Thailand

In the past, Thailand was known as Siam, which means “free men”. It is a crossroads of peoples, cultures and religions. The main religion is Buddhism.

It is a constitutional monarchy and the current head of State, the king Bhumibol Adulyadej who was crowned under the name of Rama IX, has been reigning since 1946 and is venerated by the population.

Thailand has form of an elephant head. The face looks at Myanmar (Burma), the ears border Laos and Cambodia while the trunk crosses the Andaman Sea and the Thailand golf to reach Malaysia. Thailand has currently 62 millions of inhabitants and its area is close to the French one (513,115 square km). It shares its borders with Myanmar in the west and north, Laos and Cambodia in the northeast and Malaysia in the south.

The natural landscapes are rich and varied. There are misty mountains and jungles in the north while the central plains are home to emerald rice fields. From east to south, the white sand beaches and the tropical isles border go along the seafront.

 

Thailand remains a very cheap country where you can still eat, stay (in small hostels) and travel (by bus) from about 500-550 Baht (1€=40Baht) per day (a little more in the south isles) ! Here is a few examples of prices :

Basic products Prices in Euros / Thai Bhats
1L of water (botel) 0,24 € /  9,5 THB
1 meal (2 dishes) 1,37 € / 54 THB
1 bus ticket 0,5 €  / 20 THB

 

Thailand has many populations. We can distinguish two main ones: the Thais (about 80% of the population), peoples from thai-kadai origin and then the non-Thai (about 20%). Thai themselves are composed of 4 ethnic and linguistic groups : the Siamese, the Northeast Thai or Isans (or Lao-Thai), the North Thai or Muangs and the South Thai or the Pak Tai.

The literacy rate of the country, close to 80% in primary school, is the higher of Southeast Asia, although it remains quite low in high school (28%).

One of the important problems in the Thai educative system stays lies in the absence of prestige of the teachers. In general, teachers are neither recognized nor respected. Teaching seem to be a profession not much enviable that is chosen by default. This seems to be due to the low salary of the teachers.

Vaccine and specific advice :

Find out what vaccines are recommended for the country and what are the diseases preventive and/or treatment measures on site.

Checklist :

Vaccine renewal, country-specific vaccinations: 1-3 months before leaving

Visit your doctor or specialist for any health problem, repeat of medical prescriptions, contraception, to have a sufficient initial stock of drugs, adjustment of dosages. Moreover, you will need to send your coordinator a certificate from your doctor certifying that you are well able to participate in an international volunteer project.

Dentist: a dental check-up can be useful before you leave !

We recommend you to visit the mentioned below websites to consult the travel advice :

UK : https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/safety-and-security

USA : https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Thailand.html

Canada : https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/thailand

Our local partner, VSA, a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization founded in 2008 coordinates volunteer projects for people of all ages, cultures, religions and origins.

Its work is based on the fact that the organization thinks everyone can live in community and is able to cooperate in mutual respect and without using violence. Therefore, their volunteer projects are the opportunity to experience another way of living while participating in useful workcamps for the community on site.

Our second local partner, DaLaa, is a nongovernmental organization founded in 2004 and located in Hat Yaj/Songkhla (south of Thailand). The main objectives of DaLaa are to support the local communities and the projects of development that exist in order to create a mutual comprehension between Thai volunteers, international volunteers and local populations, and to maintain as much as possible the nature and the culture.

With regard to obtaining a visa and entry requirements, we invite you to contact the embassy in question :

Embassy of Thailand in the UK : 

29-30 Queen’s Gate
London, SW7 5JB
United Kingdom
TELEPHONE (+44) 20 7225 5500
(+44) 20 7589 2944
FAX (+44) 20 7823 9695
EMAIL [email protected]

WEBSITE www.thaiembassyuk.org.uk

Embassy of Thailand in the USA : 

1024 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20007
United States
TELEPHONE (+1) 202 944 3600
FAX (+1) 202 944 3611
WEBSITE thaiembdc.org

Embassy of Thailand in Canada : 

180 Island Park Drive
Ottawa, ON K1Y OA2
Canada
TELEPHONE (+1) 613 722-4444
(+1) 613 729-5235
FAX (+1) 613 722-6624
EMAIL [email protected]

WEBSITE thaiembassy.ca

List of projects available in Thailand