Trip Pictures!!!

Hi guys,

You can now look at, and upload, pictures to the Jewels of the Mekong web albums at:

Laos A: http://picasaweb.google.com/ISKLGAP/JewelsOfTheMekongLaosA#

Laos B: http://picasaweb.google.com/ISKLGAP/JewelsOfTheMekongLaosB#

Jewels of the Mekong: Laos B

Jewels of the Mekong: Laos A

Laos Packing Guide

Typical October weather in Laos is between 23° C to 31° C
ALL clothing that you wear for GAP must comply fully with the ISKL dress code.

Jeans/long pants/T-shirts, etc., will look TAG DAY smart.
Flip flops will not be worn in airports, buses, or restaurants, etc. as
they do not protect your feet or look smart.
Shorts must be at least mid-length.
All shirts must have sleeves to be sure you look appropriate to people of all cultures.

Carry-On    (Use your school back pack so it’s easy to carry in the airport.)
____ All medication
____ Contact lenses, glasses and sunglasses (and their cases)
____ A complete change of comfortable clothes (including underwear) in case you spill
                something or we have an unexpected delay.
____ A comfortable hoodie/sweater and warm socks in case the plane or airport is cold
____ Tissues and hand-wipes.  Emergency toilet paper.
____ Toothbrush, small toothpaste, small deodorant in case we have an unexpected delay.
____ A good book and magazines
____ Playing cards or a travel game (No cell phones, Ipods or electronic games.)
____ Healthy snacks (no liquids will be allowed)
____ Spending money of RM 150 is the amount recommended. (RM 150 = 385,700 Lao Kip)

Checked Bag  (light enough that you will not exceed the 20 kg luggage limit)
____ Luggage that you can manage easily yourself. (backpacker's backpack or large dufflebag).
____ A lock so you have all your items when you arrive.
____Enough underwear and cotton socks for the week plus 2 extra pairs
____2 long sleeved shirts
____A jacket or sweater
____7-8 T shirts
____2 hiking shorts
____2 lightweight pairs of comfortable trousers for the week
____ Shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, (body lotion if you use it, etc).
____ Bath towel/face cloth
____SUNSCREEN a lip sunscreen with an SPF factor plus a hat and sunglasses.
____Umbrella for rain/sun/boat spray
____Appropriate sleepwear for a school trip.
____Bathing suit.
____2 pairs comfortable shoes for walking and sports activities like bike riding (cycling)
____Sturdy outdoor sandals suitable for creek crossings.
____A second sweater or hoodie in case it gets cold
____Compact waterproof poncho for rain.
____Camera with lots of film/memory (no ipods or cameras)
____Good binoculars (highly recommended!)
____Reliable flashlight (torch) for cave exploring
____A large reusable water bottle.
____Items for your service activity.

Must Have: An open mind, a child-like sense of play and a great sense of adventure!

Laos B - Poolside at the Potluck Gathering

Picture curtousy of James Kang

Outlet Types

Jewels of the Mekong Trip Itinerary

LAOS A group with Linda See and Paul McCutcheon departs on Saturday, October 24th and returns on Saturday, October 31st.

LAOS B group with Laura Stewart and Brian Inskeep departs on Sunday, October 25th and returns on Sunday, November 1st.



SUN/OCT 25: TRAIN RIDE

• Trip Departure: Sunday, October 25th students meet their travel group leaders at ISKL at 10:00 am and depart on a bus to the airport at 10:20 (three hours before the departure of flight TG416 at 13:20.) All GAP students are required to travel on the school bus from the HS campus to the airport with their trip leaders. The airport bus leaves at 10:20. Be sure you are on it!!
  
  Dropping students off at the airport is not an option.  Travel groups will be moving quickly through the airport so there will not be a safe/secure meeting point to drop off GAP travelers; we do not want to risk losing a child at the airport. All GAP travelers will meet their group at the guard house at ISKL to board the airport bus.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Come Sunday morning to wish them a safe and wonderful adventure and to smile/wave as the bus departs for the airport. Parents will next hear from their children late Sunday, November 1st when the travel group returns to ISKL at 21:50pm.
  
  Students will not travel with cell phones.
  If there is a significant flight delay, trip leaders will do their best to contact the lead parent on the emergency phone list who will share the message.
  
  All parents will have participated in a detailed trip briefing at the Travel Group Family Potluck on Sunday, October 11th at 5:00 pm.
  That briefing will include the trip packing list, departure/arrival times, emergency medical procedures, and GAP-parent emergency-contact protocol.
  
  GAP-parent emergency-contact protocol is:
  
  1) If all goes as planned, no news is GOOD NEWS!! In light of that, GAP parents will wait until their child returns to ISKL on Oct 31 or Nov 1st to hear about the trip adventures, challenges, joys, and highlights.
  2) Parents will be contacted if their child has a medical emergency.
  3) We will do our best to contact parents if there is a significant change in the return flight and pick-up times.
  4) If a family has an emergency and needs to contact their child during the trip, parents will contact HS Principal Grant Millard who will facilitate communication with the travel group trip leaders.
  
• 
  
• TG 420 will land in Bangkok at 09:00. Transfer by mini van to the railway station for breakfast and board a day car train to Ubon Ratchatthani at ____

Mon/OCT 26: CRUISE ON THE MIGHTY MEKONG

• Students arrive at night in Ubon Ratchatthani aboard the train from Bangkok and transfer by mini van (1-hour) to Pha Taem National Park for a picnic breakfast and trip orientation session.
• Pha Taem has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its fantastic, mushroom-shaped ‘hoodoos’ that grace the landscape and for the world’s largest display of pre-historic rock paintings. A 180 meter cliff face that borders the Mekong River is adorned with over 300 colorful paintings in red ochre of elephants, Mekong fish, fish traps, human figures and hand prints of people who lived 3,000 years ago.
• From Pha Taem we will cruise down the mighty Mekong to the ancient trading port town of Ban Chiang where we will enjoy a delicious lunch at a riverside restaurant and have time to shop for local handicrafts at many stalls set along the river bank.
• Following lunch, it’s just a short drive to the Laos border where we clear customs and immigration and transfer to a bus that will take us (2-hours) up into the cool Bolovens plateau, home to coffee and tea plantations, ethnic minority groups and spectacular waterfalls
• Tad Fa Resort, perched on the edge of a deep ravine, has twin falls. visible from the upper patio terrace of the resort’s restaurant. Here we will enjoy a delicious dinner and a group bonding session around a cozy campfire set right inside the restaurant.

OVERNIGHT: Tad Fa Resort, Laos

MON/OCT 26: WATERFALL SWIM

• It will be a cool morning on the highland plateau of our resort as we wake up early to enjoy hot beverages before a morning birding stroll along the forested ravine ridge that borders the tea and coffee plantations.
• Following breakfast we will drive a short distance to a spectacular waterfall where there will be time for a refreshing swim and lessons in waterfall micro climes before we descend to Pakse, the hub of southern Laos.
• Following lunch at a good Pakse restaurant, we set off by covered motorized launch for a 2-hour cruise down the Mekong River to Champasak. Along the way, students will learn of the tremendous biological diversity of the Mekong - “the Mother of Waters”- a river that is second only to the Amazon in diversity of species.
• Below us lurk the Giant Mekong River catfish, the world’s largest fresh water species, and the legendary “Naga’, a serpent-like fish that has long been central to Southeast Asian mythology .
• By late afternoon we arrive on Don Daeng, a large island set in the middle of the Mekong that will be our home for the night. Here local villagers have set up a traditional Laos village home stay experience as part of a community initiative eco-tourism project.
• We will be treated to a feast of traditional Laos dishes for our dinner and invited to take part in a traditional “Basa”welcoming ceremony that brings together the entire community.
• Large group games with the local children and songs around a big bonfire on the river beach will help bond local and ISKL students for the school service project the following day.

OVERNIGHT: Don Daeng Home Stay Facility

TUE/OCT 27: OUTREACH with SCHOOL CHILDREN

• Sunrise over the Mekong is an experience not to be missed as we all rise for an early breakfast and prepare for teaching assignments at the local village school.
• ISKL students will prepare and present lesson plans in world geography, English language skills and environmental education as part of their community service project on Don Daeng. Maps, globes, writing tablets, pens and educational charts that are brought for this purpose will be left with the school as educational aids.
• Following lunch and an afternoon session with the village children, ISKL students will be transported by launch to the west bank of the Mekong to explore the ancient temple of Wat Phu, a former Hindu temple that was converted by the Khmer to a Buddhist temple.
• Wat Phu pre-dates the great temples of Angkor in Cambodia and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visiting this idyllic temple complex in the late evening sunlight is a magical experience. Nearby, a fine museum offers a glimpse into the wondrous treasures of the ancient Khmer Kingdom.
• We overnight at a riverside guest house in Champasak and enjoy a delicious dinner and group sharing circle before bed.

OVERNIGHT: Champasak Guest House

WED/OCT 28: SWIM WITH DOLPHINS in the MEKONG

• Right after breakfast we pack up and leave Champasak by mini van. Crossing the Mekong River by local ferry is an adventure in itself as all types of local vehicles,
  
  
  
  
  
  
• animals and produce are transported in this way.
• It’s just a 1.5-hour drive south to the village of Piendee from which we take launches down the Mekong River to the idyllic islands of Don Det and Don Khone. The Mekong River is an astonishing 14-km wide at this point near the Lao/Cambodia border, studded with over 4,000 islands and dramatic waterfalls.
• Don Det and Don Khone were important islands during the French colonial days and there are remnants of an old railway grade and turn-of-the-century locomotive that were used to transport supplies.
• We will enjoy a delicious lunch on Don Det and a safety briefing for our afternoon kayaking and rafting adventure down the Mekong.
• There can be no better way to understand the geology, geography and flow of the Mekong than to float its course past countless islands, sandbanks and flooded forest.
• Near the end of our paddle we will enter some quiet waters that are among the best places in the world to spot the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin, and later to stand in awe of famous Khone Phe Pheng Waterfall – the Niagara of Asia!
• Returning to Don Khone by vehicle and motor launch, we will settle into our riverside bungalows for the night and enjoy a big dinner at the conclusion of a great day.

OVERNIGHT: Don Khone Riverside Guest House

THUR/OCT 29: CYCLING and SCHOOL OUTREACH

• Today is our second service day that will begin in the local school right after breakfast. Again, ISKL students will be challenged to prepare lesson plans in English language, world geography and environmental awareness to share with local youth
• Formal classroom time can be combined with outdoor recreation time to help bond the Lao students with their visitors.
• Once school is out for the day, there will be time to explore Don Khone by bicycle. This
  
  
  
  idyllic island has no cars - only foot and bicycle paths that lead along river channels and rice fields to Buddhist monasteries and a series of falls where local fishermen still trap Mekong fish in the same style of traps portrayed in the 3,000-year old cliff paintings.
  
• A delicious dinner and closing celebration will mark our last night on Don Khone – an island that always endears itself to visitors.

OVERNIGHT: Don Khone Riverside Guest House

FRI/OCT 30: DEBATE ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS

• Right after breakfast we begin our boat journey back to the mainland shore and begin our 2.5-hour drive north to Pakse.
• A formal lunch will be served at the Pakse Palace Hotel, the former residence of a Lao King. Here students will role play different stake holders in a make-believe ‘Mekong River Commission’ conference, debating the pros and cons of the many development projects planned for the Mekong – from hydroelectric dams to major river diversions.
• Following the lunch, we head back to the Thai border and return to Ubon Rattachani in time to catch the night train to Bangkok departing at 19:30.

OVERNIGHT: Train (air con sleeper car)

SAT/OCT 31: COMPLETING THE CIRCLE:JOURNEY HOME

• Arriving by train in Bangkok at 6:30 am, students will enjoy breakfast and relax before going to the airport for flight TG 417 at 16:40 which lands in KL at 19:50. Families meet their children at the airport at 16:40. HAPPY HUGS!!! (Parents who wish to meet their child at the airport may do so but must be there before the students board the bus to return to ISKL as the bus will leave as soon as everyone is on board. For safety reasons, no students will be left to wait for their parents at the airport!  Students taking the bus can be picked up on campus at 17:50) Enjoy your children's GAP stories!!!

A closer look at our trip

This is the first time I've ever blogged!! Today I wanted to find out more about our trip so I started by looking at our trip itinerary on the GAP link on the school website to find out where we would travel in Laos. I've never been to Laos so I had to start at the beginning. I found wonderful information at

http://www.ecotourismlaos.com/photogallery.htm

There are great pictures and a brochure about one of the islands we'll stay on Daeng Island under the publication link. You can also find some great maps of the area. We will travel in the southern-most tip of Laos in the Champasak area right next to Thailand and Cambodia. You can find a map of the area on this website.
Now that I know a little bit more about where we will visit, the trip is looking more and more exciting. I can't wait to go!