Winter Travel Opportunities

[PEPY]

A few moths ago, I was sitting at my computer on a slow day at school when I received an e-mail from PEPY about their rural experiential
tour in August. Interested in the idea of a holiday with a difference - that made a difference - I visited the website and three months later found myself in the rural community of Chanleas Dai (just outside Siem Reap, Cambodia), waking up under a mosquito net to the sounds of cows and roosters, eating homemade coconut sweets for breakfast, working each day with the community to help renovate their classrooms, and taking bike rides across the flat green plains to visit educational projects in the area. I travelled by tuk-tuk, soaked up the sights of Siem Reap and the Angkor temples, and met some fantastic people (local villagers as well as PEPY staff and fellow participants from all over the world) - all this meant the trip was varied, inspiring and memorable - an experience I'd recommend to even those most slavishly devoted to their hairdryers and hot showers.



If you think this sort of trip is up your alley or if even if it isn't but you feel up to a challenge of trying out something new, check out pepytours.com (http://pepytours.com/) - if you're still thinking about what to do with your winter vacation, sign up for PEPY's Classic Experiential Tour NOW while there are still places left!



JETs and residents in Japan have supported PEPY for many years now by taking part in their tours in Cambodia and fundraising events in Japan. Why not be a part of PEPY's history by getting involved today?! PEPY tours are designed around JET/Japanese holidays, so if you can't take part this winter, check out PEPY's other tour dates and go on a trip in Spring, Golden Week, summer holidays, or any other time that suits you best! Volunteer Travel in Cambodia | Cycle Cambodia (http://www.pepytours.com)



If you can't take part in PEPY trips, there are many other ways you can get involved, from the comfort of your very own prefecture. Please contact ajetsig@pepyride.org for more information. Thanks very much.


All the best,
Laura & the PEPY AJET SIG




TRIP DETAILS
Date: December 27th 2009 - January 2nd 2010.


Potential Itinerary:
Day 1 - Arrive in Siem Reap, check into your hotel and then we'll gather for our welcome dinner with a trip review and intro to Cambodia – and one another!


Day 2 - Visit the world-famous Angkor temples and share the excitement with students from one of PEPY's schools on their first ever trip to
the temples


Day 3 - Adventure day! We’ll visit Banteay Srei and Beng Mealea temples after a sunrise bike ride.


Days 4-5/6 (the length of stay depends on the community project needs at a time but usually it's one night) - Experience the beauty and
serenity of the daily life in rural Cambodia by traveling out to the PEPY Ride school by truck, visiting PEPY projects in the area and sleeping on the school grounds all the while learning about sustainable development and responsible tourism challenges in Cambodia. This educational aspect of PEPY Tours is highly valued amongst our past participants and will certainly open your eyes to the daily challenges faced by the villagers and their children. It will also give you a unique chance to 'go where your money goes' and oversee the power of your contribution.


Day 6 - Free Day! Suggestions: explore the local markets, visit the Landmine Museum or Angkor National Museum, visit the flooded forests
on Tonle Sap Lake.



Day 7 - After breakfast together we say our good-byes as participants get ready to return home.



For those of you interested in visiting the dynamic Phnom Penh we offer a 3-night Phnom Penh extension tour. You can learn more about it
here: Phnom Penh Extension - Volunteer Travel in Cambodia | Cycle Cambodia (http://pepytours.com/tours/phnom-penh-extension).



This is just a brief snapshot of what you can hope to experience - for a full itinerary, information on responsible tourism, facts and pricing, please visit PEPY's Classic Experiential Tour - Volunteer Travel in Cambodia | Cycle Cambodia (http://pepytours.com/tours/pepys-classic-volunteer-tour) or contact teamleader@pepyride.org today!

--
PEPY
PO Box 93220
GPO Siem Reap Angkor
Cambodia
(1) 914-458-4262 (US)
(855) 17-737-519 (Cambodia)



Change a life today.
www.pepyride.org (http://www.pepyride.org/)
Adventurous Living. Responsible Giving.
www.pepytours.com (http://www.pepytours.com/)

[FiercestCalm]

Ok, I can see that this is frightening and confusing to some. What we're gonna do here is we're gonna ignore this post if we don't like it, and we're gonna stop making inane comments and bringing more attention to it, or we're all gonna get infraction points.

[PEPY]

Hey guys

Firstly, I am sorry if you feel that you have been spammed about PEPY. That is certainly not our intention. Please allow me to explain why we feel this information is JET/Japan-related and hopefully useful and interesting to this forum's users.

PEPY is an organisation which was begun by former JETs. While living and working in Japan, Daniela Papi and Greta Arnquist decided to raise funds for educational projects in Cambodia by cycling across the country for five weeks with a group of friends, visiting schools and orphanages along the way. With a network of friends and supporters in the JET community, the team were able to raise enough funds to construct the PEPY Ride School in Chanleas Dai, just outside Siem Reap. Since then PEPY has grown as an organisation and is now a registered non-for-profit and a successful tour company. Because of its beginnings in Japan, PEPY has had overwhelming support from the JET community and hundreds of JETs have taken part in PEPY tours in Cambodia.

As we know, JETs love to travel and Cambodia is a common travel destination for JETs as it is. PEPY tours take place during JET/Japanese holidays to ensure that JETs are able to take part, without disrupting their work schedules. I have been on two Golden Week tours with PEPY in the past and came away feeling utterly inspired and motivated to help as much as I can. Many other JETs have felt the same way and have promoted PEPY amongst the Japanese community in their prefectures. We hope that by getting information about PEPY Tours and volunteer opportunities to reach as many JETs as possible, they too will be able to take part and learn about PEPY. We know how many JETs use this forum and thought it was the perfect place to inform people of the opportunities available to them. In fact, earlier this year I posted on here regarding an internship position which was opening up at PEPY, and one of this forum's users saw the post, applied, and is now working with PEPY in Cambodia. So we must be doing something right!

We post on this forum as the PEPY Special Interest Group, which is a group run through AJET (the Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching), an association run for JETs, by JETs. I myself am a former JET, having left Japan just a couple of months ago after three years in Ehime Prefecture, and the current SIG leader is a 4th year JET in Hiroshima city. We know that not all JETs check their emails too regularly, not all JETs receive AJET e-Bulletins, and some JETs have plenty of free time at school during the day to browse the internet and post on forums. Which is why we wanted to make sure that the information was available to as many people as possible.

As someone mentioned above, if you are not interested, please feel free to ignore the thread. We are here for the people who ARE interested, or the people who might be interested, or the people who just need a little nudge in the right direction.

Tours aside, there are many opportunities for JETs to get involved with PEPY without even going to Cambodia! There are fundraising events held throughout the year and we always welcome new ideas and suggestions. I myself held a Burns Night supper each year that I lived in Japan to raise money for PEPY which was not only very successful in terms of the funds raised, but also in terms of internationalisation as it allowed people of all nationalities the opportunity to learn about and take part in a piece of Scottish culture. We also have a cycling event which takes place twice a year which has given JETs the chance to get out and explore their prefecture, while raising money for PEPY.

The possibilities are endless and without the support that JETs have shown in the past, little of this would have been possible. We just want to make sure that this support will continue in the future!

I hope that clears things up a little. If you have any other questions or comments regarding PEPY, please don't hesitate to get in touch at ajetsig@pepyride.org or visit the PEPY website Education in Cambodia - Cambodian Education Programs | Community Development in Cambodia (http://www.pepyride.org)

Thanks guys

Aileen
PEPY Special Interest Group

[Trivial]

A) The PEPY account is not me, nor is it anyone in my office.

and

B) It's not spam because it's not unsolicited. PEPY is welcome to advertise here, for obvious reasons.

If you'd like to discuss this further, please start a thread in Site Discussion.