Ben Cook

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Ben Cook




Asia » Vietnam » Northeast » Quang Ninh » Halong Bay August 10th 2009

Hi all. Vietnam is the last country on our trip. We got to Ho Chi Minh by Bus. It was rush hour, pouring with rain and the traffic was insane. I thought there were a lot of mopeheads in Phenom Penh, but nothing compares to this! Our taxi driver said there were over 10 million people in the city, and around 5 million mopeheads. They abide to no traffic laws, drive on pavements and run red lights all the time. Luckily tho they are good at dodging pedestrians. We went on a trip to the Chu Chi tunnels, which are only about 50km from HCMC. The tunnels were used by the Viet Kong in the war, and were narrow so that the American GI's couldn't fit down them, but the Viet Kong could. A section of ... read more
Steve firing the M60
Halong Bay

Asia » Cambodia » North » Angkor July 27th 2009

Hi all, We have now made it to Cambodia. Cambodia is a lot poorer compared to Thailand and Malaysia. Street kids are constantly trying to sell us stuff. We took a bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap, it took about 10 hours. Ran into a guy at a bar that night, Kev from Liverpool. Quite a character, he prides himself on haven eaten just about every insect possible which you can buy from the street vendors (he showed us the photos) (there are lots of fried insects which the locals eat around here), next hes gonna try snake. Not for me. Anyway, the day after we went off to explore the temples of Angkor. We hired a tuktuk driver for the day and he drove us to all the main temples. The main and most impressive ... read more
Angkor Wat (2)
Bayom
Motorbike madness

Asia » Malaysia » Perak » Ipoh July 11th 2009

Hi all, We got the bus from Kuala Lumpor into the Cameron highlands. The trip took us about 5 hours and we had to change buses on the way as I dont think the first bus we were on would have made it up the hills. The Cameron highlands is a mountainous area in the centre of the Malaysian peninsula. It's much cooler up here, around 20 degrees C and is such a relief to the 30+ degrees C everywhere else! We stayed in the Cameron highlands for 3 days. Theres a lot to do and see there. Me, Steve, our guide and 2 other Brits went on a 3 hr hike into the rainforest. We stopped off in a village and had a go at shooting a blow pipe. It was suprisingly accurate and easy ... read more
Trekking
The flower
Tea plantation


Hi all, After going to Ko phangan we got a flight to Singapore to meet up with Luke. Singapore is such a nice city, and its big, very big. We got around around on the MRT (mass rapid transit) which is kind of like the underground in London but about a million times more clean and efficient. We got booked into a dorm style hostel in Singapore, which was better than I expected, and much more social. On our 2nd day there we went on the Singapore flyer, a huge ferris wheel like the London eye. The view from the top was amazing, hundreads of cargo ships in the bay and you really get a feel for just how modern and built up the city is. After that we walked onto and partially around the Grand ... read more
Singapore Ships
Singapore cuisine
Kuala Lumpur

Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Samui June 25th 2009

Hi all, Sorry this blog is a little late. We got into Bangkok fine, the flight was good, plenty of movies and games to keep me entertained. We got a taxi from the airport to our hostel on Khosan road, had a bit of trouble finding it first as it was down a small allyway but got there eventually. Next day headed out to find the grand palace, it was only a 10 minute walk from our hostel. We ended up walking around the perimeter before finally finding the entrance. It was quite a site...a complex of temples, statues, and shrines (check out the photos). Managed to see the emerald buddha, which sits on top of a golden pinastle. After a few more days in Bangkok we got the train south to Surat Thani. It was ... read more
Grand Palace 2
Giant Golden Buddha
Mopehead ride

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Kendwa May 30th 2009

Hi all, I had a really great time in Zanzibar. Got the bus at 7am on Friday, feeling very tierd and slightly hungover from the night before. Arrived at Dar es Saalam at 3.30pm, the last ferry to Zanzibar left at 4pm so it was a mad rush to get in a taxi and then buy the ferry tickets. I managed to get there with 10 minutes to spare, and thew up on the 2hr crossing! Eventually made it to Kendwa rocks (a beach resort at the north of the island) by 8pm. I met a South African guy there, Warren who is an interior designer for all the Zain stores (telecom company) in Africa. Woke up Saturday and headed down to the beach and wow! never seen a beach like it, the whitest sand, and ... read more
Kendwa beach
Med students
Chicken anyone?

Africa » Tanzania » North » Moshi May 18th 2009

Hi all, I’m coming to the end of my volunteering now. I finish teaching on Thursday and then travel to Zanzibar on Friday. I’m planning to meet up with Brendon (another volunteer from the house) in Kendwa rocks, a beach resort in the north of the island on Sunday. I should be back in Moshi by Wednesday evening and then do some souvenir shopping and project visiting on Thursday and Friday, before flying home on Saturday. I’ve just been handing out sweets to 1B as it’s my last lesson with them. Although it can be frustrating at times, I have enjoyed teaching at Anna Mkapa and will be sad to leave. Last week the advanced group of the adult English class set up a debate entitled “Did whites bring development to Africa”. Most of the volunteers ... read more
Class 1a (part of)
Marangu

Africa » Tanzania » North » Arusha May 8th 2009

Hey all, Last weekend I went to Meserani Snake Park with Steph and Roo. We took the bus from Moshi to Arusha and then took a daladala from Arusha to Meserani (a tiny town in the middle of nowhere). We saw lots of snakes, Mambas, Spitting Cobras, Pythons, Boomslangs, Vipers and more. The snakes are collected from nearby and in return for not killing them, locals benefit from free antivenin (A good idea, if not slightly worrying to know the diversity of dangerous snakes around the town (and in Northern Tanzania). Also at the snake park were Vultures, Crocodiles and Tortoises and apparently Chameleons, but we didn’t see any. You can also arrange Camel rides there, which are run by a local Masai tribe. It cost us 1,000 TSH (50p) for a short Camel trek through ... read more
Green Mamba
Preparing the Camel
On the Camel

Africa » Tanzania » North » Moshi April 29th 2009

Hi all, Just a quick update on what’s going on down here in Tanzania. I’m half way in now and so I decided I’d set a Physics test on everything we have covered so far. The test is on measurement, forces and density. Spent all of yesterday lunchtime photocopying it, cost me 40,000 TSH (around 20 pounds) and took 2 hours due to the sheer number of papers required (320 double sided, 3 pages)! I just hope they have learnt something and I actually have some marking to do instead of looking over blank test papers. Me, Helen and Laura (who do the adult English classes) got invited to one of our students homes on Sunday. She hasn’t been learning English for that long so communication was a bit of a problem. Luckily though, the local ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » North » Mount Kilimanjaro April 20th 2009

Hi all, Last weekend a few of us took a day trip out to Machame village, on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. We went with a guide who showed us all the local sights. The village is spread out, and surrounded by rainforest/bananna plantations. First of we went for a short 2hour trek into the forest, where we saw 3 waterfalls, and caves. We couldn't get to the big waterfall which you can swim in as it was the rainy season and so the path ws flooded. The village produces several local delicacies, the 2 main ones being coffee and bannana beer. Our guide took us to a local house where we were shown the coffee making process, then had ago ourselves. First job: remove the husks by mashing, then roast the coffee beans, then mash the ... read more
Mashing the coffee
Bananna beer




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