Well, it’s good to be back in New Zealand, although going from 34 degrees to 14 was a bit of a shock! I managed to get through Biosecurity no problems, although my forest-walking shoes got “dipped” to kill off any nasty bugs.
I thought I should probably do a bit of a wrap-up with a few final thoughts.
I guess I’ve seen all three “Asias” during this trip
- Cambodia: a poor, developing country trying to overcome the massive hurdles it has had to face in the recent past and the difficulties of competing in the global economy, but where the people seem to think they’ve never had it so good.
- Malaysia: a brash, “go-ahead” place that likes to flaunt it’s wealth and progress, but still faces many of the issues of poorer countries – huge gaps between rich and poor, rural and urban, as well as underlying tension between the ethnic groups.
- Singapore: a modern, developed society with superb infrastructure, trying to walk the tightrope between too much control and not enough; where the people have everything they need but aren’t necessarily that happy.
It’s been a wonderful experience, and I’m very thankful to a lot of people for making it happen:
Firstly I’d like to thank the Birkenhead College Board of Trustees and school management for giving me this fantastic opportunity to travel to Asia. The generous funding and time allowance meant that I could really “get into” the countries I visited and have a wide range of experiences. Thanks also to all my colleagues for their support and kind emails while I was away.
A huge thanks goes to my lovely wife Christine and Oliver, Reuben and Daniel, as well as other family members who supported them while I was away. I couldn’t have had such a wonderful trip if I hadn’t known that you were coping without me at home. Lots of love to you all! And I’m very thankful for WordPress, Gmail, internet phones and Skype!
A huge thanks to the Merediths in Singapore and the Moorhead-Owens in Malaysia for their hospitality and generosity. I hope we can return the favour some day.
Thanks to Emily Woodroofe and Sota Sem of World Vision for making my WV day not just possible, but a hugely enjoyable and rewarding experience. Thanks also to Kristin Jack, Chenda Net and Thary, Sokheoun and Vannak at Sun Rise School for being so accomodating. And thanks to Pheakday for helping to organise my visit to the Sihanoukville Children’s Home.
I really appreciate the other members of my Intrepid Travel group for helping me to have such an enjoyable touring experience – you were a great bunch to hang out with.
Randal Meikle helped me to set up this blog and provided remote techie assistance while I was away.
Thanks to all my friends at Church of Christ (NZ) who read the blogs and prayed for me and my family while I was away.
And most of all thanks to God for his protection and for using the things I’ve experienced to ram home a few important truths! I’m also very grateful that I was born and raised in this beautiful land of New Zealand. “You don’t know how lucky you are…”
So that’s me signing off – goodbye and God bless you. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these blogs.
Nigel Cato
