Weekend - downtime?

The UniSQ students have worked so hard this week, and while they were all quite physically tired, they packed their weekend full of the wonders to be seen and experienced. Their mantra appears to be "we're not missing any opportunity while on this trip; sleep can wait!" Saturday morning we piled into our mini van at 5am in order to catch the sunrise at Word Heritage listed Angkor Wat, along with our wonderful guide Chhuer (who is also a teacher at the school, AND a tuk tuk driver at night AND a guide on Saturdays AND a teacher at a pagoda on Sundays!) We also visited two other temples by lunchtime, when we all decided it was too hot to do see any further temples and headed back to the guest house. Saturday afternoon and Sunday was free time, which was variously filled with whatever the students wished, in groups according to their desire. Some of the highlights for the students included a trip to a nearby floating village, touring the small Siem Reap Killing Fields, local pagodas, and Kulen Elephant sanctuary. I took a much needed opportunity to get some alone time and spent Saturday afternoon strolling around the city. Sunday, I hired a bicycle (which was an adventure in itself!) to explore further, including the Apopo Tourist centre, where I learned about the amazing Apopo rats who are helping to clear the many landmines still buried across Cambodia. Their noses can detect explosive from metres away, but their light body weight does not detonate the mines, meaning they identify landmines so much more readily than use of metal detectors. I may also have had a 2 hour massage and a yoga class - ahh serenity! It was a jam-packed weekend for all, but I feel invigorated by the downtime, ready for more action in Treak Community School!Read more