A message from Alan... (#3)

Dear everyone at school,

Me again! I hope you had a fantastic Easter and didn't eat too much chocolate!

It's been a while, sorry about that. Mr Kent stuck me in his rucksack and that got lost for a bit (he'll tell you more about that another time). But now I've found my way out from under his smelly socks and I thought I'd tell you a little bit about my favourite places in Southeast Asia (without the boring bits Mr Kent waffles on about!).

Funniest moments (there were too many to chose from, but here are three!):

3) Watching Mr Kent get soaked on the boat journey back to Cambodia.

2) Nick, Steve and Mr Kent all losing their swimming shorts and having to buy dodgy shorts which all broke immediately! Hard to swim with holes in your shorts!

1) Steve accidentally getting a mouthful of petrol - NEVER EVER try and siphon petrol, children. It could have been lots worse - as it was Steve just tasted petrol for about a week after!

 

Best food experiences (so much good food and some strange stuff too!):

3) Mr Kent, Steve and Nick all loved frog's legs! They were very tasty! I thought the French were the only ones who ate them!

2) Southeast Asia had lots of funny foods on offer, despite Mr Sherwin trying to persuade him to, Mr Kent avoided eating scorpions, snakes or dogs. Mr Kent thinks they're too nice to eat - the dogs, not the scorpions and snakes!

1) In Vietnam, they all tried something a little weird - silkworms! Big squishy and gross looking - but they actually tasted okay apparently! Silky!

Best views (check out Mr Kent's blog for some photos of the incredible things we saw!):

3) The crazy streets of Ho Chi Minh City were fantastic fun. Lots of people and great food - not to mention the millions of mopeds!

2) Sailing down the Mekong river was an incredible thing to do. When adults get old and boring like Mr Kent, they love looking at places like this!

1) The beautiful river and mountains at Vang Vieng in Laos. It was absolutely stunning there, even though Steve managed to chop a bit of his foot off!

Memorable experiences:

3) Finding a paradise beach on an island near Cambodia! (A bit like Westward Ho! Just a bit warmer!) it was worth the long trek!

2) Floating down the river in an inflatable tube in Laos.

1) Meeting so many wonderful people. Even though there have been lots of horrible things happen here in the past, the people were so friendly and welcoming - even to Mr Kent - and he's pretty strange!

Anyway, enough about Mr Kent! I hope you are all doing okay? Mr Kent quite often goes on about you lot to people he meets - I guess he might miss you a bit, although he'd never say that!

He says that Year 6 and Year 2 might have their SATS soon and that he wishes them lots of luck - not that they'll need it, because they're all brilliant and have super-amazing teachers! Just don't panic and do your best.

If you're going to Georgeham, have a brilliant week. Say hello to all the leaders for Mr Kent, he's very sad he's not going this year - it's one of his favourite places in the world- but at least he won't embarrass himself surfing or canoeing!

Keep working hard! I'll try and make sure Mr Kent doesn't lose me again so I can write another blog soon.

Lots of love,

Alan

PS - Here are some photos of me abroad. (Clockwise from top left)- me at the massive temple of Angkor Wat - me at the 'Temple of Doom' where Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones wre filmed - Angkor Wat at sunrise - our very cool island bungalows at Vang Vieng - sunset on the Mekong river!

Fond Farewells

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with shopping. I like the idea of shopping, but my idea of shopping is a long way from the reality of shopping. When I make the decision to go and purchase something, I have a vision of me entering a quiet shop, picking the item I require, paying the helpful and polite member of staff and then exiting the establishment. Unfortunately, the reality, as we all know, is very different. I often return empty handed having spent hours traipsing around shops with ridiculously loud music, slightly gormless work experience staff and no clothing in my size (which, in case you're wondering, is Hobbit).

Men are particularly bad shoppers. My dad, for example, has spent a good portion of his adult life stood outside shops waiting for my mum or my sister to choose an item of clothing. I often thought that a good business plan would to be to open a crèche for husbands and boyfriends who were shopping with their partners. I guess that the Apple store now fills that role.

But there are exceptions to this rule - there are men who can shop without losing the will to live - and I was stood in Hanoi market with one of them.

Nick is a master when it comes to shopping. Maybe it's the fact that he's the manager of a retail outlet, or perhaps he's just more practised - whatever it is, watching him barter with locals is hugely entertaining.

Sadly, we wouldn't be able to witness the sight for too much longer as Hanoi would be where Steve and I said goodbye to Mr Drew.

We spent our first evening in Hanoi watching a re-run of the Ireland v England Six Nations game. Thankfully, no one complained about the noise emanating from our room as we shouted at the rugby on my iPad and sung 'Swing low, sweet chariot' whilst England recorded a hard fought victory. 

It wasn't difficult to find a place to celebrate, as Vietnam's capital city offered an abundance of eateries and bars. Choosing was the hard part. Like all of the Asian cities we'd visited so far, Hanoi seemed to buzz whatever time of day it was. Motorbikes swarmed around the web of streets that made up the city's Old Quarter and street food stalls that hugged every corner filled the ancient streets with alluring smells. Everywhere you looked there were people laughing, joking, selling and creating an atmosphere I knew we would miss when we left Asia.

Most locals would attribute this vibrancy to the freedom from colonialism won for them under the leadership of one man, Ho Chi Minh. Their great leader is honoured all over the city, not least at the giant mausoleum that contains his embalmed body. 

The mausoleum is a place of pilgrimage for many Vietnamese. When we visited the site, the place was relatively quiet, but people often queue for hours to shuffle past the glass sarcophagus housing the body and pay their respects.

The whole experience was very odd. We marched, in near silence, past a number of stern looking guards in their snowy white uniforms - each of whom were seemingly ready to shoot us if we strayed from the narrow path or dared to try and take a photograph. I'm not sure I would want thousands of people walking past my remains when I pass away. Ho Chi Minh didn't either, actually; he asked to be cremated - but, unlike me, Ho meant so much to his nation that they wanted to honour him this way.

A less macabre tribute to Ho Chi Minh is found next door at the museum that celebrates his life and achievements. We spent a few hours there before we made our way back through the city to the hotel.

That night Nick had very generously said that he would take us out for a meal. He had found an incredible place where we ate like kings - sharing dishes like frogs legs, ostrich and venison accompanied by all manner of vegetables and spices. As we tucked in, we reminisced - recalling all the adventures we'd had together in the past month or so. Some had been hysterical, some had been heartbreaking, lots of them had involved Steve injuring himself, but all had made our time with Nick something we'd remember for a long time.

The next morning, after Nick had tortured a few more unsuspecting market stall owners and acquired a rucksack, a pair of headphones and a set of chopsticks, it was time to say a sad farewell. Not just to Mr Drew, but to the five week Southeast Asian leg of our journey.

I thought I'd let Nick sum it up in his own words...

Travels summed up in a few numbers.

5 weeks, 4 beautiful countries where people smile and welcome.

11 bus journeys, some fast and mainly bumpy, 1 traumatic sleeper bus.

A city full of cars, a city full of bikes, all cities full of wonder.

3 swim suits drying.

1 murder (mystery) solved with a little welcomed help.

10 miles of super fun mountain roads on mopeds, 2 fuel empty mopeds, 1 conveniently placed pipe.

2 days meandering down the Mekong.

1 waterfall we dreamt up, 1 waterfall you couldn't dream up.

4 goals scored by Englishmen on Lao soil/sand.

Too many mint leaves.

2 ill fitting swim shorts.

1 win at Carcassonne.

7 beers hustled off locals.

1 day floating down a river in an inflatable ring.

3 poorly stitches swimsuits.

Sunrises, sunsets never to forget.

7 planes and 3 sleeper trains.

1 tailless gheko, sorry, Ben.

5-1, sorry, Steve.

Golden temples, ruined temples, earthquake damaged temples, 1 temple of doom.

6 sleepy attempts to watch Argo.

3 French musketeers.

1 paradise island.

2 places where the harrowing history leaves you empty.

2 names, 1 city to be admired.

1 Bideford couple found in Hoi An, 1 not.

3 piece suits, 3 blazers and a shop full of happy tailors.

1 advert repeated for 3 hours.

A mistyfull bay full of a thousand mystical islands.

2 huge caves.

3 Aussie dudes.

2 nights waking 1 Hanoian night porter.

18 guesthouses, hotels, homestays, 2 island bamboo bungalows.

Fantastic foods, delicious meals.

Awe inspiring landscapes, breathtaking views.

A thousand laughs, a million smiles.

2 great guys to share it all with.

Cheers, Ben and Steve, for letting me join part of the adventure, it was a blast.

We got around it.

No. Thank you, Nick, the pleasure was all ours. See you on the otherside!