Thailand Voluntour 15D/14N

(Monday): Chiang Mai Airport Pick-Up
Upon your arrival at Chiang Mai Airport, you will be picked up and transferred to your volunteer house. Depending on your arrival time you will have some meals included. Enjoy the day at your leisure to settle in. Overnight in Chiang Mai.

(Tuesday): Welcome Meeting & Orientation (B/L/D)
Enjoy breakfast at your accommodation before our project welcome meeting and an orientation where you will receive information about Thailand and about the program, covering the following points:
Thailand & Its Culture

Social Development and the Role of Volunteers

How to Do Volunteer Work

Project Description and Activities

Cultural Responsibility

Personal Safety & Code of Conducts
Today, you also will visit a local market. Overnight in Chiang Mai.
Volunteer Projects:
There are 6 projects with 2 different type of volunteering activities in the city and vicinity of Chiang Mai. We are working with NGOs, government institutions, and other community-related welfare institutions with a need and a willingness to receive volunteers.
The Volunteer Activities are:
Teaching

Child care

Help and care of elderly

Monk Teaching

(Wednesday) Start your volunteering project.
Today you will set up your schedule for the following 2 weeks of the volunteering activities. In the afternoon you will have your Thai language lesson and free time to get to know your surroundings.

(Thursday) Continue your volunteer project and enjoy the activities in the afternoon.
Spend your morning in your chosen volunteer project, in the afternoon head to your Thai language classes. After your class enjoy Thai cooking demonstration and taste some delicious local dishes.

(Friday) Volunteer project & local market visit
Start your day with your volunteer work. In the afternoon, head to the local market and discover all the things you can get here. Enjoy the evening with the rest of the volunteers and get ready for your weekend trip tomorrow!

(Saturday): Chiang Rai Discovery
Today after breakfast you will depart for Chiang Rai. Make a stop along the way at Mae Khachan Hot Springs, a very popular among locals. As you travel this area there will be local people selling eggs to the tourists to boil in the hot springs. Besides boiling the eggs and soaking in warm waters, you can also enjoy shopping for local artisanal products like silver and wood carvings. Our next stop is Wat Rong Khun, known among foreigners as the White Temple, an unconventional Buddhist temple designed in 1997 by noted Thai painter-turned-architect Chalermchai Kositpipat. This magnificent temple is a bizarre blend of surrealism and traditional Thai architecture. The main building is painted white to symbolize Buddha’s purity, and is covered in mosaics of mirrors, sparkling in the sun. All around the complex are intricate sculptures of demons, skulls, severed heads hanging from trees and other bizarre objects.
Continue your visit to the ancient city of Chiang Saen, one of the oldest settlements in the Kingdom of Thailand, located along the Mekong River. The residents of Chiang Saen have a very easygoing and peaceful lifestyle. Many of the residents live nearby in one of the hundreds of ancient structures that once graced this city. Discover Wat Chefi Luang, the old Chiang Saen royal stupa temple, so named since it’s thought to have been the principal temple of King Mengrai’s former capital. Located in the northwest of Chiang Rai province on the banks of the Mekong near the Golden Triangle, the city’s ruins are scattered throughout the modern town of Chiang Saen.
Next, travel to the Golden Triangle, the border regions between Thailand, Burma and Laos, where gold was used by Chinese traders to pay for opium grown there. The history of the opium poppy in the Golden Triangle can be traced back to various Chinese migrant groups for whom the poppy was an integral part of their cultural traditions. Elderly people regarded opium, and still do, as an acceptable natural stimulant. The Hmong tribe have always produced opium for trade, at first it was intended for the Chinese market, but later the French colonists bought large amounts during their reign in Indochina. Overnight in Chiang Rai.

(Sunday): Chiang Rai Discovery - Chiang Mai Volunteer House (B/D)
Enjoy the morning at your leisure to explore the city on your own before visiting a tea farm, then drive back to Chiang Mai and return to your volunteer accommodation for dinner and overnight. Overnight in Chiang Mai.

(Monday) Volunteer project
Monday arrives with you working on your volunteer project in the morning, after lunch head to your Thai language class. You will have a free evening today to relax after the exciting weekend you have had.

(Tuesday) Volunteer project & a visit to a local family
Start your day on your volunteer placement. After, head to your Thai language class. After class you will go to visit a local family and learn about their daily lives, have a dinner with the family before heading back to the volunteer house.

(Wednesday) Volunteer project
Continue on your volunteer project and head to your Thai language class in the afternoon. Spend the evening at leisure.

(Thursday) Volunteer project & free time
Head to your volunteer placement in the morning, today you will have a free afternoon, enjoy some time with the rest of the volunteers or simply relax at the volunteer house.

(Firday) Last day of volunteer project
Enjoy this last day of volunteer project and get ready for your weekend trip. Also your volunteering experience will come to an end after your weekend trip has ended, so maybe you want to gather your belongings or have a great evening with the fellow volunteers.

(Saturday): End of Volunteer Program & Lampang Excursion (B/D)
Today you will travel from Chiang Mai city to Lampang, a province in the Northern Thailand. For about an hour driving along a curvy road, see the beautiful scenery of the mountains and forest along the way. After reaching Hang Chud District you will visit Lampang Thai Elephant Conservation Centre (TECC)*, founded in 1993 under Royal Patronage. The centre looks after the elephants in Thailand and is an Elephant Hospital for sick elephants. After the arrival at the TECC, see the elephant show where the animals show their many different skills. After the elephant conservation centre, travel to Lampang City for lunch in the local restaurant (not included).
Take a traditional form of transportation, the horse carriage, to visit Wat Sri Chum. The temple dates back to 1890 AD and was built by a Burmese architect who worked in the British logging industry. The building is a mixture between Lanna Thai and Burmese style with the beautiful and elaborate artwork of wood carving on the roof top. Then visit the 100-year-old Baan Sao Nak, aka 'The House with Many Pillars', where you can see the the old teak house with 116 pillars and its large collection of ancient pieces. Wat Pong Sanook is the oldest temple in Lampang City as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On the way back to Chiang Mai, make a stopover at Kard Baan Ta, a market that sells local products. Experience local food that can't be found in the country's supermarkets. Enjoy taking photos as well as tasting the rich flavours of this interesting food if you're an adventurous eater. At the end of today, you will be transferred back to your volunteer accommodation for dinner. Overnight in Chiang Mai.

(Sunday): Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Half Day Tour & Chiang Mai Airport Drop-off (B/D)
Today you will be picked up from your accommodation after breakfast to travel up the mountains and visit one of the most popular tourist destinations in Chiang Mai, the Doi Suthep Temple. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a magnificent Buddhist temple located at the top of Suthep mountain. It takes about 30 minutes to get there from the Chiang Mai old city. There are 306 steps to climb but then you can see a wonderful view of Chiang Mai city (when the weather is clear) as well as the golden pagoda containing a relic of the Lord Buddha in the temple. Now there is an enclosed cable car you can take to the top of the temple if you are unable or unwilling to walk up the 306 steps. Every year many Thai people from all over the country make pilgrimages to this temple.
After the temple visit, you will continue on to visit a White Hmong Village. Return to Chiang Mai in the afternoon and later take a transfer to the Chiang Mai Airport to catch your outbound flight. We hope you enjoyed this experience and wish you safe travels ahead.
*Please Note: Departure transfer is given from 20:00 hours today until 10:00 hours next day and will be available every 2 hours.

(Monday) End of the experience
Today there are available airport transfers until 10AM. Say your last goodbyes and we wish you a pleasant onward journey!