Since my arrival in Hong Kong, I've developed a new found love for the outdoors. Hong Kong  is quite the opposite of what most people would think. The two main islands are Hong Kong Island ( more expats live here) and Kowloon ( which some expats like to call the dark side, as it is very local). I live on the dark side! Then you have the New Territories which is basically the outskirts which have village houses ( as HK is full of tall storey apartments) , more space and green areas.

I've had it in mind to go camping and having the time off for Easter, it only made since to go as the weather was looking great! Scorching hot day off we went. I called the lady Carol Lai who owned the 'campsite'. She explained that you just rent the tent on the beach...in a place called Sai Wan.

The journey took a while....from my apartment, it was a MTR (metro) ride, about 30 minutes to a place called Choi Hung, then a mini bus ride to Sai Kung. Due to the rapid speed of minibuses, they are also known as flying coffins, so I guess that part wasn't too bad! Then we headed on another bus from Sai Kung to Wong Shek Pier, where we got a speedboat....then.....we hiked for an hour and a half, having to take care, as it was hitting 5m; meaning it would get dark at any given minute.
Trekking through the meandering never-ending forest and eventually being greeted with a sandy beach nestled by jagged hills was the best part! We made it!!!

We still had yet to past some derelict village houses and a message from 3 saying ' Welcome to China' made me realise just how far we actually were!

Yet, the difficult part was to come....you ever set up a tent? Cos' I haven't!!

We spent two nights here and hiked to Ham Tin Beach which was nearby, it was delightful to wake up and hear the clash of the waves against the cliffs instead of a ringtone or alarm. Nature at its best.

The journey home wasn't as pleasurable..scenic views were in abundance, but it was spoilt ..by the rain!!

Korean BBQ

One of the things that I've learnt from Asia, despite the small frame of many people here in Hong Kong. They sure can eat, wish I could say the same about myself!! I enjoy eating...but the pounds pile on. Anyway, today I decided to go for Korean BBQ. For 100HKD - £8, you can select all the meat you want and create your own bbq. I quite like the idea of it, and the meat was seasoned really well. ( I'm of Jamaican heritage, sorry can't help it - live by the seasonsing, die by the seasoning!) I'm stil not very keen on kimchi....but I did realy enjoy the meat.

Leaving Bangkok

Bangkok has been great but slightly hectic, so what better way to celebrate Christmas ( a part from with family of course) than to head to Koh Phangan for a bit of sun, sand and party. 

I headed to get my bus and waited at the place ( more like a shack) where I got my ticket from...no one else was there. 

The place was closed and I had been waiting over thirty mins. A random boy of about 13 years old comes along and says ' Koh Phangan'. I nodded...carrying my 15 kilo backpack on my back..I was taken through alleyways...seedy...pungent...it was around 7pm. Where is he taking me to? 

Eventually, we pulled up to a car park, which had a small bar besides it and to my reassurance in a way...about 40 other people looked as though they were waiting as well. My 12 hour journey commenced...got on the coach...luckily had a seat all to myself. Unfortunately there was  a really loud drink guy making a lot of noise....but hey...it's Thailand! it was forecasted rain..... :-( for the entire week. 

Arriving at Surathani, we got a ferry over to Koh Phangan . It was soo wet, rain scattered on the ferry windows everywhere. Yikes...came all the way here for this??

 When...I eventually found my hostel....to my surprise being a No 1 hostel on Hostelworld...it was gruesome...cramped and smelt really bad. The bunks were claustrophobic too. The staff was quite unprofessional, as the sister of the owner kept allowing people who weren't staying at the hostel to come and use the toilet in our room. Feaces was once left floating around in the toilet. It definitely would have been worth it staying in one of the many bungalows they have on the island. The vibe in the common area/bar was lively though....this was the only plus point I guess. 

 After seeing my room and chilling in the common area,it dawned on me that it's Christmas day the next day...and I have nobody to spend it with. Until?...I heard a distinct London accent checking in. It was a girl from Elephant and Castle, South London! I also befriended a couple others who had also just checked in. Another guy who'd been living in a jungle in Malaysia for the past month on a gap year and another guy from Hong Kong who sported an Afro wig. Guess we kinda looked like a Benetton ad!

Thailand

One of the first visits I had to do was to Ayutthaya. When you arrive in Bangkok, there are little stalls o the streets everywhere selling cheap day excursions. The visit to the tger sanctuary seems to be the most popular, yet not so ethical, as the tigers are sedated and not treated well. I'm not a believer that animals should be caged up for photo purposes either! Ayuthaya was a short journey away from Bangkok, our first visit to the Wat Phra Si Sanphet. Wat means temple in the THAI language. It was very serene and calm. I was in awe, similiar to the calm ambience of TEOTIHUCUAN in Mexico. Everyone knows if you are going to visit Asia, visiting Thailand is a must. No matter your age. I have often conjured up images of a bohemian place filled with travelers wearing harem pants, bare footed , and a signature dreadlock dangling at the back of their neck. Well...this is kind of what I saw I guess.

 On arrival I was greeted with an almost stifling heat and and the overwhelming sound of the tuk tuk engines. It was truly what I imagined. I stayed at Nap Hostel on Khao San Road and off I went the next day to explore one of the numerous sights of Thailand.
I decided to buy a day tour package that would take us to some ruins. My favorite was the temple which had Buddha statues with silk wrapped across them like a sache...surrounded by the crumbling ruins...magical.

I had just finished playing basketball with my students today when Oscar one of the Tanzanian teachers stormed from his office into the Form 2 room. Everyone but myself seem to know what the deal was as they headed right over. He had the cane and some papers in his hand, read out a few names and the students then made a line.

I wasn't really paying attention until I heard squealing coming from the room. Almost all the gyrls were lined up and were caned on their hand whilst their fellow classmates who escaped the punishment stood outside laughing and pointing at them.

After being caned on their hand, they would run out the classroom not just from the pain but also from the shame. I comforted one of the girls, she could barely speak English but showed me her hand and it looked really sore.

Apparently everyone who had received less than 50% on their exam were punished.

Corporal punishment didnt seem to end there.

The following day at evening prayer, one of the prefects were writing down the names of the students who had arrived late. What a coincidence as Mama Anna ( school director) had arrived just in time and made the late students walk across the basketball court on their hands and knees, then if that was not enough....made them bend over in a push up position and whip them on their backside.......

Again, I don't think is very effective, no one will ever claim they have only been beating once, its something that seems to happen repeatedly, so how can we then say that 'it makes them learn'. I am glad coming from Britain, I have never had to suffer this. What probably hurts more is that its black people doing this to other black people. This behaviour is a reflection of the relation between the slave master and slave.

When the other volunteers and myself decided to discuss this with the Tanzanian teachers, they did not seem to comprehend how we felt. But then began to challenge us claiming ''you don't know Tanzanian children''
....I beg to differ.

Come to England, British children seem to be very fearless of teachers and if corporal punishment did still exist, its likely they would hit the teacher back....

Karibu Sana

Having returned from Tanzania not to long ago, I have decided to greet you in Swahili. Welcome to my blog. I decided to start a blog , as when I travel often I realise I seem to be one of the few black people who seem to be on the travelling tip.

I don't know what it is, it could be fear of the unknown, but when I do mention to people  that I am packing my bags to go explore the other side of the world for the next few months. I tend to get a negative reaction from alot of Black people.  Normally ''Why are you going there for?'', '' You know they're racist over there init''.

Typical.

What I say to this - ''How do you know if you haven't even been there??''. I think they're probably just a little envious they don't have enough guts to take it upon themselves to take that risk, which is a bit of a shame. I totally believe in doing things that scare you. Take risks!

 ¡ Bienvenido a mi mundo!

Having been here a couple of weeks now, I must say I feel well intergrated into life here at Waamuzi school. I love my students. I must say they have very demanding days that can challenge that of any B.A student! The school have implemented a new English programme, which should work out to be pretty effective giving thestudents a chance to practice their English as well as public speaking.

I willl be helping them as much as i can as quite a few of them ( mainly the girls) speak barely any English!The first of the English presentation was by Nasra (17) who chose to talk about her tribe 'Haya' mainly hailing from Burundi, Lake Victoria and Uganda.

With the help of my Lonely Planet book featuring abit about my various Tanzanian tribes, it was a walk in the park....or so I thought.

Nasra asked one of the other students to help her do a 'Haya' dance but he refused as he was from the South African Ngozi tribe. Although I persuaded him it does not matter, he didnt want to and was probably more concerned with having to dance in front of the class.

The English presentation of Nasra's tribe then fuelled into a debate of as one girl challenged her by asking her 'why do people from Haya practice prostitution when they are so well educated?' O.k .....I wasn't that prepared for this part.....Guess thats what I get for asking any questions!

I was then asked by one of my students Michael what tribe I came from....'errrmmm...sorry Mike , don't have a clue'!