bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Pauline Bunce

'SERIOUSLY, THIS INTERIM was, like, totally awesome!' Such was the classic teen-speak response of 16-year-old Monica Graves from Hong Kong International School when asked to describe her week of camping and kayaking around the islands of Phang Nga Bay near Phuket in Thailand.

Monica was one of a group of fifteen HKIS students and teachers who were undaunted by the recent tsunami-related events in the Indian Ocean, and who held the view that the best way to assist Thailand's wave-battered tourism industry was to go there and support the local operators.

Every year the entire HKIS high school student body participates in a programme known as Interim, during which small groups of students and their teachers embark on service, adventure and cultural experiences in Hong Kong and the region.

This year, some 36 groups travelled outside Hong Kong as far afield as Fiji, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and India, while others visited China, Japan, Australia and Southeast Asia.  Planning was buffeted by the tsunami, as many parental concerns were expressed about the safety of the three adventure programmes on offer in the Phuket-Krabi region of southern Thailand.

These concerns ranged from the establishment of sound evacuation procedures and the provision of a safe water supply, to the presence of floating debris, dead bodies and even ghosts.

The school's response was to send an inspection team to Phuket in February, which visited every venue on the proposed tours, as well as local hospitals and other providers of basic services. They saw the clean-up first-hand and returned to Hong Kong with sufficient data and photographs to convince most of the worried parents that the students' adventure tours would be unaffected.

In the words of Nikita Andreev, a Grade 12 participant in the camp: 'The tsunami certainly affected our planning and our preparations, but we didn't let it dampen our enthusiasm for this annual kayaking trip.'

Any HKIS students whose parents expressed fears about water-based activities or the presence of ghosts in Thailand were allowed to withdraw from their chosen overseas programmes and select an alternative activity from the range of those on offer in Hong Kong, and about a dozen families exercised that option.

The HKIS sea kayaking group lost just three students to parental concerns. The other parents were reassured by the inspection team's report, the school's long-standing relationship with the local operator and the provision of detailed maps of the areas that the students would visit.

The students were impressed by the massive clean-up and repair activities that they saw on the northern beaches of Phuket Island. Student Han Li likened the gritty determination he saw among the Thai people to get on with their lives to the spirit inherent in the national martial art of Muay Thai. 'Those who get knocked down, just get right back up and fight again,' he said.

During their week of beach-camping on the sheltered island of Koh Yao Noi, the HKIS group learned basic campcraft, Thai cooking and kayak-handling skills. The tsunami's effects had been minimal in this area and the students hardly gave the event a second thought as they revelled in the natural beauty of Phang Nga Bay.

As part of the school's ongoing commitment to the Koh Yao Noi community, it arranged for the donation of a computer and printer to a small village school on the island. HKIS senior, Nick Pitts, who confessed to missing his own computer during the camp, made the presentation on behalf of the group. 'The children were really happy to meet us and the principal was delighted with our gift. It was touching to realise that something we take so much for granted could make such a difference to others,' he commented.

Another Grade 12 student, Joyce Chan, could hardly believe the warm welcome the group received at the remote school, and Angela Chih said she 'felt like a celebrity' when she was asked to sign autographs by the school children she met.

Sea Canoe, our local operator, also arranged for the HKIS group to provide some educational assistance for a young boy who had lost his father in the tsunami at Kamala Beach on Phuket Island. Chaiyanand Sangsuwan and his still traumatised mother were finding it extremely difficult to re-establish their lives.

Back at the camp, each day's kayaking expedition was planned to be longer and even more scenic than the day before. The group  paddled beneath towering cliffs and around pinnacle-like islands, swam and snorkelled in numerous sheltered coves, while guides kept a close eye on the weather and tidal conditions.

The sudden onslaught of a tropical squall one afternoon saw the group paddling faster than usual to the safety of the 'mother boat' to  ride out the weather  in the lee of a nearby island. There was no problem in enforcing the life-jacket rule after that blustery experience. Sometimes, the group  would inch through dark and narrow limestone caves and emerge bedazzled into the hidden lagoons, or 'hongs', which can be found in the hollow core of many of the bay's larger islands. They also paddled through labyrinthine mangrove forests, where they  came face-to-face with a monitor lizard and a small troop of crab-eating monkeys.

One afternoon, our inter-island boat was visited by three swooping Brahminy Kites. These impressive birds of prey showed their superb aerobatic skills, catching food scraps in mid-air.

It was heartening to learn that overseas tourists were gradually returning to this beautiful region, although our hosts remarked that the current figures represented only a quarter of the usual visitor numbers for this time of year. Like many Phuket-based tour operators, Sea Canoe has had to rotate its roster of guides, and many staff have yet to return to full-time work some three months after the tsunami.

Each guide had a different tsunami story to tell. One had lost a family member who had been working on a badly hit beach at the time of the disaster. Another's wife had climbed on to a wall to save her life. One of the guides was in the bay, leading a group of kayakers at the time, but the paddlers experienced only oddly swirling currents and an unusually high tide. It was clear to everyone that the tsunami's worst effects had been concentrated in a few particular areas. It was also reassuring to learn that our guides were continually monitoring the tides and currents in the bay.

At the final campfire under the stars on the beach of Koh Yao Noi, Sea Canoe's managing director, Soonthorn Sakulsan, told the students that the tsunami had dealt a powerful economic blow to Phuket. He expressed his deep appreciation that the students, their parents and the school had been able to see beyond the media reports of the tragedy and urged them all to become ambassadors for Thailand.

In the words of 15-year-old HKIS student Paul de Felice, whose family had also visited Phuket during the recent Chinese New Year holiday, 'Thailand doesn't really need donations so much as it needs visitors to come back and show their support for all the hard-working people who are trying to get their lives back together'.

Pauline Bunce, a humanities teacher at HKIS, was one of the teachers on the kayaking expedition in Phang Nga Bay, east of Phuket Island.



Paddling a path to discovery