The Killing Fields!

Today was our first full day in Phnom Penh. We all met on the roof terrace of our hostel at 9am to have breakfast. Most of us had lemon and sugar pancakes. (Ed. Not me! Lemon on anything is just wrong!) The morning was spent organising and planning for the days and actually for the weeks ahead. Some had to purchase a mobile phone to use in country, some had to research transport, some R & R activities and some had to try and contact our project host.

At 12pm we then travelled in tuk-tuks to the killing fields to learn more about Cambodian’s history. We each had our own headset with a man explaining what happened and what it was like at the time. We all walked around at our own pace. It was an emotional and depressing experience as we saw exactly where they were all buried and some of the skulls of the victims killed were arranged in a memorial building at the site. Clothes that they wore had also been collected and were gathered in a glass box for us to see. We also saw the tree where babies had been killed by being swung by their feet and bashed against it. I think most of us thought the area would be massive with just empty fields; however it turned out to be quite small with lots of trees surrounding each area. This was a worthwhile experience for us all and we all feel closer to the people of Cambodia knowing how they suffered in the hands of Pol Pot...the man that was to blame for everything.

After we had all finished walking around, we went back to the hostel in tuk-tuks and had lunch. By this time it was already 4pm. Whilst waiting for our food, some people played card games whilst others searched for more accommodation places or booked transport.



We were going to go to the markets but it started to chuck it down with rain (apparently there is a short storm every day at around 5pm) (Ed. today’s rain was on and off till 9.00 pm), so we then decided to go out later at 7pm and walk along the river in Phnom Penh to find a restaurant that we would be able to eat in. Before finding a restaurant we got stopped by a few7 year old boys wanting to sell us bracelets, so most of us brought bracelets from them. (Ed. The boys had heard every excuse possible as to why the girls didn’t want to buy bracelets...they were not taking ‘no’ for an answer...Bless them!)



It turned out to be harder than we thought to find a place for all 17 of us to eat, so some people went to a curry restaurant and others to the next door restaurant. Everyone seemed to be absolutely exhausted when we got back to the hostel so we all went straight to bed.

Maddie Barr

Three Flights and 48 hours Later

Sorry for the delay folks there have been some IT difficulties. Currently as I am writing this, we are sitting in a pretty deserted airport in the middle of Thailand, lying on the cold stone floor, all pretending to be asleep. Its 9:30 am and our flight isn’t until 3 ... my “I’m tired and not impressed face” is the answer given to any question asked. We have now been travelling for over 24 hours solid, everybody is beyond tired, and has very little energy to get on another flight! The flight from London to India with Jet airways was of a much better standard than we were all anticipating which put spirits up, with a range of movies each, frequent offers of drinks and constant supply of food. We were given popadom like crisps as a snack with chicken curry for lunch and for dinner.... Chicken curry wraps! Bit repetitive and no where near as good as the local takeaway at home! However much to everyone’s delight they did give out vanilla ice cream for dessert. Unfortunately the novelty of this all quickly wore off as the flight was 9 hours long, and it seemed everyone (apart from Cliff) was having trouble sleeping. As strange as it sounds sitting down for a long time is very little fun, and we all want to get up and get busy.(However when it comes to day 5 of our trek we may all be saying the opposite!!!) In India it was very hot and muggy, and also smelt very different from home (IT STANK!) but luckily we only had a short stay and were quickly on our way to Thailand. On a map India and Thailand are very close, probably half a centimetre- ish. Much to our disappointment in reality it was another 4 hour plane journey, of sitting with little to do. Some of us felt a bit ill due to the lack of sleep kicking in, and 4 people ended up sharing one sick bag. Fortunately many did get a couple of hours shut eye, making the flight pass slightly quicker. We then found our rucksacks and then it was down to transport managers Annie and Maddie to get us to the next airport. They succeeded well and we all piled on to the shuttle bus, which only took an hour and brought us here now. As some sleep, others count the hours and Mrs Wentworth dances to Shania Twain, we wait for our next flight (in 5 hours) from Thailand to Cambodia. In desperation just to get to the hostel and get a decent night’s sleep to prepare for the days ahead. After all falling asleep on the floor for around 4 hours many were feeling refreshed... well sort of. We were finally on our way to Cambodia!! It was a short, hour flight and excitement levels began to rise as after a long tiring couple of days we have arrived! Yayyyyy and from here on it is all down to us! The first task was organising a way to get from the airport to our accommodation in the town. The answer we came up with-MOTORBIKE TAXIS! Just kidding it was tuk tuks!! (ED. No honestly they are motorbike taxi’s ). On piled four of us plus rucksacks and off we went. CULTURE SHOCK! Rules here seem to be a little bit different than home. Did you know you are allowed to drive on the pavement, driving on the phone is compulsory and its a must to cram as many people as possible on or in a vehicle, it also seemed a very fashionable item to have a mother and baby breast feeding. A 20min journey avoiding other cars, bikes and a parade got us to the “11 happy backpackers hostel.” We dumped our bags in our rooms and have come up to the roof top terrace for dinner, its 8:30 and still warm, loads of fairy lights keeping it light and a pool table for a quick game after dinner. We won’t be spending much longer here though as everyone is much looking forward to their bed!!! Night x Jaime Urquhart.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with build up day.

Today was the day that we had all been waiting for (dun dun da!/ insert dramatic music of your choice). Some of the girls found it hard to say goodbye to family, but it was fair to say that we were all looking forward to the month ahead. We started the build up day by checking our kit to make sure that we were not missing any vital equipment..(cough.. Emily's socks.. cough). Then we discussed our plans for the trip and our fears and things that we were excited for. Finally we allocated positions of responsibility, including accountant, transport manager, food management etc. We ended the day with pizza for dinner, and are about to watch a film called Killing Fields, which is about the atrocities that the Cambodians were exposed to in the early 70's. Then we will head to bed for an early rise at 4am tomorrow!

(Ed. Nothing from me yet :-))

Georgia Willows

The Last Goodbye (To each other and to Marrakech)

It was 5:30am as the alarm bell rang aloud drumming in the head of us 3 guys who were perhaps a little too close in proximity in that minuscule tent. We groggily lifted our heads in due time and looked around the inside. The thought of having to stuff the sleeping bags and everything else into our backpacks again the same way we had to every day simply added to the morning lethargy. However, the morning routine which required us to be ready to leave by breakfast time, usually at 7:30am, was brightened by a new prospect; the prospect of being the last ever need to pack everything away. You see, today was not just any old day, it was the finale. No more begrudgingly long treks, no more sleeping in the humidity of the devil's shower and no more washing ourselves in random streams - we were going back to Marakesh. Bright is what you'd expect us to be and it's not hard to say we were chuffed about finally being able to use an actual toilet.

Our adventures in the mountainous regions only spanned a few days but it isn't hard to say that our primal instincts had surfaced. In fact, we may have even turned feral if we were left there any longer. To put it simply, we became a part of the mountains. The culture, the scenery and the minimalism of everyone - we all took it in. To be able to drop French phrases in an attempt to make a shopkeeper smile as we tried to lower the price, shouting 'asalamalaikum' to random passersby and seeing their faces light up and even washing our clothes in the stream and letting it dry on the rocks - all these things made us feel more in tune with the culture and the way of life of these wonderful people. Falling asleep surrounded by the starry sky twinkling right in front of our very eyes, their light reaching us from a point beyond our time itself millions of years ago, let us be in awe of something we could never see in the vastly polluted London. Not just that but taking a moment to look to your right and see vast cliffs beyond sight going on and on, there was nothing more beautiful. Seeing the small villages clumped around these mountains really gave a lot for us to contemplate about. These people lived so freely but worked so hard to make a living. Old women climbed jagged edges of cliffs carrying large bags of crops behind them whereas we came from London with our iPhones and our supermarkets that gave us all we could need. But does that mean it was right to feel sorry for them, perhaps, perhaps not? Maybe these people who could live on so little were the lucky ones, not consumed by greed and materialism. But who could say? One thing for sure, it created an appreciation for the so much more we actually had. To live so minimally was a shock for us, yet it was life for them and it was something we looked at with admiration. All these feelings, we embraced on our journey and now it was time to leave it all behind.



So, as we slowly packed our things away, there was a tinge of melancholy in the air. We had one more day in Marakesh left, but we were still leaving a part of us behind in the mountains. Our big finale was celebrated in good fashion, however the night before. After our usual servings of soup came a surprise for us. A surprise that was marinated in a delicious smelling sauce alongside potatoes that were made in a way that we were all too used to back in London. We had been deprived of this thing that had its own sense of beauty for too long and there was no better act of kindness that could have been shown to us by our beloved Cook. Right in front of our eyes, there were chicken and chips. I can freely admit that I ate that night like I never ate before. After breakfast, it was our time to thank them and say our goodbyes. As was customary, we prepared tips in envelopes. We called upon our cool, Mohammed, and our hard working muleteers who helped take our bags along everywhere we went, walking themselves faster than us while dragging along their mules. We said our thanks and gave our tip to the lot of them. Then, we had one more thanks with another tip to present. This was to another Mohammed, but not just any old Mohammed. This was our trekking guide, the man who came alongside us for the whole 4 days. But he was more than that; he became a part of the group just as much as any of us. He started off as rather shy and timid towards us kids but as the days went by, he opened up and it was absolutely touching to see him become closer and more comfortable to the lot of us. We were all a family and Mohammed was just as much a brother as any of us. Thanks were given and we finally were on our way. We got on the minibus and set off. It was goodbye to everyone else apart from Mohammed, our trekking guide, who was coming along to Marakesh with us.



The minibus journey was filled with a vibrant happiness and excitement as we sung along out loud to the tunes being played. This was a staple 'tradition' of our group as we would always sing along together in almost every situation. It not only became a way to have fun, but also a way to motivate others and a way to forget about the fatigue building up in our bodies. The reach to the top of 4000m was compiled with many songs and sing-alongs and I don't know where I would have collapsed if I hadn't had the slightly tone-deaf (although that was probably mostly mine) voices compiled together pushing me on. Anyway, we sang and we clapped. But as we got further, another emotion filled the air and we could slowly see everyone's faces tinged with sadness. I could feel it not just in the others but in myself. I looked out the window and saw the cliffs and the mountains for what I knew would be one of the last times. The mountains slowly grew distant and became blurry but being able to see them like this was extremely surreal. As I looked at the mountain, I couldn't help thinking that at one point, we were all higher than that very top and being able to think that gave me an immense sense of pride in our team. What we had done together now hit me and as I saw it growing further and further, I felt different emotions welling up in me. It was at this point where I could accept that this was goodbye to our adventures in the mountain. But it wasn't a sad goodbye. I had no regrets with all we did together on that mountain, so I filled my goodbye with pride and soon, it disappeared from sight.



We arrived in Marrakech rather early and we checked in to the same Hotel on the same day we got here. As we packed our stuff away, we were hit with the same familiarity of the first day - the roasting heat, the blinding sun but most importantly, the crazy bedazzling market of Marrakech. If there was one thing to define Marrakech with, it would undoubtedly be the eccentricity of the people working at the market, shop owners engaged in negotiations like it was an art, and performers danced in the sun as if dancing for the Gods. The energy in the marketplace was absolutely bursting; there is no other way to put it. It was an amazing place to be. However, as the night dawned, that's when it really livened up. Lantern displays, fireworks and lights shining everywhere gave the city such a hustle and bustle and there was nothing more refined to end our last full day in Morocco.



But the night cannot end without dinner. So, we all joined up together and walked to a local restaurant. We were unable to see just how grand the place was until we were lead up 3 flights of stairs to the rooftop and what a rooftop it was. As we were seated in a long dining table, the whole of Marrakech lay prey to our eyes as they scoured the whole land, the busy city we were a part of just a minute ago. It no longer was a city full of rustle and bustle but it became a true spectacle. We sat down and was served the traditional tagine and what a dish it was. It is hard to define the taste of a country but I believe those finely prepared vegetables with the tender cut of meat has come the closest than any other dish ever could. Every bite was duly savoured and soon, dinner was finished. We heard our expedition leader, Cliff, calling out to us to give a speach. We could sense things were going to be a bit emotional. After gaining our attention, Ms Perreau, our teacher that supervised us gave out awards that seemed duly fitting to each one of us. Emotions were running high but the mountain peak of emotions was reached after some of us gave speeches about the whole thing. Tears were shed and hugs were hugged. Indeed, there was no better way to end the day. Tomorrow, it's back to London.

Sadian Choudhury

Our Pinnacle

3:30 am . It was pitch black and everyone was up including Sebastian and the mules preparing for the day ahead. This was the day the entire trip was building up to. I had considered numerous ways to avoid completing this trek including tripping over on purpose, putting suncream my eyes and even drinking contaminated water but really there was no escape.

We set off in darkness. All was silent besides the sound of heavy boots trudging along the gravel. Today was going to be one long day.

With Sebastian by our sides we passed the spring, our neighbouring expeditioners and a small village where we saw the glorious sun rise. The day had officially begun. Several hours into our hike we encountered a small black puppy. We decided to name him scrappy. He followed us loyally up the path but we soon decided it was time for him to return home. However scrappy had other plans in mind and continued to follow. After Sebass finally chased the confused pup back home we could once again focus on trekking at a steady pace. As the altitude got higher it became more difficult but team support grew. Everyone offered a helping hand and a word of encouragement to make the journey a success.

When we reached the top there was a real sense of achievement and relief. We all celebrated and took photos to mark our achievement. After a well deserved rest it was time to head back down for lunch. Despite this being a much quicker journey it was very unstable and slippery so it was important we all took care. We stopped for lunch by a beautiful stream and after feeding our faces we went for a soak in the water.

With only a few hours left of our journey we packed up and headed down to our campsite for the night. When we finally got there we ate dinner, played games and before long we settled down as it was soon time to sleep. Our decent was to continue tomorrow!

A GENTLE INTRO - the small col

The morning brought sleepy eyes and disoriented faces, our first time sleeping in a tent in Morocco is one we will remember forever. Breakfast was served at 7:00am which consisted of pancakes and bread along with a wide range of toppings and hot drinks.

After breakfast we finished packing and collapsed our tents. We had planned the previous night to set out at 7:45am however we had underestimated how unprepared and disorganised we actually were. In the end we were ready to go by 8:15am. As a collective we took our larger rucksack down to the car and also helped bring down the cooks tent and equipment. We cleared up the campsite so it was tidy for the next campers. 

Now we were ready to set off.

It seemed we had picked up a friendly companion in the form of a dog who we have named Sebastian. Sebastian had a distinct light tan coloured fur with matching eyes. He began to follow us. At first we were apprehensive on whether we should let him tag along but with confirmation from Cliff, Miss Perreau and our guide Mohammed, we accepted Sebastian and enjoyed his constant company.

We started the slow walk up the valley where we passed through traditional Berber villages which were hidden by the incredible landscape filled with vibrant greens and rugged mountains of the high Atlas.

Passing through the village, we greeted the locals in their native tongue which we had learned from Mohammed. The villagers were all ecstatic to see us and would greet us back. Especially the children who always seemed to have a smile across their face even though they're living in a condition much worse than ours. I began to realise how little they have in in comparison to how much we have. 

The intensity of the trek had hit us but we kept the morale at a consistent high with the support of our teammates through encouraging words and singing to distract us. 

The road was fairly treacherous so we made sure that anyone struggling had a helping hand. We climbed all the way through a gorgeous pine forest, to we reached the high point of our day, Tamatart which is a col (a col is the point where two mountains meet, could be referred to as a pass).

At the col, we felt a sense of achievement and was overwhelmed by the view. Being 2150 metres above ground level had meant that weather conditions were very vigorous. Forceful winds blew off our hands which were retrieved by Cliff. Dust continuously got into our eyes and we had to keep applying suntan lotion as we were even more exposed to the sun. 

Sebastian had made it to the top too and was resting under shade. There was a local shop where Sadian and Saif kindly bought chocolate for everyone. 

After being rested we started the descent down along with Sebastian. We continued to sing and be supportive. After 4 hours of trekking we came to the village of Amgdal.

At camp we all unloaded the luggage and setup our tents. Our campsite was hanging over a beautiful village and the scene consisted of mountains, valleys and plants.

We started to relax, cooling ourselves in our very own little stream. Passing by wasa fellow trekking group. Sebastian had noticed them and dashed towards them. He started to follow them. A worried Brinda frantically beckoned Sebastian to come back. Absent mindedly Sebastian took no notice and continued to walk on. Brinda and Sadian tried their best to return Sebastian but failed. We believed he was gone forever and felt betrayed by our beloved friend.

As a group along with Mohammed were went down to an enclosed stream bed. There we bathed out tired muscles in the translucent waters. We climbed boulders and piled up rocks which the local children encouraging entertain themselves with. 

Back at the camp we relaxed with stories and games. The game 'zap' became popular and we included Mohammed too. We dined on pasta, sardines and salad and for dessert we had oranges. Meals in Morocco are always accompanied by mint tea and bread we all sat on the floor together and a sense of family is felt.

We stayed in the tent till dark where we chatted, sang and played cards. Once out, we gazed            up at the spectacular, pollutant free sky. There we were astonished by the beautiful stars that were glistening against the darkness. We felt small amongst the infinitive sky.

We then headed to bed after an eventful day.

Sabiha

First Experiences

We've just  arrived back bacon Marrakech from our trek to the mountain but you'll here all about that later on.

On our second day, we met our guide, a man called Mohammed who has been a guide for seven years. Afterwards,we took a bus journey to the town of Imlil and our eyes laid upon our first campsite. Of course the first thing we looked for were the toilets, which were non-existant. Next was our first meal in camp, which to our surprise was delicious hot food served fresh from cooking. After lunch we took a "small" walk/mini trek around the town coming back full circle. Getting your footing was Definitely difficult as for many of us this was our first experience, but helpfully along the way we ran into a great group of American charity workers who gave helpful advice and encouraging words as they had already gotten to the top of the path. Well the little trek set our expectations high for the main trek, but on the way back we walked through a small-town engulfing us in Moroccan culture. The town was compact and seemed to have one road of shops, including cattle walking down the middle. From these shops we bought 32 large bottles of water, meaning  our bags became quite a bit heavier making the tiring walk back to camp more tiring.
Back at camp,we experienced our first night camping and it seemed to be a restless one as we sat in a circle and exchanged stories, accidentally disturbing the adults however it wasn't all down to us and halfway through the night, a man with a pick axe appeared, broke some rock and sent water gushing down towards the side of our camp site, he then rearranged the rocks and diverted the water away from us providing us with the sound of running water to fall asleep to.
That was our first experience camping :)
Zaffia