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| Thailand… a paradise of beauty and adventure. From celestial beaches to the ancient ruins of once-great kingdoms now silent in their majesty, a testament to a glorious past, this country captivates.
The world’s bluest waters, world-class diving, saffron-cloaked Buddhist monks, temples adorned with mother-of-pearl inlay and frescoes older than the Magna Carta, mouth-watering cuisine, elephant and tiger rescue projects and the gentle smiles of the Thai people are yours in a magical voyage through Asia’s oldest center. Many of our travelers combine this trip with our Australia & New Zealand program. |
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You will explore fascinating Northern Thailand, snorkel and dive on the famous islands where you will also meet and speak with survivors of the tsunami of 2004, explore a key site of WWII history and finish your extraordinary voyage in Bangkok. |
 After landing in Bangkok you will immediately catch your connecting flight (we do not put our travelers through the ordeal of an overnight train or bus trip) to the north, where you will visit an elephant rehabilitation project. Elephants are revered and sacred in this land and the sad, but true, fact is that many of them are now out of their traditional jobs and must seek another role in order to survive.
You will also visit the rice paddies and a water buffalo farm before taking an elephant trek through the forest. You will spend time with the famous hill tribe people, sleeping for a night in an authentic house on stilts before returning for the famous night market. |
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| You will participate in a monk chat and learn Muay Thai boxing if you want to. You will also see championship matches. Learn Thai cooking and dancing. You will learn about jade and its uses and perform 10 hours of community service helping to prevent a school building from flooding during the rainy season, for which you will get a certificate. The final night is capped by a celebratory dinner where you will sail the paper lanterns you have made off into the sky. It is called Khantoke. This is no tourist show. It is quite authentic. | ||
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| Then you fly to the famous islands. The water is the bluest you will ever see and the beaches are straight out of a story book. You will snorkel and dive and can participate in our "meet the sharks" swim. Don't worry they are not the kind that attack. You will also hike gorgeous scenic trails, go abseiling (rappelling), take a longtail boat to a beach featured in movies and see the most gorgeous sunsets of your life. Meet and spend time with victims of the 2004 tsunami. They live in a village which lost half its population in an instant. But the safeguards and warnings now in place and the rebuilding projects are heartening. From beneath the waves of destruction has emerged a spectacular place to spend time. |
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| Back on the mainland, you will go to the actual site of the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai" where Allied prisoners of war were forced to build a bridge and a railroad through solid rock. Most were worked to death. The story is told in an important museum and the graveyard is an ever present reminder of the brutality of war. Where do you sleep? In a fantastic floating hotel.and you eat in floating restaurants. You also visit a tiger rehabilitation center run by monks. This is one of the only successful captive tiger breeding facilities in the world; the monks feel their lifestyle contributes to the success of their program. |
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Shop till you drop in the incredible, world famous "endless markets", where real and fake designer goods are sold at bargain prices. Fill your suitcase for the trip home. Our final dinner spectacular is the beautiful ending to a beautiful trip. |
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| ***Travel For Teens is also offering an overnight excursion to Siem Reap, Cambodia (extra tuition), site of Angkor Wat temple, one of the seven modern wonders of the world. This will be a two day, one night trip. |
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