womanofdulwich wrote:- I think the tone of some of these posts are completely uncalled for. I agree, though Sean is not normally as short tempered as this he is generally a well balanced and mild mannered poster. It is not a criticism I just don't know how good these "experiences" are. My youngest daughter took off on one of these treks with the intention of meeting up with around 8 others. When she arrived 4 were about to leave to go in another direction, 2 others went off to stay on a relative's farm, which left her and one other. That one lost one of her credit cards after a week or so leaving her short of money, which meant my daughter had to bail her out for a few weeks by lending her enough to get by, even so she ended her trek a few weeks early leaving my daughter travelling alone through fiji and Oz which she was concerned about. When she contacted me I suggested she stuck with the programme until she felt she could no longer stand it, then jump on a flight home. She met up with some others travelling on the same route and continued to finish the fiji and Oz trip. She then went on to meet up with other friends in Thailand. This went well until one ran out of money and so she helped her out financially over the following fortnight so she could complete the trek together. My daughter has become much more self confident and tends to take things more in her stride since her return. The parents of the young ladies she helped repaid her in full and were eternally grateful for the help and assistance my daughter gave their offspring. Whether the two grand spent on this trip was worthwhile you will have to judge for your self, but I thought it was an excellent lesson in coping skills and you always pay for experience. I should point out that my daughter self financed this trip by working during her school holidays and weekends for a year or so before the trek. I hope this post is useful.