year) it was certainly a change in pace from trekking through forests and cruising around Halong Bay the past few days. It didn’t take us long to remember how to cross roads and negotiate our way along footpaths covered by parked scooters and makeshift restaurants. That night we visited the Water Puppet show, which was pretty cool, and had a tour around the town on a Cyclo. Once again Chris and Pete decided to give their drivers a break and had a go at riding around town. We’ve spent the past few days in Hanoi seeing various temples, lakes and markets and tomorrow we begin our tour to Laos. I don’t know a lot about Laos yet, but apparently it is beautiful so I can’t wait!

Once again thanks to everyone who has left me a message! Don’t forget that you can send me an email if you don’t want to leave a message on the website. Missing you all, look forward to hearing from you and I’ll let you know about Laos in a couple of weeks!!

I hope you are all well. Thanks for all of the messages, I love hearing about what you’re up to so keep them coming To all my teacher and student friends out there, I hope the first few weeks of school have gone smoothly (especially for those of you who are first year out!). The schools that I’ve seen in Cambodia are quite different from what we’re used to back home, but it’s great to see so many children in school, rather than begging on the streets like some other children. I even miss being in a classroom when I see the schools, so I hope you are all having a great time.

I’m writing from Vietnam after spending the last two weeks in Cambodia, the Kingdom of Wonder. We’ve had a fantastic time, and really enjoyed being in a country where life is so different from back home. We’ve also enjoyed being part of a group and learnt so much about Khmer (Cambodian) culture from our group leaders and tour guides. The first place we stopped was Siem Reip where we spent two days at the Angkor temples which are INCREDIBLE! It is the most amazing place. Centuries ago it was the capital city of Cambodia but over the years it has been left and the sandstone temples became covered by jungle. They are still in the process of restoring some of the Temples, so at the present time there are some fully restored sites, some that have sandstone blocks scattered around and men working on them, while some others have been only partially restored, leaving trees growing over the buildings… The Jungle temple was my favourite I mentioned last time about the intricate designs on the buildings in China, well the Angkor temples had equally detailed carvings over most of the building. Sometimes I would stop for a moment and look at a seemingly plain wall to find that it is completely covered with script or designs.

On the second day we left the hotel at 5 am to get to Angkor Wat (the largest temple) to see the sun rise, beautiful! That afternoon we travelled out of the town to see a Floating Village. Most of the houses in Cambodia are small wooden structures built on stilts (kind of like cool tree houses) because there is a lot of flooding during the wet season. Often the house is built high enough so that people can stand underneath, as they use this as a living area when it is very hot ( we saw lots of people lying in hammocks under their houses). So generally the houses are about 2 meters off the ground. On our way to the floating village we passed many houses along the river that were about 10 meters off the ground at the waterfront because the river swells so much during the wet season!

The people at the floating village were fishermen and their families, who lived on boats that had been converted into houses. It was quite an intriguing sight. We saw kids playing, people lying in hammocks, chickens in a coop, a pet dog and they even had a floating school!

Our next stop was Chambok which is a rural village that has been converted into an eco tourism site. We played volleyball with the locals (and lost) ate traditional Khmer food and stayed with a local family. Our family let us stay in the main house while they (2 Adults and 3 kids) slept in the rice storage shed. Because it is a rural village they do not have anything like a supermarket, only a couple of places that sell very basic groceries, so the family had cows, chickens, a pig and a rice field so that they could sustain themselves. They also had very cute little puppies that liked to nip at my pants.

After homestay we travelled to Sihanouk VIlle to spend a couple of days at the beach. I was surprised at how beautiful the beaches were, not what I expected to see in Cambodia. The first day we did a snorkelling tour and travelled to a couple of nearby islands by boat. I saw a giant white jelly fish that would have been at least 40cm in diameter and a puffer fish (amongst other things) and we spent some time at an almost private beach.

The next day we found a quiet restaurant on the beach with sun lounges and beach huts for customers to use and spent the whole day at the beach, a well needed day of relaxing. We then returned to the hustle of Phnom Penh, which we had been through a few days earlier, the capital of Cambodia. It took a little while to readjust to city life after being at the beach, but we were soon out exploring and found some pretty cool places like the National Museum, a temple with monkeys roaming around in the surrounding park and had a nice walk along the river.

Our last day in Phnom Penh was a little more solemn, as we visited the Prison museum and Killing Fields left from the Khmer Rouge. As I hadn’t heard a lot about it, I was horrified to learn of the mass killings and torture that was faced by the Cambodian people in the late 1970′s. The ‘Prison’ that we visited was an old high school that had been converted into a prison when the Khmer Rouge closed all schools and many other public institutions. They killed 3 million of the 7 million people living in Cambodia at the time, mostly government workers and intellectuals who would be likely to stand up against their regime. Long story short, it was a traumatic time for Cambodia and the country is still recovering.

Despite their hardships the Khmer people who we met were lovely. Wherever we went we were met by “Hello” from the local children and had a great time dancing and telling jokes at the homestay in Chambok. We are now about to start our tour of Vietnam, travelling from Saigon in the south up to Hanoi in the North. I’ll let you know how it goes in my next blog.

I was telling my sister the other day that I’ve been wearing two pairs of socks, long thermals, pants, t-shirt, cardigan, jacket, coat, gloves, beanie and scarf, compared with a singlet and shorts a little over a week ago. Beside the street there are piles of ice that have been scraped from the streets and paths, and a couple of days ago the whole city was blanketed with snow, it looked amazing!

We have spent most of the week making our own way around the city, walking and catching trains to get to the main attractions. We visited the Forbidden City which is a huge maze of buildings and gardens built by past emperors. The ancient buildings are incredible, they are so intricately decorated by paintings or carvings. We also visited the Summer Palace which had similarly amazing buildings, but adding to the beauty it was set amongst beautiful gardens and a huge lake that was completely frozen. This was one of my favourite places. My other favourite was the Great Wall. We hiked along the wall from Jinshangling to Simatai where it was crumbling in places and we had to climb up and down very steep stairs. It was a pretty challenging walk, and by the end my legs felt like jelly, but the most amazing experience. Plus at the end we got to catch a flying fox to the parking lot!

We’ve had fun attempting to communicate with the locals, pretty much all we needed to know was Ni hao (Hello) and Shei shei (thank-you) accompanied by hand gestures, pointing to words in my phrase book and occasionally stumbling across a very helpful local who speaks English. Menus with pictures are also helpful. One morning we walked into a small restaurant and were greeted by bemused stares. We sat down and the lady gave us menus… completely in Chinese characters. Luckily a man at another table spoke English and helped us order, however he didn’t quite understand when I changed my mind and we ended up with two dishes and two huge plates of rice. The food was delicious but there was no way we could finish it all. More men came into the restaurant and kept staring at us . It wasn’t until we left and saw all the empty Taxis outside that we realised that it was a place that mostly taxi drivers have lunch, and not usually foreigners! We have now made our way from China to Thailand where we joined our tour in Bangkok and travelled into Cambodia by minibus. My body is still adjusting to the huge temperature difference, but it’s nice to see a new place. I’ll tell you more about Cambodia in my next update. Don’t forget to leave me a message!

Bye for now, From Karen.

• China (Beijing)
• Cambodia
• Vietnam
• Laos
• Thailand
• Egypt
• Kenya
• Uganda
• Tanzania
• Malawi
• Zambia

Stay tuned to hear about how the adventure unfolds.