Thailand: Cultural Kaleidoscope ™ 
Find yourself in a potpourri of saffron robes, green mountains, golden temples, & technicolor markets.
Highlights
- Volunteer at an orphanage for displaced children
- Experience Thai food, arts, & music
- Help care for elephants
- Trek through the jungle to remote hill tribes
- Zip-line through the rainforest
- Discover Bangkok, home of the giant reclining Buddha
- Here’s a video of program snapshots.
Overview
Journey to enchanting Thailand – a kingdom rich in culture, arts & tradition. In this program, we’ll volunteer at a local orphanage, making a difference in the lives of hill tribe refugees. We’ll also bathe and care for elephants at a local preserve.
In our off-time, we’ll go white water rafting, zip-line through the lush rainforest, and trek in the mountains. We’ll also learn how to cook Thai food and visit the bustling city of Bangkok and the temples of Ayuthaya.
Community Service
Service is an integral part of the program. You will volunteer at an orphanage helping refugee hill tribe children who trace their roots to Burma and Laos. Volunteer work ranges from building new facilities to teaching English and playing soccer. You’ll also help out at a battered woman’s shelter. Finally, work at an elephant camp and gain hands-on experience bathing, training, and caring for elephants.
Hands-On Learning
We’ll experience the diversity of Thai culture. You’ll have the opportunity to converse with grassroots NGOs, get an authentic Thai massage, visit the morning market to gather fresh ingredients for a Thai cooking class, learn Muay Thai boxing, and hear about Buddhism’s influence on Thai culture and society. Chiang Mai, where we will be based, is a hot spot for groundbreaking NGO activity. You’ll have the opportunity to visit a hill tribe refugee village and converse with leaders of grassroots organizations.
Adventure
This program is filled with adventure, as Thailand is complete with not just culture but also beautiful landscapes. We’ll go white water rafting down a roaring river, zip line through lush vegetation, ride a bamboo raft, and shop for handicrafts at the Chiang Mai night bazaar. At the end of the program, we’ll visit the bustling city of Bangkok and see the longest reclining Buddha in the world and Ayuthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Lodging
We will spend most of the program based in a small hotel on the outskirts of Chiang Mai nestled among lush-green rice paddies. The program will begin and end in Bangkok, where we will also live in a small hotel. Take a video tour of our Thailand Home Base.
http://www.experiencegla.com/destinations/asia/china
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