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This page features some examples of how our existing Scholars have spent their £1,500 travel bursary Meenakshi Parameshwaran James Burke Hayley Cordwell Danielle Peirce Samantha Vong Safaris, trekking, children waving;
£1,500 goes a long way in Africa. TOP
James Burke Having completed the seven month work placement
in May 2003 I had 4 months in which to travel the world before university. I departed for Bangkok,
Thailand with a friend from home and a fellow London scholar.
Having bamboo rafted, sunbathed, rode elephants, jungle trekked, visited beautiful temples and suffered from lack of sleep for a couple of weeks we moved on to Australia. We visited Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef where I became a certified scuba diver. Yes we did see sharks! Further south we spent a weekend camping on Fraser Island with a 4WD jeep, six other like minded travellers and several crates of beverages. It was without doubt the funniest weekend of my life and a must for any visitors to Australia.
Having spent a week lying on a beach in Fiji recovering from our East Coast exploits, we moved on to New Zealand. It truly is everything it claims to be, the adventure sports capital and one of the most beautiful and friendliest countries in the world. Sky diving has been the most amazing experience of my life to date and that coupled with enjoying genuine kiwi hospitality made New Zealand my favourite country of the trip.
One of the best things about the Scholars Scheme is that you are introduced to like-minded gap-year students who also have a travel bursary to spend! I made many good friends at Deloitte and soon met another scholar who shared my ambition of travelling the world. So, a few weeks after finishing our placement in Manchester, we set off on a round the world trip, stopping at Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
The first question I am always asked is "which is your favourite country", to which I still have not thought of an answer! How can you compare hot sand baths in Japan, being tested for SARS in Singapore, eating chicken feet and chilli snails in Vietnam, learning to surf in Noosa, hiking up a glacier in South Island and swimming with manta-rays in the South Pacific? The cultures we experienced in each country were so different and special in their own way and each time we moved on I was sad to leave. I made so many friends along the way who I am sure I will stay in touch with.
As we were not working in any of the countries we visited, we had to budget vigorously to ensure that our funds lasted the full four months that we were away. Fortunately, my companion and I had similar savings from our bursary and earnings with Deloitte, so we were able to follow the same budget.
Not only did the travel bursary enable us to embark on this trip of a lifetime, but it also let us participate in a few activities that many other students couldn't afford. For example, in Australia I splashed out on a skydive from 10,000 feet, landing on Mission Beach. It was certainly the most exciting experience I've ever had and I even bought the video to prove that I really did go through with it!
I gained a lot of confidence from travelling. After all, if you can deal with a situation like being lost in a foreign city where no one speaks the same language as you, or having no money left and not understanding why all the banks are closed and all the ATMs out of order, or watching half a dozen live fish being cooked in a boiling pot of water on the table in front of you just so that you know they are fresh - then you know that you can deal with anything!
I travelled with two of my fellow scholars after our work placement had finished. And what a time we had! With our backpacks at the ready, our first stop had to be Thailand, land of the backpackers. We sunbathed on deserted beaches, scuba dived, got chased by monkeys (not one of my best experiences!) and climbed up waterfalls.
From there we travelled down through Malaysia, exploring the sights on islands such as Penang and the impressively new Kuala Lumpur. Shopping in the Petronas Towers is a most for anyone who has a passion for shopping! The last stop on our tour of South-East Asia was Singapore which is an incredibly diverse city.
And then a must for any gapper - Australia. Some of the highlights? Watching a performance in the Sydney Opera House, dancing on tables at a sheep shearing farm, a self-drive safari around Fraser Island, sailing the Whitsundays and relaxing in the Daintree National Park. Along the way we met many scholars from all over the country, having just as great a time as us! And now, having just started university, I feel refreshed, ready to work, and have plenty to talk about when people ask me what I've done since my A-levels!
A week after finishing my placement at Deloitte, I found myself at the airport, setting off for three unforgettable months of travelling. I chose the popular backpacker route travelling with school friends and scholars. In Thailand we escaped the crazy bustling city of Bangkok, and fled south to the islands for much needed rest and relaxation in the sun. Time was spent exploring the stunning islands, dancing the night away at the Full Moon party and chilling with mates at night, sat round a blazing bonfire on the beach.
In Australia I spent an incredible 5 weeks travelling from Melbourne up the east coast to Cairns, during which I scuba dived, went horse riding and star gazing (which was quite intriguing), jumped out of a plane at 14,000 ft, learnt how to crack a whip... the list goes on and on. Somehow, I also managed to fit in a trip to the Red Centre, and did a great tour around Uluru and Kings Canyon, a must for anyone heading Down Under. Not only could I not escape the scholars during my trip, seeing 7 along the way, it seemed I could not escape the firm, stumbling across a Deloitte office in Alice Springs of all places!
I spent 3 weeks in New Zealand, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful countries I have visited. But if the breath taking scenery doesn't sell it for you, I'm sure the idea of skiing, glacier hiking, swimming with dolphins and white water rafting will, not to mention the great natural spas that soothed away all our aches and pains.
I then finished my trip in California where I met up with my parents, exploring Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco, the perfect way to end my journey. This is just a brief snippet of my amazing 3 months, the financing of which was made that much easier by the Deloitte travel bursary TOP |
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