Project Thailand

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive Bangkok

Travellers will be arriving at all times today so there are no activities arranged. Please try to arrive by 6pm for an important group meeting where you will meet your tour leader and fellow travellers. You have the day free to relax and adjust to the frenetic pace and humid heat of Bangkok.With towering skyscrapers pressed up against Chinese shop-houses and brand-new Mercedes squeezing past vendors with pushcarts, this is a city of distinct contrasts. Culture fiends will delight in the dazzling Royal Palace and the city’s countless pagodas, while shoppers could spend weeks sifting through Bangkok’s malls and open-air markets. Entertainment ranges from highbrow (classical Thai music concerts) to low (Karaoke lounges) with everything in between. Dining options are equally varied. Whether you’re eating French cuisine in a plush hotel restaurant or sampling fried crickets on the side of the road, prepare to have all of your senses engaged. This is the place to eat, drink and be merry.

Day 2 Bangkok (B)

Today we begin with a 2-hour lesson in basic Thai language. After this we take a public express boat running along Chao Phraya River to Tha Chang market where we will take an excursion by boat on the canals of Bangkok’s surprisingly rural western suburbs. Enjoy the natural scenery and observe the daily lives of the people who live along the canals. We may have the opportunity to stop enroute to talk to some of the students attending the temple school or to take a leisurely stroll through vegetable and herb gardens. We will carry on by boat to an orchid farm and the boat-house where the Royal Barges are kept and maintained.

Day 3 Prathum Thani (B,D)

Today we travel to the Prathum Thani Province located 50k south of Bangkok where we will spend the next five days volunteering at a small rural school surrounded by rice fields. The school has 7 teachers and 115 students, ranging from kindergarten to grade 6. Today we will receive an orientation of the school including time to meet the children and visit the classrooms. Then one of the teachers will help to coordinate schedules for each volunteer. It is up to you whether you would prefer to join in on the morning or afternoon classes.

Day 4-7 School Volunteer Project (4B, 4D)

During the next few days we will experience life in this rural village and spend time at the Bang Pho Mai School helping teachers in classrooms and assisting where help is needed such as in the library and playground. You may assist teachers by planning and carrying out classroom activities. Volunteers can encourage the local children to communicate in English and enhance their listening and speaking skills through practical lessons and fun-learning activities such as games, songs and art (painting, drawing, crafting). Volunteers do not need to be officially trained in teaching English as a foreign language, but you must have genuine love of children, particularly the poor and the disadvantaged, and an interest in different cultures.The school is open from 8:30am - 3:30pm with a one hour lunch break. Each class duration is 50-60 minutes. In the evenings we will have free time to relax, explore the village, to get to know the villagers and to join our host family in their daily activities. People in the village are friendly and genuinely interested in where their guests are from. We encourage you to bring photos, postcards, books, music, maps so that you can share information about your culture with the children and your host families to enhance this meaningful cultural exchange. Villagers and host families may organize a get-together where you will have the opportunity to get to know your family and villagers better. This would be a great opportunity for you and your fellow travellers to do a simple song, presentation or performance highlighting aspects of your culture in exchange for a cultural performance from the villagers. Travellers may also bring small gifts to give to the children in the village, to the host of each homestay and the community. It would be a lovely gesture, much appreciated and a precious memory.Accomodation during our stay is in basic home stays with host families in the village.

Day 8 Overnight train to Chiang Mai (B)

In the afternoon, after saying goodbye to our host families we will travel back to Bangkok where we board an overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai.

Day 9 Chiang Mai

We arrive in the morning and will have a tour of Chiang Mai's famous and historic monasteries with their distinctive northern style. This northern city has long been a travellers favourite - try the fantastic street food, shop at the night bazaar or visit the hundreds of temples and beautiful surrounding countryside.

Day 10 - 12 Hilltribe Trekking (3B, 3L, 2L)

Today we depart Chiang Mai and head north to Mae Malai. En route we will visit the local market and the Pang Lan waterfall for relaxation and lunch before arriving at Huay Nam Dang National Park. In the afternoon be begin our trek through the forest to the Karen village of Baan Mae Jok. The Karen originated in Myanmar and are the largest tribal minority in Thailand. We will enjoy a village walk to experience their way of living and how it is intricately intertwined with nature.After breakfast on Day 11 we enjoy a morning trek which takes us to an elephant camp. After lunch we will have the opportunity ride the elephants to the nearby Karen village of Bann Pa Khaolam. Dinner and overnight in this village.After breakfast on Day 12 we will take a bamboo raft down river to the small Lahu village of Ban Pong Ngan. The Lahu are related to the Lolo of Tibet who migrated through China and Myanmar to settle in Thailand more than 50 years ago. We continue rafting for a couple of hours to a Shan village for lunch. The Shans are considered among the earliest inhabitants of this region of Thailand and so their way of living is much alike northern local Thais’. The rafting can take up to 6 hours in the summer when the water level is shallow and the current is slow. After lunch we return to Chiang Mai by a pick-up and transfer to hotel accommodation.

Day 13 Chiang Mai

We spend the day at leisure with some time to explore the city until we are transfered to the train station to board our overnight train to Bangkok (2nd class air-con). Train departs Chiang Mai around 16.30hrs.

Day 14 Depart Bangkok

Arrive at Bangkok Train Station in the morning where our adventure ends.

Trip Details

Accommodation	Simple hotel/guesthouses (4 nts), hilltribe villages (2 nts), overnight trains (2 nts), local homestay (5 nts).
Departure	Departs monthly
DepEnd	Sun-Sat
Group Size	Max 15, Avg 10
Included Highlights	- 5-day Volunteer Project- Village homestay- Hilltribe trek- Thai language lesson
Local Payment	USD250 or Thai Baht 8500
Meals Included	10 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 7 dinners.
StartFinish	ex Bangkok
Transport	Local bus, overnight train, walking, river raft, tuk tuk.
Brochure Intro	Spend five days in a rural village volunteering with children in a local school. Experience true cultural immersion during the village home stays, explore the bustling city and the canals of Bangkok, visit the night bazaar in Chiang Mai, trek through the jungle of Northern Thailand, ride an elephant and travel down river on a bamboo raft while experiencing real life in remote hilltribe villages.

When can I go?

Start Date	Finish Date	Places Available
2008-10-25	2008-11-07	7+
2008-11-22	2008-12-05	7+

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