Thailand – the next adventure

Tomorrow I fly to Bangkok, Thailand where my next adventure will begin.

I felt the best experiences from my Indian adventure were times when I was fortunate enough to have meaningful contact with local people and better immersion into the local culture, like at the wedding anniversary party in Khajuraho. We travelled hard and fast through India and I was ill frequently. It was an amazing experience but one that completely exhausted me. The poverty also shocked and upset me, I realised just how incredibly fortunate we are in the west and I would like to be able to give something back to communities who are less lucky.

So I have arranged to voluntarily teach English at a rural school in northern Thailand near Chiang Rai. Before this, I have 3 weeks to explore Bangkok, get in some beach time, explore the temples and history of Thailand and slide over to Cambodia to visit the temples of Angkor Wat. I’m excited about becoming integrated in a Thai community and I can’t wait to met all the students and teachers at the school and hope I can do a good enough job to benefit the children’s futures and make it worthwhile.

Along with the excitement I’m also a little nervous. This is the first time I’ll be doing a big trip on my own. Whilst I’m excited about all the possibilities, choices and new friends that I should make while travelling alone but it’s still a little daunting and I’ll going to miss my family and my boyfriend. I hope I can rise to the challenge once more.