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Best time of my life in Cambodia

Posted By Oliver Omar on 23 Apr 2013
Looking back at my time away between January and March 2013....all I can say is that I'm so glad that I chose to go to Cambodia!   For those who don't know, I spent 8 weeks living in Battambang; while volunteering teaching English and leading activities at an NGO school called Children's Action For Development (CAD).I loved this project as it put me into a situation which I've never been in before. At first I found teaching a bit of a challenge but it soon became the norm; and I saw each day as a new opportunity to teach the children something new that they'll gain from in the future.

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Phnom Penh

Posted By Oliver Omar on 04 Mar 2013
I am back at the Volunteer House in Battambang after spending my last weekend in Cambodia visiting Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia and is a 6/7 hour (depending how lucky you are) bus ride from Battambang. My initial thoughts were that it was a lot bigger than I expected it to be. Like Siem Reap which I’ve visited three times, it has a similar in your face “tuk tuk, massage, t-shirt” e.t.c culture; however this seemed the norm by now.

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Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

Posted By Oliver Omar on 18 Feb 2013
On Friday 8th February, Hamish, a fellow volunteer, and I caught the 8:00 bus to Siem Reap. 5 hours later we had arrived, checked in to our hotel and were sat enjoying steak & chips for lunch.  Friday afternoon mainly featured souvenir buying and looking around. This is when I realised I had left my debit card 4 hours away at the volunteer house, with five dollars in my wallet the rest of the weekend wasn’t looking very promising.

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Battambang

Posted By Oliver Omar on 04 Feb 2013
Battambang is where I am living in Cambodia. The first thing I noticed in Battambang is the incredible amount of motorbikes and mopeds there are. It is the primary/only transport for people going to work, students going to school and even fearless tourists. Every pavement is lined with “motos” day and night. I also noticed some local people try getting multiple people on a moped; I’ve seen 3 people plus a baby on a single bike!There are also many colonial buildings, with my favourite being the Provincial Governor’s Residence which is very much overstated compared to it’s surroundings.

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First week in Cambodia

Posted By Oliver Omar on 21 Jan 2013
Hello and welcome to the first blog I have ever written!  It has been a week since I arrived in Cambodia and I’m having a great time. My first challenge was getting there! After a night in Bangkok, I got a taxi to the Mo Chit bus terminal to catch Bus 921 to Aranyaprathet town. The bus wasn’t too bad despite the random stops, which added a few hours to estimated journey time. Then I faced my first experience crossing a land border and all the queues! Luckily after hours queuing at the border a miracle happened, I was found by Kim one of the local coordinators (LC) who joined me and we were quickly off on the road to Siem Reap.

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First Days

Posted By Ana Bettencourt on 17 Oct 2012
Szia! I have been in Romania for 3 days now and I'm absolutetly loving this here! The kids are amazing and so are the carers. We have been having a lot of fun. Today I went to the school, met the English teacher and she took me to two of her classes where I got the talk to the children and they talked to me although the only things they could say was "Hello, My name is.... What's your name? Nice to meet you". It was really fun.

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Leaving for Romania

Posted By Ana Bettencourt on 13 Oct 2012
Hi there! So I'm leaving for Romania to volunteer at a Care Home for 2 weeks tomorrow. Really exited about that! My adventure actually started a couple of weeks ago when I came to the UK. I've been visiting some cities, attending university open days, taking exams and meeting up with some friends. And now I'm going to a new country, maybe learn some things about a new language, teach and have fun with the children.

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The road goes ever on and on…

Posted By Kai Tyng Loh on 14 Sep 2012
This post will describe transportation in Arusha. 1. Daladala I have already spoken a great deal about this particular mini-van, but it is so interesting as an entity that it deserves the number one position here. Constantly packed to the brim with passengers, people will never hesitate to offer their laps to you. In one of my experiences, I had a very kind lady offer her lap for my heavy rucksack as I bowed uncomfortably in order not to smash my head against the ceiling.

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Skin crawl, hearts pounce, mouths ajar

Posted By Kai Tyng Loh on 13 Sep 2012
Even hours before getting into the car, I knew that the safari was going to be one of the BEST experiences of my life. As the jeep rumbled through the endless plains of the Serengeti and the rim of the Ngorongoro crater (the bumpy road doing nothing to ease a jumpy bladder), the car was constantly filled with dropping jaws and animalistic “woots” (and occasionally, a flying person who couldn’t take the bumps). The view of the savannah in the Serengeti was magnificent and literally making your heart stop – countless shades of browns intermingled with gold specks and flicks of yellow grass (looking like finely-painted fingers reaching through the ground), layers and layers of colour piling up until it formed a never-ending horizon, which was then interrupted by grey mountains.

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Izzie's Nepal Adventure

Posted By Isabel Howe on 11 Sep 2012
I am about to embark on a 4 week journey to the otherside of the world, to the beautiful landscape of Nepal. Here i am to spend 2 weeks in the buzzing capital of Kathmandu which, i have been told, is full of wierd qwerks and surprises.  In Kathmandu i am looking forward to spend two weeks volunteer teaching in a local school teaching english and sport. Following this i am very looking forward to carrying on my journey on a two week hike to Everest base camp.

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