THS Travel Blog

THS 2010 Adventure Launched

2009-10-21T19:48:00.002+01:00

Kenya and Tanzania 2010 is now launched at school• Search for the 'Big Five' in the Serengeti ecosystem• Stunning scenery and wildlife of the Rift Valley lakes• Amboseli's elephant herds and views of KilimanjaroSee reception or Mrs Kirk for details

Its a plug thing with electric trickery

2009-07-23T10:27:00.011+01:00

All back safe and soundHumble apologies for lack of updates on the road, electricity supply was sporadic let alone a computer or internet !Will endeavor to back date posts and pics etc.Hopefully the muddy coloured girls deposited back to you will give positive feedback.Off to spend an hour in the shower and buy a washing machine.Work for me in the morrow :(Yes that is a warthog inside our

Breaking camp in Kibale

2009-07-11T09:10:00.002+01:00

An early startEzre prepares porridgeVikki and Annie prepare the toastMiss S washes up by te 3 bowl method and Kate and Simrat "shake and dry"

On to Queen Elizabeth National Park

2009-07-11T08:47:00.002+01:00

One camp site done.Arrived at Kibale National park after a long drive.Set up camp, all of the girls mucking in and no real dramasOur Kirk Ezra and our driver Charles are both excellent.Ezra cooked fish and chips on a two ring stove !We where split into two groups for chimp trekking, one it the morning one in the afternoon.Both groups had excellent sightings of chimps, ours involved watching a

Night time at Kibale

2009-07-10T12:22:00.002+01:00

After a successful day we settled down to night in camp.Enjoyed some Cadbury's hot chocolate, ate fish and chips cooked on the charcoal grillAnd then headed up to the bar to confuse the poor staff with a request for 10 diet cokes/sprites/krests/whatever was cold. Miss T then entertained us with her monkey impressions! We were delighted to find proper flushing toilets, with

Chimp Tracking

2009-07-10T11:56:00.012+01:00

Aware of the time and effort that the first group had put in to find chimps the second group once again tucked their trousers into their socks, packed a lot of water into their rucksacks and headed off into the forest!Ten minutes in we spotted some chimp droppings (still fresh)and whilst we were merrily examining these we heard the somewhat blood curdling call of a male chimp, which made us all

Monkey spotting

2009-07-10T10:05:00.007+01:00

We split into to groups, one to walk through the village, farmland and the edge of the park looking for monkeys, birds etc, the other group to head into the park proper to look for chimps.The morning monkey spotters; Annie, Sarah, Lucy, Vikki and Sophie set off with trousers tucked into their socks and cameras at the ready.We spotted a plethora of things; black and white colobus monkey, grey

Kibale camping

2009-07-09T14:44:00.002+01:00

We arrived at the camp site to pitch the tents for the first time. Some set to work assisting Ezre with chopping others settled down infront of the campfire.

Kampala to Kibale

2009-07-09T10:04:00.002+01:00

After an early start we left Kampala to head to Kibale, a 10 hour drive.We stopped on route for our first encounter with local toilet facilities!We then drove out of town to stop for the first of many road side lunches.We then headed for the town of Fort Portal, one of the prettiest towns in Uganda, a fact we didn't appreciate until we'd seen how ramshackle most of the other towns were!

Touchdown

2009-07-08T16:45:00.005+01:00

Arrived safe and well.Bags all arrived albeit a little moist.Arrived at the very luxurious (for Ugandan standards) Hotel AfricanaLate arrival so basically straight to bed.A relaxed day today, up for a talk with our guide Samantha and then off on a bus rideacross town to the Kasubi Tombs in Kampala.Kampala is everything imagined, ramshackle in places, hustle bustle and a non existenthighway

Packed and Ready to Go

2009-07-06T22:47:00.002+01:00

After an awful lot of checking, rechecking and then checking again the bags are finally closed! Tool kits, medical accessories and spare everything account for the slight excess (well that's my excuse)Paperwork has been checked, boarding cards printed and so on and so on.The most traumatic part was Miss Turnbull trying to line up a sticker on the front of her new notebook!So off to bed for a few

Check In (part 2)

2009-07-06T00:41:00.000+01:00

Check in complete.We have seats 32A-J and 33A-H, so all together. (there's no seat C or I for those who can do the maths!)Only took an hour to enter all the dates of birth, passport details etc.

Checking In

2009-07-05T23:27:00.002+01:00

Attempting to check in on-line. Check in opens 30 hours before the flight, so midnight for the Teesside flight and 4am for the Amsterdam flight.Pete has given up waiting and retired for the night (he has to work in the morning) and I shall attempt the midnight check-in!We may all end up in Tenerife!

This is it

2009-07-05T10:04:00.004+01:00

Think we are almost there.The boring stuff is done (paperwork, packing), its the fun stuff now (traveling)The adventure awaits...

Flight Details

2009-06-21T19:50:00.002+01:00

Depart Tuesday 7th July meet at Teesside Airport at 4:30AMFlight KL1530 0600 then KL561 to EntebbeReturn 22nd July 2220 KL562 then KL1533Arriving Teesside 0900 Thursday 23rd JulyUganda is +3hrsLouise and Shika don't forget your passports. We have all the others.See you there

Packing List

2009-06-21T19:45:00.002+01:00

Mrs Kirk has done the usual long and comprehensive packing list.Copy as follows : Packing List for Uganda 2009 Please remember your hold luggage has a weight restriction of 20kg and you must be able to carry it yourself. = Main

Get packed its all go go go

2009-06-07T22:08:00.002+01:00

Not long now.Visa's have been received and are all present and correct.We have our group allocation for the trekking permits, and the "teams" have been chosen.I of course have requested the best viewing.When I say best, I mean the shortest walk.So get packing its not long

642 Days later

2009-05-16T12:03:00.006+01:00

During our Thailand trip at the Nam homestay, we all had a gift symbol from the villagers.A good luck band was given, this bit of string was a gift of luck and good wishes.Now for some of us, this band stayed on for a day, week etc.Mine however has stayed with me for a considerable amount of time.Suffice to say I had grown quite attached to this tatty bit of twine.Today finally after 642 days, it

Visa Application

2009-05-11T18:33:00.005+01:00

Thankyou for all your passports and passport photos. The visa applications were sent off today.Let's hope that the Ugandans want us to visit!

Sleeping bags

2009-05-10T10:03:00.003+01:00

Went to "big Tesco" to do a little shopping.Found a microlight mummy sleeping bag that's half the weight of my current sleeping bag. The old one has a extreme rating of -10C and weighs 1.5kg, the new one 1.7C and weighs 0.8kg. So it's size over warmth. I may have to sleep in the garden for a couple of nights to test them both out!Also found in inflatable rectangular pillow for £1.50. Folds up

Presentation Done...

2009-05-07T22:42:00.002+01:00

8 weeks 5 days to go.Presentation went well I think, seemed to bamboozle everyone with everything.Please do ask if anything is unclear.Suffice to say Mrs K will issue a comprehensive packing list etc etcMost of the paperwork is now in order.Just the visa's to apply for. Organising passports, forms, pictures is a time consuming thing.It was amazing how many girls had to ask the parents where they

Tick Tock Tick Tock

2009-03-23T22:29:00.001Z

15 Weeks to go.Sounds like a long time, however it soon goes.Letter and a package of information issued.Gearing up for the presentation meeting, and all the paperwork is arriving.Trying to figure out what SOP's and TRA's are so that we can tick all the boxes for the planning.Visa's are also looking complicated. JoyStill the places we are going look great.More later..tick tock tick tock

Uganda Update

2008-10-19T19:08:00.002+01:00

No posts for a long time, however things are progressing slowly.Talking to Explore I know our park permits for the gorilla viewing have been requested and received.The group of travelers has had a couple of changes but the trip is still full despite these adjustments.Flights have been a little difficult, with airlines suffering in the current climate, trying to confirm long term bookings has

Uganda 2009 Launched

2008-04-04T08:57:00.004+01:00

As you are probably well aware, details have now been released for the planned trip to Uganda next year.The itineraries and trip details are now available at school, and request forms have now been issued.These forms required a signature to gauge interest, suffice to say the interest is high and we expect the trip to over subscribed.To this end some of the returned forms illustrated the level of

2009 The story starts

2008-03-04T19:25:00.003Z

Little steps, but the first plans are afoot for the THS Summer 2009 adventure.Lots of boxes to tick before "launch" however we are very excited about it, and hope that it comes to fruition.A few little teasers

Exam Results, thanks and new arrivals

2007-08-30T22:21:00.000+01:00

Okay its not "Travel" related, however the exam results are in.I get the full breakdown from Mrs Kirk, so I can see how you have all done !Well done to all of those who I know, some amazing results there.Not only are you good travellers but also incredibly bright !You all beat me for sure.A pleasant suprise was awaiting Mrs K at reception, Kate had very kindly left a bottle of something nice and

Blog Updates - and Highlights Video

2007-08-05T11:01:00.000+01:00

So we have now crept into August, so you will have to dig into the July section to find the backdated updates.If you view only one thing I suggest this video, its very big and everyone stars in it.Well worth a view.If you like it let us know !In fact its so big, it broke youtube. I had to split it into two parts and reduce the quality. Yah boo sucks.View Part One first as Two makes no sense

Drip Drip Drip

2007-08-02T23:02:00.000+01:00

For those who want to know...................Drip, drip, dropLittle April showerBeating a tuneAs you fall all aroundDrip, drip, dropLittle April showerWhat can compareTo your beautiful soundDrip, drip, dropWhen the sky is cloudyYour pretty musicCan brighten the dayThere's more verses but I thought 3 would be enough for most of us!

Explore feedback

2007-08-01T23:01:00.000+01:00

Got an email from Fran at Explore today. She's doing a newsletter to go with their school brochure and wanted us to answer a few questions for it. These were Pete's responses to her questions!Why did you choose to travel with Explore?fran of courseWhat has made you keep coming back?nowt better to do and we love paperwork.Best trip?costa rica - no studentsWhat do the students get out of the trips?

Blob Updates

2007-08-01T10:00:00.000+01:00

Lots of updates to the blog recently (or blob as Rebecca's mum calls it), new pictures have been added to old posts, so do browse through again.We now even have video clips.Get your pictures to school and we will sift through and post any good ones.Especially any of the infamous cockerels.A week gone and we still have not got the whole trip posted !Over 2000 hits now, 5 weeks for the first

We love the Gilbert's and Site Update

2007-07-27T16:51:00.001+01:00

Rebecca popped in to school today after a tip off that it would be prudent.In reception was huge a bouquet (bunch in man speak) of flowers, and a note from the Gilbert's saying thanks for a fantastic holiday for our daughter!Such a kind kind gesture and especially as hazel is more like a Duracell bunny with sooo much energy, enthusiasm and friendliness it really is our pleasure to travel with

Visitor Map

2007-07-26T15:53:00.000+01:00

If you scroll down a little you will see a map of locations of hits on this website. Click on the map and it enlarges.I can identify some of the strange locations,Us in TeessideUs in ThailandMiss Wolfe from New YorkPeter's father in upstate New YorkPeter cousin in Southern Australiabut I cannot work out some of the others, in Norway, France, Korea, India, Southern USA, Canada, Israel, Russia (I

The Joy of Computers

2007-07-25T13:59:00.000+01:00

Pete has pottered off to work, and taken his laptop with him, so I am trying to use the other computer (the sort that’s not a lap top) to update the blog. But after an hour spent looking at items left in the next sale I seem to have killed the computer, I assume that Pete has set up a clever anti-shopping protection system! So blog updates just aren’t happening. Headed into school to use their

The Morning After

2007-07-25T07:15:00.000+01:00

After a bacon sandwich, as Pete’s birthday dinner, I was asleep by 8.30pm last night. I blame the comfort of a real bed, duvet and pillow. Then we were both up bright and early at 6am this morning. I resisted the urge to wander round my neighbours and give them all a morning wake up call.It was strange to arrive back at school, it’s lovely to reunite the girls with their friends and families,

Touchdown - Safe and Sound

2007-07-25T06:52:00.000+01:00

Touchdown in Blighty.All returned safe and sound, baggage intact, including amazingly Ms Stephens broken "designer" bag, which utilised the last 8m of my 50m roll of Gaffa tape !Thanks to everyone involved, Explore, Essential Travel, Emirates, Pok, Guides, drivers, porters, public transport, the staff and of course the girls. The trip went perfectly well with no major incidents, which is a

Day 20 - Journey Home

2007-07-24T08:57:00.000+01:00

Our long journey home starts (actually the day before) our flight departs on time at 01:35.To kill time, as well as the in flight entertainment our trip book was filled in.All the travellers scribbled down comments, good bad and indifferent, and makes amusing reading.

Day 16 - All Alive and Well

2007-07-20T04:28:00.000+01:00

Firstly humble apologies for a lack of posts.Time has flown, and it has been non-stop, I really have not had a minute to do anything.The trip has been wonderful, a huge huge array of activities, villages, mud, squatty toilets, rafting, elephants, mud, mosquitos, temples, buses, mud, rice, thai DVD's, stupars, mud, burma, crocodile temple, monkeys, leeches, mud, birds, beetles, rain, sun, mud,

Rafting

2007-07-16T12:00:00.000+01:00

Those who arrived at the rafts first soon mucked in to help out pumping them up. Helen is a demon with a foot pump! we basted insect bites, checked for leaches and generally recovered. We lunched on cold noodles and chicken, these had the added flavour, texture and nutrition provided by ants. These were well mixed in with the food and by this point we were beyond caring, we munched through

Day 12 Trek to the Rafting

2007-07-16T09:37:00.000+01:00

Awoke at 5am to the sound of the worst cockrel yet, it was a real cock a doodle squak! Lay thinking of ways to kill a cockrel until wandering in to wake the girls at 6am. Each day Pok gave us the times for breakfast, and vacating our rooms, after 12 days my head was a scramble of 7ams, 7.30ams and so on, so I had not the faintest idea what the timings were for today, so 6am seemed as good a time

Day 11 After the elephants - hut in a village

2007-07-15T21:45:00.000+01:00

After our brief stop to refresh we piled back into the trucks, one of the usual pick ups and the resort owners shiny new truck which was more comfortable, except perhaps for those perched in the back! We set off through "town" and then out into the countryside, along boggy dirt roads. Our smiley drive offered us sweets and put on a Dolly Parton cd. He pointed out many of the houses, waved at

Day 11 - Mourning a Loss

2007-07-15T21:40:00.000+01:00

Enough Day 11 reports now.All that's left to say is that, after 3 days and miles of trekking, my trusty friend "Mr Stick"is lost, abandoned in Umphang province.We had a good relationship, at times it saved me from hazardous falls, braced me against slopes, and in full "light saber mode" repelled any spikey bitey plants, bamboo shoots or shrubs which chose to attack us on our journey.The depth of

Day 11 - Elephant Trek - Downhill - On an Elephant - By Crosby

2007-07-15T17:16:00.000+01:00

OK, I was nervous to say the least about the uphill trek as I had been informed that elephants tended to be introduced in to this section of the trek due to the incredibly difficult terrain! However, we soon found our pace and were constantly entertained by the mud sliding efforts of Steph, Hollie and Pok – who at one point looked like some kind of international ice-skater performing the most

Day 11 - Elephant Trek - Downhill- On foot!

2007-07-15T14:30:00.000+01:00

We set off in good spirits. Up hill initially and keeping pace with the elephants, stepping aside to let them pass and then scrambling along at a safe distance. It;s not easy to walk along an elephants track, they churn up the ground and create broad footprints full of water that can be deceptively deep!!We reached the top of the hill before the elephants and stopped for a drink (of water though

Day 11 - Elephant Trek - Uphill - By Foot

2007-07-15T12:30:00.000+01:00

A PICTURE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS12K IN THESE CONDITIONS :Having been forewarned about the elephant shortage, I and others where quite happy to have a potter in the jungle. My bamboo stick (with my name now carved in) was jungle hardened and could face any challenges.The guides had warned us that conditions where tough and that as the rain was ON constantly, conditions underfoot for anything

Day 11 - Elephant Trek - Uphill - By Elephant

2007-07-15T12:00:00.000+01:00

This is where the experience varies depending on which section you walked or rode. I shall tell my version, Pete can tell his and Crosby, Stephens or Turnbull (or one of the girls) can tell their bit.We arrived at the end of the bridge to meet our trusty steeds. A few elephants met us and they started loading our rucksack on. After a lot of jostling between porters, mahout and elephants the bags

Day 11 - Jungle awakening

2007-07-15T11:20:00.000+01:00

We awoke the next morning to the now standard chorus of cockrels!I noticed that Lizzie, Rachel and Kate had chosen to sleep around the edges of their bedding area, in a strange horseshoe shape. Then I notinced the wet patch in the middle!!! According to them the roof had leaked in the night, and rather than make a fuss in the early hours they had just rearranged themselves.We breakfasted in bed,

Day 10 - More Trekking

2007-07-14T12:42:00.000+01:00

In the afternoon we set off through the jungle once more. By this time little phased us and we attacked the hills, mud and foliage with gusto.A new addition to our repertoire was river crossings. Bridges made of felled trees or bridges that some of us, me included, were complete jessies about crossing. We trudged along for a few hours, playing various word games to keep us going, and occasionally

Day 10 - The WaterFall

2007-07-14T10:34:00.001+01:00

After a restful night's sleep, well as restful as can be on a concrete floor, in damp clothing, with thousands of courting amphibians serenading us, we had the usual breakfast of eggs and toast and headed off to a waterfall not far from the campsite. Ti Lor Su waterfall was quite stunning but none of us had the inclination to throw ourselves over in a barrel. We were supposed to be swimming but

Day 9 Trekking - The Trek

2007-07-13T11:46:00.000+01:00

We grabbed our things from the boats, which were all wrapped up in bin bags, changed into our walking boots and set off for the 4 hours of trekking. Pok had warned us that it would be one and a half hours up hill to start, so we were all dreading it.As we set off the rain started, the jungle "path" was muddy and soon our boots had thick clods of mud stuck to them and our legs splattered. As we

Day 9 Trekking - dinky boats

2007-07-13T09:58:00.000+01:00

6.30am wake up call for the girls, to get packed, breakfasted and ready for the trek!!The group: and our rucksacks - clad in black bags:The first stage was rafting in inflatable boats, which Pok called "dinky boats" we were too polite to correct him and by the end of the day we were all calling them dinky boats too!We drifted down river, with elegance and serenity! Well not quite, we squealed,

Day 8 Umphang

2007-07-12T15:46:00.000+01:00

We finally arrived at Umphang after 10 hours of travelling. It was raining, dark, damp and a rather basic "resort" yet there were still a plethora of local chaps happy to help us with our bags. Dinner was ready when we arrived, rice and a rather stange whole fish winking up at us. Pok briefed us on the days ahead and we all staggered up to our rooms to sleep. On collapsing on our beds we

Day 8 Sky Road

2007-07-12T10:35:00.000+01:00

Leaving the hotel in the morning we caught another public bus, which again due to Pok's organisation was far better than national express, being comfortable and on time.Pete found yet another use for gaffa tape.We drove on to a rendezvous at a restaurant in Mae Sot, where we were to meet our next transport for the drive over the scenic "Sky Road to Umphang. Our lunch stop did western food, Thai

Day 7 - Elephant Sanctuary and Dung

2007-07-11T10:56:00.000+01:00

After lunch, we left for a visit to the nearby Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital. http://www.elephants-soraida.com/We first visited the "recycling centre" which involved processing some of the elephant dung to make paper. The process was explained and was surprisingly odour free !The girls had a go at making some paper, getting there hands all wet spreading out the sludgy paper mix over mesh

Day 7 leaving the homestay

2007-07-11T07:21:00.000+01:00

[Thanks to Katie the days and activities order have now been corrected !]After an early morning wake up call from the bloomin' cockerels. It was time for a last breakfast, seemingly fish soup for most of us!!We then bade farewell to our hosts.For us it was a sad morning, though we had struggled to communicate fully we had learnt a little about each other and their kindness and concern was

Day 6 Homestay - The tour of the village - Party

2007-07-10T17:24:00.000+01:00

After dinner we were hustled down to the end of the village. Where everyone had gathered for a celebration.Some officials from the Ministry of Tourism were there to see what went on and to wonder why western tourists wanted to visit remote villages. Pok was buzzing, he had had a long chat with officials and had done himself proud.Pete also sat with them (it's a male thing, official things should

Day 6 Homestay - The tour of the village - River

2007-07-10T15:17:00.000+01:00

After lunch we headed down to the river where the locals had laid out rugs for us to sit on under the shade of some trees. There was a glorious breeze and we lounged peacefull chatting or reading. The women-folk sat with us making a floral display and the men folk attempted to get the engine working on the boat. Some of the village elders sat with us to "chat" showing us pictures of previous

Day 6 Homestay - The tour of the village - Silk Worms

2007-07-10T14:07:00.000+01:00

Our next stop was to the village silk worm "farm" whilst waiting to enter we discovered that we were stood amongst an ants nest, so 5 mins of squealing, getting bitten, slapping ankles and legs and general discomfort ensued. How can such little things be so mean!It seems that the villagers receive eggs and then "fatten up" the silk worms, feeding them branches and then sell them on to someone

Day 6 Homestay - The tour of the village - Temple

2007-07-10T13:30:00.000+01:00

After the school we headed to the village temple. After removing shoes we settled down onto the floor for a rest from the heat. The villagers turned on the electric fans so it there was a fabulous breeze, so we quite happy to settle down and listen attentively to Pok. He'd tried to impart knowledge to us on previous occasions but even the most attentive of us found it hard to concentrate in the

Day 6 Homestay - The tour of the village - School

2007-07-10T12:41:00.000+01:00

After breakfast the father of the house managed to communicate to us that we should follow him, so we headed through the village to meet up with the others and Pok. After sending people off to collect water, it was an incredibly hot day, we headed off with many of the villagers in tow for our tour round the village.We had been told that we could join in with the work of the village, but

Day 6 Homestay Peter AM

2007-07-10T11:00:00.000+01:00

The cockerels at our house must clearly be on GMT as their chorus started at 2:30am.With the lack of windows and only wooden cladding the full surround sound experience was enjoyed.I fought through till 4:30am finding myself rating in my head the quality of the squarks.One particular resident clearly was a learner as it did a cockle-doodle-dont sound and I found myself shouting DOO at the

Day 6 Homestay

2007-07-10T10:34:00.000+01:00

In fear of oversleeping and appearing to be lazy western tourists I had set my alarm clock for 7am, but I really didn't need to. The cockerels started at 4.30am and drove me out of bed by 5.30! I never thought that cock-a-doodle-do would be enough to drive me from my bed at such an early hour, but when there is a plethora of cockerels all competing under your bedroom "window" you really don't

Day 5 Contd - Homestay - Peter

2007-07-09T12:05:00.000+01:00

Our house was clearly owned by the animal lovers of the village.Irmina, Steph, Hayley and I all shared the house with the family plusa bird, 3 dogs, numerous chickens, a racoon thing and a small monkey!The mum of the house spoke little if any english, the same with us and our thai.She was extremely friendly and constantly fussing over us to make us comfortable.Language does not matter when a

Day 5 contd. Homestay

2007-07-09T11:05:00.000+01:00

We arrived at our homestay village, shamefully I cannot remember the name of the village can anyone enlighten me?We turned up in 3 "pick up trucks" 2 for us and one for our luggage! After a few logistical issues we were sent off to our respective houses. As the houses are fairly small we had had to do a little wrangling to ensure that each group of girls had an adult with them. Girls, staff and

Day 5 First Trek and off to the Homestay

2007-07-09T04:52:00.000+01:00

In Nan, we join our guide Rambo again (who took us on the bike tour yesterday) for our first trek in the hills around Nan.The weather was stifling and our first experience of muddy trails brought much consternation. Lunch was rice (of course) and was taken to go !All in all it was about 12k and involved some quite big hills, we learnt that Pok was diplomatic with the truth. Only one more hill was

Day 4 - Cycling!

2007-07-08T15:17:00.001+01:00

After lunch we were due to wander through the local market and then head off for a lesiurely bike ride round the countryside.We went to the market and smelt and tasted the joy that is Durian fruit. To those of you not familiar it's about the size of a football and smells of all things horrible. It's banned from airplanes and most hotels because of the stench. So of course we had to try some, with

Day 4 - Nan

2007-07-08T15:08:00.000+01:00

Our train rolled into the station at 6am, we had woken at 5.55am!! So a very quick dash to get up and off of the train, but we were all safely deposited on the platform.Pok has taken this train over 100 times and it has never been early, so a great suprise !We then had a 3 hour drive up through the hills to Nan, where we fell into the hotel ready for breakfast and consumed an excess of toast,

Day 3 - Bangkok Madness

2007-07-07T04:37:00.000+01:00

Arrived safe and sound yesterday, flight delayed a little from Manchester.Our Tour Leader - Pok met us and our adventure begam.Nice central hotel to start with, then off to the Khao San Road for a bite to eat, its very sticky, and we all leaked (sweated) a little.Rested and off to face a city tour of the madness that is Bangkok.The beautiful grand palace with its temples, buildings and

We are Off . . .

2007-07-05T10:40:00.000+01:00

We have lift off.Packing complete and within the weight limit !Everything is in plastic bags, and quite why we need 200 balloons, bouncy balls and a London bus is beyond me.For those who know me, you will be pleased to hear the "BANKING BOOK" is setup, filled in and ready to roll. Just have to educate the girls to the "you are a number not a name" rule !Good to go then. Thanks to everyone who

Final Packing

2007-07-04T23:45:00.000+01:00

Finally after 3 days of making lists, sewing, ironing, etc etc I have finally packed. My clothes filled half of the bag, but then came the boots! Then the medical, first aid, insect repellent etc etc that easily filled the rest of the bag. Everything is in medum sandwhich bags, I tried to do the medical stuff by category;minor cuts-plasters and antiseptic wipes,major cuts-dressings and bandages,

1 day to go

2007-07-04T04:39:00.000+01:00

Last full day of school. Spent my time photocopying files to had to the Headmaster and senior teacher who are acting as our emergency contacts. And for the Head's secretary, Sue Brown, who has always liked to follow our progress on school trips. It's nice to know that parents, colleagues and friends have our itineraries and know what we're doing day to day, some with envy others, my mother

Sports Day

2007-07-03T04:31:00.000+01:00

Obviously as it was sports day this afternoon the weather decided to be nasty. After a morning of heavy rain the skies cleared long enough to take the whole school down to the field for an afternoon of sporting excellence, that is until the staff relay at the end! The weather held, the girls were marvellous, someone from every house running in every race, the team spirit was marvellous. It

Its the final countdown...

2007-07-01T19:56:00.000+01:00

Last day off before we leave so to help with the trip planning I did a track day in my car.As this was clearly non productive for the trip, Rebecca popped off to the tesco and boots.She bought it all. Yes all of boots .We now have every medical product imaginable. I believe that minor elephant surgery will easily be accommodated.We now just have to get all of the products into one bag !Its been

Final Shopping Trip

2007-06-30T19:07:00.000+01:00

After an hour or two checking that we had all of the things that we've been telling the girls to get we discovered that we needed to shop! We did have most of the things we needed but a lot of the first aid provisions were out of date, I'm not sure what happens to Immodium when it's past it's sell by but I thought it best to buy some more.So we headed into Darlington to visit Millets the

Security Alert

2007-06-30T19:00:00.000+01:00

A blazing van drove into Glasgow Airport today and yesterday a failed car bomb drove into London. This probably means heightened alert at the airports and more security checks. Will have to keep a close eye on the news and airport websites as there's bound to be a knock on effect. Mostly I hope there will be no more of these terrorist attcks, at least at the moment no one's been hurt. The

Sports Awards

2007-06-28T22:44:00.000+01:00

Got the final insurance details today, and arranged some currency. That's the last of the "things to do" list, hurrah! Oh other than the risk assesment which is tweaked on a daily basis!!Katherine also brought in her first aid kit, one of the little red ones from Millets, perfect compact and full of goodies, but we'll add a few more wipes and plasters. We now have a first aid kit each, we can

Last Letter

2007-06-27T12:14:00.000+01:00

Managed to post the final letter today. With yet another copy of the itinerary, flight details and luggage labels.8 days to go and the house is a bomb site, clothes, bags, suntan lotion and insect repellent and bloomin' paperwork seem to be everywhere.

Packing continues

2007-06-23T22:45:00.000+01:00

Sunday so a productive peaceful day.One of the parents phoned asking about the size of the day sack, a question to which I don't have a definitive answer, it's the balance of being able to take enough stuff to last 5 days in a rainy jungle and the hassle of having to carry it all for 5 days!I'll let you know later what worked best!We spent time rifling through clothes to see what needs washing,

Washing and Packing

2007-06-23T22:40:00.000+01:00

Attempting to get organised on my packing. All of my "holiday clothes" from last year have been stacked on a shelf and are a little dusty, so I need to do a washing blitz.I have now found and washed about 30 vest tops and 10 pairs of trousers. I guess I'll have to cull the pile before I pack.Had Vicky and Katherine round to look at some paperwork and talk about thet trip. Katherine had managed to

Money, Money, Money

2007-06-22T22:30:00.000+01:00

Got the school banks cards today, but for some reason I have two, but no PIN number.Called the bank and found out which one was the valid one and ordered a new PIN, they informed me that I have a small limit on the card so had to increase that for the trip.Have always had problems with accessing money, last year the bank flagged up a transaction in Namibia and temporarily blocked the card, even

2 Weeks to Go..

2007-06-21T22:07:00.000+01:00

Most of the students coming have gone on exam leave so I'm not getting constant countdowns from excited students but my 3 staff travellers are getting more and more excited and nervous, Vicky still hasn't got herself a day sack, trying to steer her away from the designer stuff!!Handed a file to each of the staff travelling containing photocopies of the draft risk assessment, and all the HASPEV

Christmas and House Keeping

2007-06-20T22:03:00.000+01:00

Finally got some money and forms in, so only 2 lots of money and forms to go.A huge parcel at school for me today, it was better than Christmas. It was 20 kit bags, how exciting. Now I've just got to work out how to get them to the students!Then I got a copy of an email that Pete had sent to Explore about the lack of kit bags, as if he'd doubt her efficiency. Sent Explore an email apologising for

Loose ends and crossing T's

2007-06-19T21:55:00.000+01:00

Got home and Pete hassled me about missing money and forms, 3 still not in. Hard to knobble the year 11s when they’ve all disappeared for exams, but called home to chase the loose endsSat down with the Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits document (HASPEV) again annotated the bits that I wanted to add to the risk assessment and revised it to suit.Its done now for the 10th time !

Got the Tickets

2007-06-18T21:52:00.000+01:00

Got the tickets in the post today, though they're e-tickets now. So in theory you just turn up with your passport, just doesn't feel right!Also got the luggage tags. Pete suggested we fill in the details for them, not likely, the girls can do that themselves, it's all part of the pre holiday excitement.

Thailand Itinerary

2007-06-03T12:28:00.000+01:00

With thanks to Explore the trip Itinerary is as follows: ACTIVE THAILAND 2007 Day 1.Thursday 5 July 2007.Fly from Manchester to Bangkok via Dubai,Day 2. Friday 6th JulyArrive Bangkok in the evening and check into our hotel.Day 3. Saturday 7th JulySightseeing tour of Bangkok on foot and by boat and includes the Grand Palace with its stunning Emerald Buddha and Wat Po (Temple of the Reclining

Introduction

2007-06-01T21:40:00.000+01:00

My name is Rebecca, I am now on my 4th school trip with Explore. It all started 6 years ago when my husband and I took a trip to Borneo, all the way through I was thinking that it would make a good school trip. On our return we called Explore and we haven't looked back.We have travelled to Borneo, China and Namibia so far. I take my husband on these trips, he does most of the liaison with Explore