Title – Sydney Harbour
Date – December 2000
Location - Sydney – New South Wales - Australia
Sydney Harbour is an iconic location, it’s landmarks that are known around the world. The experience of discovering all Sydney has to offer is made easy by it exceptional infrastructure, you can easily explore much of the city on foot and from every angle the harbour, its opera house and bridge take on a different character. If you can afford the yacht then you can get that final view that is denied others….. or is it?
The people of Sydney live on either side of the harbour and because of this there is an extremely efficient and affordable ferry system that takes the inhabitants of Manly or Parramatta to the city centre and back again for as little as A$6 or A$7 each way.
Beyond The Blue looks at Transport Options available during your trip as part of our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Sydney Harbour New Years Eve
Date – December 2000
Location - Sydney – New South Wales - Australia
New Years Eve is a time for change and new starts; our first free bit of advice for everyone is to spend New Year in Sydney at least once in your lifetime. Sydney is a city that is not scared to sell itself and it knows how to put on a party. For people from the northern hemisphere, New Years Eve in shorts will be the first of these new experiences.
The friendly atmosphere amongst the hundreds of thousands of people finding their perch for the best view is something that is certainly an experience in itself, but the fireworks displays with one of the worlds best back drops is almost unsurpassable.
Beyond The Blue run Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshops to enable those intending to travel the world and experience the many man made and natural wonders it has to offer, to do so with a sense of confidence that enables them to make the most of all the new experiences wherever they are to be found.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Million Dollar Point
Date – September 2000
Location - Espiritu Santo Island - Vanuatu
Million Dollar Point is the location where the Americans, at the end of World War II bulldozed the entire infrastructure they had built to accommodate the soldiers transported here from the USA; these soldiers were sent to acclimatise on Vanuatu prior to being sent out to the fight in different parts of the Pacific in the second world war. Over 500,000 soldiers passed through these islands and rather than leave the infrastructure for the inhabitants whose undisturbed world had been turned upside down, the Americans decided to dump it all in the sea, at the subsequently and appropriately named Million Dollar Point.
These days it’s a great place to snorkel or dive and to see the incredible array of equipment they dumped including jeeps, water tanks, and coke bottles in their tens of thousands, before they finally dumped the bulldozers themselves.
Beyond The Blue run workshops for those planning a gap year or taking a career break to experience independent travel. These workshops are designed to help people travel safely and with confidence to wherever their dreams take them. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop also examines aspects of Travel Equipment requirements, so that you take what is required and leave behind what you will never use. Often the simplest mistakes in equipment choices can have a huge impact on the budget you have set yourself.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Blue Holes
Date – September 2000
Location - Espiritu Santo Island - Vanuatu
The Blue Holes of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu are just that, exceptionally clear blue water about 18m deep and spring fed, they are so clear that the bottom can be seen and makes a great stop for a refreshing swim or snorkel. The fish are friendly and it’s an incredible experience to swim in fresh water this clear. Be sure not to harm this incredible little spot with any kind of pollutant such as shampoo or soap.
Beyond The Blue derived its name from our desire to get our candidates looking 'beyond the blue' rather than dealing with problems as they come at them 'out of the blue'. It is in this spirit that we run Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop for people planning to travel to any of the beautiful sights the world has to offer. Our workshop covers many different subjects including Ethical and Responsible Travel, Destination Advice and routes that those planning a round-the-world trip might consider.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Champagne Beach
Date – September 2000
Location - Espiritu Santo Island - Vanuatu
Champagne Beach has simply to be one of the best undiscovered beaches in the world. It’s not a place to come to sip cocktails and sit by the pool as there are no cocktails to be had and no swimming pool. But there is no need to worry, why would you need a pool when there is a white sand beach sloping gently off into a sea protected from extremes by a small island in the mouth of the bay. As for the cocktails, the local villagers sometimes have a few bits and bobs available for the odd passing tourist, but ‘bring your own’, is definitely the way forward.
Beyond The Blue believes in training the individuals attending our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop in being well prepared for where ever they are going. At Champagne Beach all you need is your swimming gear, enough water for the day and sunscreen. For a year away from home you’ll need a little more, but not as much as some people would think….
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Mount Yasur Volcano Eruption
Date – September 2000
Location - Tanna Island - Vanuatu
Volcanoes such as the very active and accessible Mount Yasur on Tanna Island in Vanuatu are fascinating to visit. The old cliché that 'they make you feel small and insignificant and show how susceptible we are to the earth’s power' is no exaggeration.
In countries where access is not regulated such as Vanuatu, it does not mean that they are not as dangerous. Listen to local advice when official advice is not available and always plan your visits well. Climbing this volcano on your own and sitting on the rim at dusk watching the molten rock be thrown hundreds of meters in the air, is certainly better then the best fireworks display mankind has managed to date, but if fireworks are dangerous then Volcanoes are deadly.
Beyond The Blue runs Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshops designed to make those attending aware of managing risk when travelling abroad and demonstrate ways of reducing it.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Beach Hut
Date – September 2000
Location - Tanna Island - Vanuatu
Accommodation options vary and in the best locations the choices can be limited.
Here the 'Friendly Bungalows' on Tanna Island are as simple as permanent structures can be, with no furniture on the split bamboo floor and with no electricity, but you are compensated by the isolation and the view. As a bonus Mary, who was looking after us, did so with a level of service never matched in any five star hotel. One night she approached me to apologies for the dinner she had made for me, as the only person staying that month. It was lobster! She was apologising as we had lobster the previous night, but the fisherman had caught too many and they don’t waste anything. Needless to say I forgave her the monotony of the menu on this occasion…
Beyond The Blue runs workshops for individuals planning Gap Year, a Career Break or Independent Travel and discusses the various accommodation options you will encounter around the world and how to avoid the pitfalls.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Mount Yasur Volcano
Date – September 2000
Location - Tanna Island - Vanuatu
Normally when visiting active volcanoes, you will have to follow the paths and heed warning signs. Any other approach can mean that you are putting yourself in direct danger and possibly others who may be required to rescue you in the case of an accident. On Volcanoes like Mount Yasur on Tanna Island Vanuatu, there is no track to follow and in these cases you have to take advice from local residents and plan your excursions well.
At Beyond The Blue we teach candidates how to manage and assess risk when they are travelling independently, on a gap year or career break. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshop helps you to plan your travel and to research areas where the risks are greater. The experience of our instructors allows them to pass on tips and tricks they have learned over the years they have been travelling.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Nun at Bayun Temple
Date – August 2000
Location - Siem Reap - Cambodia
Many of even the most ancient temples in the Siem Reap region are still active places of worship today. Here at Bayun Temple near Angkor Wat, a Buddhist Nun watches over one of the many Buddha figures located throughout the temple ensuring that the incense is always burning. The Nuns worship with locals and tourists alike.
Beyond The Blue run Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop which advise you in areas of travel safety through the understanding of other cultures and religions. Exploring the ancient temples in Cambodia is an experience that will last a life time, showing respect and understanding allows you to have a better and more intimate experience
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Angkor Wat
Date – August 2000
Location - Siem Reap - Cambodia
Photography while travelling can be a trauma of continuously misrepresenting your experiences, remember sometimes it just takes a jolt for your memories to come flooding back clear as day. Photograph for your own memories and not to impress others.
Angkor Wat is truly one of the world’s greatest man made sights, its size, intricate art work and dominance over you have never successfully been represented in a photograph; you have to experience it for yourself.
During our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop we examine ways of securing your valuables including cameras, mobile phones etc. while you are travelling.
All our instructors are very experienced traveller and still enjoy travelling the world when ever time permits. They have an extensive range of tricks and tips, which can help you protect yourself and your property.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Floating Village Tonle Sap Lake
Date – August 2000
Location - Siem Reap - Cambodia
Tonle Sap Lake plays a crucial part in the agriculture of a huge region of Cambodia, it dominates the centre of the country and joins the Mekong at Phnom Penh which acts as the main artery for the whole of this region of Asia. Not only does the water cover some 3000sq km it floods each year and more than doubles in size. Fishing is a major industry, this lake alone providing over 60% of the country’s fish consumption.
On the lake itself there are whole villages that float and move around following the flood plains. We spotted this while travelling on the boat back to Phnom Penh, with its roof being used to dry local produce, for sale later at market.
The lake is also a major transport route with fast and slow boats taking locals and tourists from Phnom Penh all the way to Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor.
We examine Transport Options during our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop and how to remain safe when choosing different forms of transport.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Jungle Temple
Date – August 2000
Location - Siem Reap - Cambodia
Cambodia still provides you with the opportunity to feel like Indiana Jones. In the Angkor Wat area there are over 100 temples, some have been restored and some have purposefully been left in the same state as they were discovered; overrun by jungle.
There are a number of unbeatable examples of temples on the main circuit that should not be missed, but go off the beaten track a few hundred yards and you can still experience temples, where you will be the only one around. The silence and solitude can certainly add a level of eeriness, that can’t be that different to what the first French explorers must have felt when they stumbled upon the area in the 1860’s.
Beyond The Blue offers in Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop to allow individuals to experience these wonders more safely and with more confidence. Our workshop helps individuals to travel to locations where they can lose themselves in a world normally so far out of their comfort zone, but without ever leaving that zone.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Kobal Spien River
Date – August 2000
Location - Siem Reap - Cambodia
After persuading the bike driver / makeshift guide that it would be worth the drive and after “negotiations” with the relevant forestry staff and soldiers, we finally arrived at Kobal Spien river known as The River of a Thousand Lingas, it was worth every second of the negotiations.
At the time almost unvisited we literally unearthed carvings from the undergrowth and everywhere you turned you came across even more spectacular sights. Well worth the extra mile and effort to visit this one.
Beyond The Blue trains individuals as part of it Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop how to develop good communication skills and demonstrates that even without common languages we can come to a negotiation with a strong position and without having to always concede or retreat from our fair starting point.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Elephant Carving Bateay Seri Temple
Date – August 2000
Location - Siem Reap - Cambodia
You could spend days, weeks and even years admiring and examining the carvings and art of the temples of the Angkor Wat region. Bateay Seri Temples is one of the best examples.
Many carvings have been damaged by the Khmer Rouge who felt it represented the past and with the attempt to start again at year Zero, Pol Pot and his henchmen tried to systematically destroy many of the temples with limited success. That destruction has recently been extended by a prolific trade in ancient artefacts leading to further theft and destruction.
Tourism has helped the justification of the Cambodians to protect these ancient wonders from further damage and with international help some stolen artefact have even been returned.
Beyond The Blue runs workshops designed to prepare individuals planning to travel for the rigours they will encounter in all parts of the world. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop covers areas as different as ethical and responsible travel and which transport options will be available to you. The workshop allows those attending to take their first tentative steps in travel with more confidence.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Jungle or Temple?
Date – August 2000
Location - Siem Reap - Cambodia
The Jungle Temples of the Angkor Wat area are worth spending some time exploring. Getting off the beaten track for just a few hundred metres takes you into the jungle which regularly opens up into clearings revealing yet another temple to discover.
Cambodia remains one of the most mined countries of the world, with more than 3 million mines still estimated to be hidden throughout the country and over 700 fatalities each year. All across the country you will encounter the victims, who number in the tens of thousands, mostly amputees who have stepped on land mines in the course of their everyday lives. In Cambodia 1 in every 250 people is an amputee, the highest number anywhere in the world. The mine removal projects continue to clear large areas, but you should always check with locals which areas are safe to explore. As a rule stick to regularly used paths and listen to local advice to make your journey as safe as possible.
Beyond The Blue will as part of a Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop, provide individuals with Destination Advice for the country they are visiting, we will highlight amongst other things the dangers to be aware of when visiting the country in question and resources where you can seek further information and advice.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – West Gate Angkor Wat
Date – August 2000
Location - Siem Reap - Cambodia
Watching the world go by in countries far away from home, is one of the great pleasures of travelling. Cambodia and the mighty Angkor Wat are no exception and what we consider as a tourist attraction is for the locals just a normal way of life. Spending some time watching locals go about their day to day business can teach us about a country and how different it is to our own. This understanding will allow you to better experiences the country you are in and allow you to find your place within it.
At Beyond The Blue we encourage individuals through our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop, to discover for themselves how to best fit into a country they are visiting. We provide individuals with the initial tools they will require, to make this discovery.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – The Royal Palace
Date – August 2000
Location - Phnom Penh - Cambodia
The Royal Family has remained an important factor in modern day Cambodia. The country is a fully fledged democracy and although it suffers from many of the afflictions of other developing countries in the region, it also has the added burden of the Khmer Rouge history still weighing hard on the politics of the country.
The Royal Family has had a roller coaster ride throughout the last century being in turn loved and hated by the Cambodian people as it backed various regimes and spent some time in exile.
The palaces in Phnom Penh however stand as a symbol of the old excesses of royal architecture to be found all over the world. On a sunny day the gold leaf reflects the light magnificently back to the blue sky it came for and is an interesting half day trip with the highlight being a glimpse of the Silver Pagoda at its centre.
Beyond The Blue run workshops that will open up the world to the intrepid traveller. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop can help you to enjoy the excesses the world has to offer and see many of it wonders, that number many more then 7.
Having the confidence in your own skills will allow you to complete your trip without all the constant headaches that can hold people back, simply through the lack of information they have access to.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – The Girl and The Elephant
Date – August 2000
Location – Siem Riep - Cambodia
Cambodia’s small army of hawkers will follow you from the moment you arrive till the moment you leave, to some they may be an irritation to others they add colour to the country. In Cambodia the kids will stare at you with their big brown eyes and all but the hardest will fall for it. But some believe that these kids have been taken out of school to do this work and in some cases this may very well be the case. If you take the time to speak to them (and they often speak perfect English) you can easily find out more about their lives and why they have to work for a living. Many go to school in the morning and work in the afternoons to supplement the family’s income.
Don’t jump to a conclusion just because you have heard a horror story once and think it applies to everyone. There are undoubtedly true stories of children being forced to work by press gangs, but thousands upon thousands of children work as a normal part of their lives, so they and their families can eat regular meals and some even work so that they can go to school. You might just be helping. Many a travellers’ house is full of souvenirs that they never meant to buy, but felt they ought to; is that a bad thing? You decide.
At Beyond The Blue as part of our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop we will give you the tools to deal with the permanent attention of hawkers and how to haggle with a positive conclusion to your negotiation. Simple rules and a little confidence will allow you not only to overcome the initial fears of this process, but can result in you enjoying the encounters.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – The best sales person in Cambodia
Date – August 2000
Location - Phnom Penh - Cambodia
The best salesmen in the world had nothing on the determination of this young lady in selling her wares to tourists. Her persistence meant that were she to live in a western country, she would be the top sales person in any multinational company.
Hawkers generate different emotions in different people and some people object to having to haggle for every little purchase.
We believe in allowing individuals to make their own decisions as to how they react and how they approach these situations. However we teach individuals to respect people and to ensure that when haggling they have an understanding of the value of the product, as well as the effects your contribution can have on their lives.
Beyond The Blue run Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshops that offers advice on personal safety as well as useful information such as how to deal with hawkers and haggling round the world.
Please visit our website at http://www.safegapyear.com/
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – S21 - Toul Sleng
Date – August 2000
Location - Phnom Penh - Cambodia
The Toul Sleng Museum stands on the grounds of the old Tuol Svay High School which the Khmer Rouge converted into the infamous Security Prison S-21. Here they held and tortured thousands of citizens and sent more then 17,000 to the execution camps, but these were only the ones who did not actually die during their torture.
The methods of torture really make you feel cold and now standing as a monument to the insanity of the time, a visit is well worth it just to experience the chill in the air that must have filled the country at the time.
Obviously nothing can ever come close to completely representing that time, but certainly people regularly leave and years later see the nicotine yellow colour in another location and are taken back to S-21, which is as near to hell as you can get on earth.
On our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop, we help people to gain a better understanding of the effect historical events have the culture of countries and how comprehension allows you to communicate better with your hosts.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – River of blood
Date – August 2000
Location - Phnom Penh - Cambodia
In 1975 Pol Pot or 'Brother no. 1' as he liked being called tried to return Cambodia to the Year Zero. He moved all the towns’ people into the country and forced them into hard labour. The plan was to create a country that was completely self-sufficient through agriculture and remove all external influences. This meant that educated people were considered a threat to society and rounded up, tortured and routinely killed. The test to separate 'intellectuals' from normal citizens was often as simple as rounding up all those people wearing glasses.
The map in the Toul Sleng Museum (S-21 Prison) made from human skulls and bones represents this period where some 2 million Cambodian citizens were massacred over a 4 year period.
Beyond The Blue run workshops to assist those people planning to travel for the first time so that they can enjoy the surprises without so many of the shocks that can ruin even the best planned trips. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop help individuals take the first steps in confidence.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – The Killing Field Skulls
Date – August 2000
Location - Phnom Penh - Cambodia
At various places around Cambodia Stupas can be found, some of these religious sites openly display skulls from the victims of the genocide during the mid seventies. The common attitude of the country is surprisingly open, considering that 30 years later the scars and wounds are still very open and closure on the period is still some way away as controversy surrounding Khmer Rouge trials continues. But Cambodia still believes that the way to prevent the genocide ever being repeated is for the country to face its own history openly and demonstratively and not to bury it as a historical atrocity.
Beyond The Blue examines as part of its Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop the subject of Cultural Awareness in order for those attending to have a better understanding, when visiting new countries, of what to expect and how to appreciate the experience of learning from your hosts.
Please visit our website at http://www.safegapyear.com/
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Killing Fields
Date – August 2000
Location - Phnom Penh - Cambodia
The New and the old. On the entry to the killing fields just outside Phnom Penh stands this sign, it reads:
“……. The method of massacre which the clique of Pol Pot criminals was carried upon the innocent people of Kampuchea cannot be described fully and clearly in words because of the invention of this killing method was strangely cruel, so it is difficult for us to determine who they are for they have the human form but their hear hearts are demon’s hearts they have got the Khmer face but their activities are purely reactionary. …….. they had educated and transformed young people and the adolescent whose hearts are pure gentle and modest into odious executioners who dared to kill the innocent and even their own parents, relatives or friends. ……”
Learning about a countries history recent or ancient will help you to understand it and its people. Cambodia has a very turbulent recent history resulting in the massacre of some 2 million of its citizens. The massacre by its own leaders was extreme and rapid, it took place over a period of just 4 years. The estimates of the number killed are still disputed with numbers ranging wildly between 1 million and 3 million.
Beyond The Blue run workshops to prepare you for travel. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop provides individuals attending with all the information they will require for their trip including personal safety, Destination and Travel Equipment advice.
Please visit our website at http://www.safegapyear.com/
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Snow Dump
Date – February 2000
Location - Val D’Isere - France
When in the mountains of Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa or even Australia, you should be prepared for weather in the extreme.
Waking up when on a skiing trip to find a new dump of snow can be the most exciting feeling, as the powder beckons for the more experienced skier.
When travelling in the mountains the weather can change in a minute, with snow falling at any time of year, turning comfortable conditions into extremely dangerous ones. Those who go unprepared put themselves in serious danger.
Beyond The Blue run Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop for those undertaking independent travel. During the course we consider the issues of preparation and planning as well as Travel Equipment for travel to all parts of the world and to all environments.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
