Wednesday, 13 August 2014
This will be probably be last my blog. Our last day on the island saw the boys qualify for their padi certificates and most then went out on a morning dive to a ship wreck. Max was clearing his mask on this and managed to swim in the wrong direction. He was nudged in the correct direction from a member of another group. Teresa and I went with Ben F and Oliver S to do some snorkelling and went through something called the aquarium and two other reefs and saw lots of wildlife of our own. When everyone got back they were free to sit around for the afternoon or partake in one of the activities : Spencer and Colin went for a second dive and saw some turtles. Calum, Sam and Adam went paddle boarding and I took Frazer and Ben M snorkeling to see if we could see a shark. After an hour off aimless bobbing we were finally rewarded with a sighting and Ben even has a photo on his underwater camera.
The day after was our long journey back to Kl made even longer by the breakdown of the bus coming for us. Finally got to kl at half six before food at nandos. Most of the boys went to bed but as it was the hungry ghost festival here in Malaysia, Teresa, Spencer, Colin and I decided to stay out and watch the parade. This included masses of paper ghosts twenty feet high, dragons, music and numerous firecrackers. This was an unexpected but pleasant end to a long journey day.
Yesterday we went to the bird park. This is the biggest aviary in the world where you can go around with most of the birds free to wander with you. This was then later followed by a trip to the cinema. Today we ascended the Petronas towers and got Avery good panoramic view of the city. Later we split up into smaller groups with some going shopping and six of us hiring a karaoke room until the early hours. I have been forbidden by Frazer, Ben, Spencer and Colin from showing photos and videos of this but it has been a highly entertaining evening. Perculiar thing happened on the monorail today as we bumped into team 2 on the monorail. Lovely to see them and looking forward to the catch up tomorrow.
Everyone is starting to think about home now and so just the water park left to go. Fingers crossed we should be back with you all on Saturday morning as planned.
The day after was our long journey back to Kl made even longer by the breakdown of the bus coming for us. Finally got to kl at half six before food at nandos. Most of the boys went to bed but as it was the hungry ghost festival here in Malaysia, Teresa, Spencer, Colin and I decided to stay out and watch the parade. This included masses of paper ghosts twenty feet high, dragons, music and numerous firecrackers. This was an unexpected but pleasant end to a long journey day.
Yesterday we went to the bird park. This is the biggest aviary in the world where you can go around with most of the birds free to wander with you. This was then later followed by a trip to the cinema. Today we ascended the Petronas towers and got Avery good panoramic view of the city. Later we split up into smaller groups with some going shopping and six of us hiring a karaoke room until the early hours. I have been forbidden by Frazer, Ben, Spencer and Colin from showing photos and videos of this but it has been a highly entertaining evening. Perculiar thing happened on the monorail today as we bumped into team 2 on the monorail. Lovely to see them and looking forward to the catch up tomorrow.
Everyone is starting to think about home now and so just the water park left to go. Fingers crossed we should be back with you all on Saturday morning as planned.
Saturday, 9 August 2014
Finally, have a good connection here at bubbles. A really long journey to get here but the motor boat over was highly entertaining. Jamie and Ollie S both enjoyed their birthdays and send thanks for the birthday wishes from their respective parents. We managed to get four chocolate cakes for the two of them which I think went down well.
The island is very different to the mainland with the resort having it's very own beach and reef. The boys have made excellent progress with their scuba diving and nearly all are close to completing their qualifications. Ollie S unfortunately has a head cold and so was unable to dive. He and Ben F have been out paddle boarding and kayaking with Teresa and I today and tomorrow we are taking them on a 3 stop snorkelling expedition. Teresa and I saw reef sharks and a barracuda this morning on our first snorkel trip and huge numbers of fish. The boys have just seen some rays on their penultimate dive and are currently out on the boat as I type. The dreaded exam is tonight though the boys seem to be not too bothered by it - they even fast forwarded the DVD sections when the instructors left them.
The weather is very very hot here and it is difficult to get the boys to wear enough sun cream!!! Congratulations to Frazer who refuses to let himself burn. They have played, successfully several matches of volleyball against the locals. Calum continues to deplete the nations store of Cornetto ice creams.
Ben F and Teresa have been up all night on the turtle project. Last night the two of them were lucky enough to watch one of the females build her nest, lay eggs and leave with Ben then pretty much single handedly digging the eggs out at 2am. A lot of the boys also got to see the turtle laying eggs as well before they slept for the early dive. Definitely something for the cv. Lots more food here than the last phase and milk shakes are being heavily consumed.
Lastly, I just want to say what an excellent group of boys I have with me this year. You would all be very proud of the way they have conducted themselves. We have had numerous compliments from different adults around the country. I will blog again in KL when I get back and I know the boys are looking forward to seeing you all in a week.
The island is very different to the mainland with the resort having it's very own beach and reef. The boys have made excellent progress with their scuba diving and nearly all are close to completing their qualifications. Ollie S unfortunately has a head cold and so was unable to dive. He and Ben F have been out paddle boarding and kayaking with Teresa and I today and tomorrow we are taking them on a 3 stop snorkelling expedition. Teresa and I saw reef sharks and a barracuda this morning on our first snorkel trip and huge numbers of fish. The boys have just seen some rays on their penultimate dive and are currently out on the boat as I type. The dreaded exam is tonight though the boys seem to be not too bothered by it - they even fast forwarded the DVD sections when the instructors left them.
The weather is very very hot here and it is difficult to get the boys to wear enough sun cream!!! Congratulations to Frazer who refuses to let himself burn. They have played, successfully several matches of volleyball against the locals. Calum continues to deplete the nations store of Cornetto ice creams.
Ben F and Teresa have been up all night on the turtle project. Last night the two of them were lucky enough to watch one of the females build her nest, lay eggs and leave with Ben then pretty much single handedly digging the eggs out at 2am. A lot of the boys also got to see the turtle laying eggs as well before they slept for the early dive. Definitely something for the cv. Lots more food here than the last phase and milk shakes are being heavily consumed.
Lastly, I just want to say what an excellent group of boys I have with me this year. You would all be very proud of the way they have conducted themselves. We have had numerous compliments from different adults around the country. I will blog again in KL when I get back and I know the boys are looking forward to seeing you all in a week.
Tuesday, 5 August 2014
Elephant sanctuary
Good morning. It has been another very busy few days here in Malaysia. Five days ago we set off early to kuala gandah for our project and were taken to Rasli's homestay. He has been our very welcoming host over the past five days and has let us have full run of his house for which we are very grateful.
On arrival at the elephant sanctuary we were split into two teams. One group were given the task of painting the car park and the other the seating huts and fences. Between these jobs we were able to view and feed the elephants.
A large number of the boys have been in with the elephants cleaning the paddocks and have fed the youngest of the baby elephants milk in the morning. One group gave the babies a wash in the river with the other group getting about two minutes due to torrential rain and a thunderstorm. The staff at the park work really hard and conservation is at the heart of everything they do.
On day three we took the boys to Deerland - this is a small petting zoo where you can feed and hold the animals. The only difference was that it consisted of lizards, deer, some large pythons and an ostrich. Some boys really overcame their fears here and a special mention to Adam who genuinely did not want to be anywhere near them and finally touched a snake and to Ben M for holding one for the first time. Others, like Sam, took it in their stride and it got to a stage where we had to take the snakes away from them. Ben F and Colin had the ostrich taking the food from their head and hands - it was quite a vicious animal and reminded me of scenes from I'm a celebrity...I have been stung by my first Malaysian bee - not an experience I recommend and I apologise in advance for any of the language that I may have used shortly after. Max managed to drop his entire bowl of food as one hungry deer came at him.
Teresa has had an interesting experience with one of the baby elephants who I think must have confused her with its mother. I am not sure if it is appropriate for the blog but it was very funny! Oliver S and Spencer have some good photos of them bottle feeding the baby so keep an eye out for these when they get home.
The truck journeys have been very entertaining with lots of singing. One day the rain chucked it down as the boys and I were stuck travelling back in the truck. A large number of the locals have found this very amusing and were waving as the drove past.
Lots of photos below so please take a look.
Some of the boys have plays an impromptu game of cricket back at the house on what turned out to be a scorcher of a day. Calum has an interesting sunburn of his money belt on his back and incredibly Adam has hand prints - a lot of work must have got done that day.
On our last day we were scheduled to meet the director of the elephant park for the certificate presentation. On his arrival I was a little embarrassed that he was the man I had earlier asked to find toilet roll as the boys have been running out of loo roll. This was then followed by Ben M getting a fly stuck in his eye. This was a persistent little creature and took Teresa and I a good 5 minutes to find and extract. Jamie has just finished his day successfully as leader and will now get his day off so that he can enjoy his birthday.
Back in KL and most of the box have decided on Subway. However three of the boys, Ollie P, max and Frazer came with frank and I to eat at the china town stalls and they have now eaten stingray for the first time. The rest are now in bed and getting ready for the diving phase where Alex is due to take over.
Good morning. It has been another very busy few days here in Malaysia. Five days ago we set off early to kuala gandah for our project and were taken to Rasli's homestay. He has been our very welcoming host over the past five days and has let us have full run of his house for which we are very grateful.
On arrival at the elephant sanctuary we were split into two teams. One group were given the task of painting the car park and the other the seating huts and fences. Between these jobs we were able to view and feed the elephants.
A large number of the boys have been in with the elephants cleaning the paddocks and have fed the youngest of the baby elephants milk in the morning. One group gave the babies a wash in the river with the other group getting about two minutes due to torrential rain and a thunderstorm. The staff at the park work really hard and conservation is at the heart of everything they do.
On day three we took the boys to Deerland - this is a small petting zoo where you can feed and hold the animals. The only difference was that it consisted of lizards, deer, some large pythons and an ostrich. Some boys really overcame their fears here and a special mention to Adam who genuinely did not want to be anywhere near them and finally touched a snake and to Ben M for holding one for the first time. Others, like Sam, took it in their stride and it got to a stage where we had to take the snakes away from them. Ben F and Colin had the ostrich taking the food from their head and hands - it was quite a vicious animal and reminded me of scenes from I'm a celebrity...I have been stung by my first Malaysian bee - not an experience I recommend and I apologise in advance for any of the language that I may have used shortly after. Max managed to drop his entire bowl of food as one hungry deer came at him.
Teresa has had an interesting experience with one of the baby elephants who I think must have confused her with its mother. I am not sure if it is appropriate for the blog but it was very funny! Oliver S and Spencer have some good photos of them bottle feeding the baby so keep an eye out for these when they get home.
The truck journeys have been very entertaining with lots of singing. One day the rain chucked it down as the boys and I were stuck travelling back in the truck. A large number of the locals have found this very amusing and were waving as the drove past.
Lots of photos below so please take a look.
Some of the boys have plays an impromptu game of cricket back at the house on what turned out to be a scorcher of a day. Calum has an interesting sunburn of his money belt on his back and incredibly Adam has hand prints - a lot of work must have got done that day.
On our last day we were scheduled to meet the director of the elephant park for the certificate presentation. On his arrival I was a little embarrassed that he was the man I had earlier asked to find toilet roll as the boys have been running out of loo roll. This was then followed by Ben M getting a fly stuck in his eye. This was a persistent little creature and took Teresa and I a good 5 minutes to find and extract. Jamie has just finished his day successfully as leader and will now get his day off so that he can enjoy his birthday.
Back in KL and most of the box have decided on Subway. However three of the boys, Ollie P, max and Frazer came with frank and I to eat at the china town stalls and they have now eaten stingray for the first time. The rest are now in bed and getting ready for the diving phase where Alex is due to take over.
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