Volunteering in Thailand

Thailand is often said to be land of a thousand smiles and it’s certainly a place that’s easy to fall in love with. There is something in Thailand for everyone; from traditional eastern culture and ancient temples to the teeming metropolis of Bangkok.

Background

Our approach to setting up in Thailand was to initially build links with the central Bangkok Education Ministry. We enlisted the help of a number of teachers we knew who were working in schools in Bangkok and with their assistance were able to gain meetings with those responsible for rural education. After consulting them we were directed onto the Education authorities in Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand which had been identified as a area that could significantly benefit from receiving VESL volunteers. From there we were able to steadily build relations with a number of primary and secondary schools and soon gained a solid set of schools from right across the Chiang Rai region.

Setting up the programme

Key to the success of our Thai programme has certainly been our fantastic in-country co-ordinator, Nueng Yanarangsee. Nueng is a dedicated teacher who has passionately supported our programme throughout our time in Chiang Rai. As the programme developed we were able to extend our reach and cover more short (4-6 week) summer school projects in addition to developing long term (3 – 12 month) year round projects.

Developing the programme

We’ve found the Thai schools to be an incredibly supportive teaching environment for our volunteers. Schools have shown real adaptability and have made superb use of those experienced and less-experience volunteers that we’ve been able to send. Volunteers are able to take whole class lessons or work alongside the school’s English teachers depending on what is deemed to work best for both volunteer and school. Compared to UK averages, class sizes can be quite small which really suits some of our volunteers and the children are amazingly motivated and keen to participate. We have also received wonderful support from our host families and teaching staff alike. Whether volunteers are placed within on-site teaching accommodation with other teachers or placed with a local family, they’ve been readily accepted into the community and been given the opportunity to really embrace their experience.

Chaing Rai and around

The region is a fantastic area. Chiang Rai city itself has all the shops and markets you could hope for and is incredibly well linked to the rest of Thailand – be that via road, rail or air. The mighty Meakong River flows through Chiang Rai’s northern section in an area called the Golden Triangle which borders Myanmar (Burma) & Laos. It’s easy to visit both countries from here too as both are a short hop away with various border crossing along the North and East of Chiang Rai.

The Northern part of Chiang Rai is quite distinct from other regions of Thailand as it is home to a number of tribal communities with strong cultural traditions. Chiang Rai is also home to countless sites of historical interest including temples and nature reserves. Some of volunteers have reported that it has been a great region to trek around or cycle through (if your the adventurous type).

Neighbouring Chiang Mai is also just a short hop away which has countless temples and cultural sites of it own!

What else to see while your there

The beaches of the South and the islands of Phuket and Koh Samui are always a huge draw for people. With their iconic white sands and tropical juggle backdrops you can’t really go wrong! It’s easy to arrange boat trips to travel around these idilic islands and without too much digging you can usually find your own beach hut hideaway.

Many volunteers also take the opportunity to venture further East and into Vietnam, Laos or onto Cambodia. Some of our more adventurous have dropped down to into Sumartra and Indonesia if you’re looking to get off the beaten track.

Visa restrictions

VESL gains sponsored visas for its volunteers to legally permit them to work within schools. However, volunteers are still required to submit their own visa application (with this sponsor documentation). There are two types of visa that can be applied for; the ‘short trip’ visa is £45 + £10 postage fee. This entitles you to remain within Thailand for a maximum of 90 days. The ‘Multiple Entry’ visa entitles you to extend your visa for up to a maximum of 12 months and costs £100 + £10 postage fee. It’s worth noting that each 90 days of your ‘Multiple Entry’ visa requires an additional visa stamp which you gain at a cross-border visa office (1-3 hour bus ride depending on where you are in Chiang Rai). Gaining this stamp is just a formality and a common place activity for backpackers and volunteers alike which they call the ‘visa run’. Each ‘entry’ stamp costs $10.