By Emily Aldridge and Eleanor Ma
On the 19th July 2024 ,11 avid explorers gathered at Manchester airport for the trip of a lifetime! This was no ordinary trip and certainly no holiday- this was an expedition!
After 24 hours of travelling and over 5,000 miles travelled, we finally arrived in the bustling city of Hanoi and the start of our three week long adventure in Southeast Asia. After a day of adapting to the new time zones and the differences in culture, we began exploring the city and taking on our new roles within the group. Personally, we took on the role of the group Accountants, which proved to be challenging at times, but it all added up in the end! Other members took on other important roles such as leading the team, organizing transport, accommodation, finding food locations, photography and managing our social media – which we’re sure everyone at home appreciated given that we were half the world away. Immediately, it was evident that this was no All-Inclusive holiday!
The most physically challenging element came in the first week of the expedition as we trekked through the tough terrain of the Phu long National Park and the 80% humidity that came with it – it was certainly very different to the snow and sleet we experienced during our training weekend in the Peak District earlier this year. During the three days of hiking, we experienced numerous breathtaking views of the local rice harvest fields (which we had a go at planting earlier that day) and the substantial amount of greenery that consumed the mountainous area. We also learnt a few new tricks from locals of plants to look out for that could be used in herbal medicines and others to avoid! At the end of each tough trekking day, we were welcomed into homestays. On the first night we celebrated Libby’s 18th birthday overlooking the picturesque mountains ,which were a welcome change from the urban lifestyle we had been accustomed to previously. On our second night, we delved even deeper into the local culture through participating local dancing and singing as well as giving the local people a taste of our own home comfort songs. Here we developed an even stronger relationship with our tour guide, so much so that we met up with him when we were back in Hanoi to visit one of the local Jazz clubs!
For many of us, our favourite section of the experience was the ‘Free the Bears ‘Sanctuary in Phnom Tamao Zoological Park, Cambodia. Although outwardly this was Volunteering it was no chore. It was above and beyond our expectations, what we originally thought was ‘just a bear sanctuary’ was a biodiverse wildlife park where the animals genuinely seemed happy . We partook in numerous activities over the four days spent at the wildlife park such as: preparing food for the bears, cleaning out their enclosures, scatter feeds and observing their behaviours. In addition, we met the amazing keepers who shared their knowledge of the two bear species (Moon and Sun) and enlightened us to the reasons behind the set up of the Free the Bears organisation and the work done to help stop bear bile farming in Southeast Asia. Finally, we were lucky enough to speak with one of the vets who worked at the park and were able to ask numerous questions about their work and the care given to the bears and other animals living there.
Mixed within our packed itinerary, were days dedicated to sightseeing and a time for R&R. Unfortunately, unlike our itinerary proposed, we were unable to partake in the cruise of Halong Bay in Vietnam due to typhoon warnings and initially what was supposed to be a relaxing two days became stressful as we rushed to find an option B , however our tour operators and team leader Poppy quickly rectified the situation and found a replacement option which was just as good. Here we experienced the beautiful views of the Tam Coc boat tour whereby we were able to experience breathtaking views as we were rode through caves and towering rocks by a woman using her feet! We later explored the Ninh Binh Province in which we visited The Ancient Temple and some of the largest pagodas in Asia which again indulged us into the History of Vietnam. Not to be forgotten were the Hindu-Buddhist temples we visited during our time sightseeing in Cambodia in Angkor Wat – one of the Wonders of the World. Located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor, it is considered the largest religious structure in the world by Guinness World Records. We were all shocked by the sheer scale of the site, which is usually visited over multiple days, and many of our friends and family are definitely jealous that we visited it before them! We were all amazed by the architecture and beauty of these 12th century temples and although we only visited it for one day it was definitely an experience of a lifetime! On our arrival to Phenom Penh, we were able to visit the ‘Killing Fields’ in Cambodia which hold the remains of the recent devastating history of the country – this was a learning experience for all of us, but we all felt it was really important to visit and to ‘pay our respects’. Beside all of this, we also had many opportunities in our free time to try local foods and drinks and explore city’s such as Hanoi, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh in more depth as we ventured the streets looking for locations such as Train Street and sky bars which we had only previously seen on social media!
Despite the constant early mornings, late nights and action-packed days this was definitely the experience of a lifetime and one which we will carry with us forever. This was a chance for us to develop our independence and responsibility for ourselves, others, and our passports which we carried with us everywhere!
It was truly an unforgettable experience that has left us with so many beautiful memories and so many stories to tell.
