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Itinerary - Gap-Year-Teaching-Thailand - Africa and Asia Venture

Itinerary


You will fly to Bangkok’s Suvanabhumi Airport, normally arriving in the early morning. From there you will take an internal flight to Chiang Rai, where you will meet Bryan and Rosie Massingham, who will look after you in Tha Ton. Travelling to Tha Ton takes about 1½ hours through some of northern Thailand’s stunning scenery. If there is a long wait at Bangkok we will take you ‘down town’.


You will spend about 5 days at Tha Ton, enjoying the comforts of the Maekok River Village Resort. We will:

  • Explain Thai history, culture, customs and polite behaviour
  • Teach you some Thai
  • Teach you some basic Thai cooking
  • Discuss safety issues
  • Give you some training in teaching English, and make you practise on each other and on local Thai children.
  • There will be plenty of free time, so you will be able to get to know each other better over a couple of beers around the pool.


After the orientation course you will head out to the villages. All villages are within 1½ hours of Tha Ton and of the hospital at Mae Ai. We will take you to your new home, which will be close to the school, or actually inside the compound, at the heart of the village.

Some houses are a bit more ‘authentic’ than others – one even has dimmer switches on the lights! You will have at least one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen area, some equipment to cook with and some plates and cutlery. All houses have flushing lavatories and a shower.

You will be close enough to each other to visit at least one other pair with ease, using taxis or buses. Occasionally you will all meet up as a group.

You will be loaned a mobile phone for emergencies, but all the schools are on email, so you will be able to communicate with each other easily.


You will be formally welcomed to the school. It will take a bit of time to know all the staff, but you will be looked after by one of the English teachers (who may not be a confident English speaker!). The school will normally give you lunch, shared with the other teachers. Schools are always at the centre of the village communities, so you will be very well known and your presence much appreciated.

  1. Most students will be 4 – 11. Standards of spoken English are not high.
  2. Classrooms are generally good, but not heavy on IT. There is at least one language lab, but it has never been switched on!
  3. Children respect older people (you!) but can be quite cheeky and are very competitive.
  4. Scouting is important in Thai schools and scout or guide uniforms are worn once a week. On other days different dress is worn.
  5. All schools are built around a football pitch-sized space (small school, small pitch), so there is scope to play football, basketball or volleyball.
  6. Most schools have a quiet period after lunch.
  7. Thailand is intensely patriotic and, at the pinnacle of this feeling, is the hugely popular King. You may have ‘King Day’ holidays.
  8. Occasionally, schools have picnics or other celebrations at weekends but otherwise your time is free to meet other AVs, have fun and explore.


When you complete the term, there will be a formal farewell to the school, after which the group, having gathered in Tha Ton, will:

  • Travel to Bangkok by bus or plane and spend a day or more there.
  • Travel by bus and ferry from Bangkok to Koh Tao, a small island in the Gulf of Siam, to the north of Koh Samui and Koh Phangnyan (home of the full moon party). Koh Tao (Turtle Island) is a diving paradise with extra clear water and a large number of diving schools. You will be at Big Blue Diving, a PADI 5-star Instructor Development Centre. Assuming that you are medically clear to dive and wish to do so, you will do the PADI Open Water Basic qualification course, which lasts 3 days and we pay for. Thereafter, you can either complete the 2-day Advanced course (we pay half the fee) or we pay for a one-day fun dive and you chill out for a day.
  • In the evening there is a considerable social life centred around Big Blue and their international diving staff, or you can wander down the beach to candle lit restaurants and bars where you can watch the sun sink into the sea and the tropical night take over.


Now is your chance to explore South East Asia. There are any number of iconic beaches and secluded islands, especially in the archipelago on the western side of the Thai Peninsula, but you may feel that you have had enough of beaches and parties by now. If so, the options are almost limitless:

  • Cross into Laos, visit Luang Prabang and head down the Maekong River to Vientiane, that very French city.
  • Travel (perhaps fly by one of the region’s low cost carriers) to Siem Reap and visit the astonishing Angkor Wat, one of the wonders of the world.
  • Visit Vietnam, its lovely gentle people and the Maekong Delta, Ho Chi Min City and the relics of the Vietnam War.
  • Travel down into Malaysia, taking the train to Singapore or crossing to east Malaysia to visit the Orang Utangs (originally Orang Hutan or “Forest People”!) before they become extinct.


You need to return to Bangkok to fly back to UK, but your ticket is flexible so you can delay your return if you want. We can help if you do.

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