Thailand Volunteer Locations: Chiang Mai

T2T has recently set up a new volunteer program in Chiang Mai. The new program is a development in our policy of making our own schools and learning centers. Volunteers will live and work in the center of Chiang Mai, the former capital City of Thailand and the most popular traveling site in northern Thailand. The old town is circled by a 1.5 x 1.5 km wall from the 13th century and within these walls are more than 30 wats of different ages.

The city of Chiang Mai is the second largest in Thailand after Bangkok and has far more character than the capital. Whereas Bangkok is typical developing world city loaded with traffic jams and international business Chiang Mai has a far smaller and more relexed feel with lots of local character and huge amounts of Thai history. The surroundings are splendid, Doi Suthep a beautiful wat on a mountain just outside of the City center is second only to Bangkok's Grand Palace. Further out are National Parks in abundance for all sorts of sports, trekking, rafting, bird watching, elephant riding, you name it.

Volunteer Programs

English Teaching
We teach English in 3 schools in Chiang Mai. These inlude Srilimongklatan school a very poor combined primary school and kindergarten which includes a day care center for Burmese refugees. Most of the childrens parents work as laborers during day and without the center may have to live the children at home alone. The school is around a 15 minute drive from the dorm and T2T provides transport to and from the school

Our other schools in Chiang Mai are the wonderfully named Chomchon Ban Boak Kork Noi School, a combined primary and high school with around 400 students 15 minutes from the volunteer house Wat Meun Ngen Gong school a small primary school with 150 students 500 meters from the volunteer dorm.

We also teach English in the afternoons to groups of young adult Karen people from Burma who work in the mornings and go to College in the evenings but who need more English language training

Chiang Mai Information

Chiang Mai is the old capital city of Thailand, its second largest city and the main center for the North West of Thailand. Chiang Mai University is rated as number three in Thailand and is the oldest University outside of Bangkok.
The city is surrounded by national parks that can offer outdoor activities in abundance - trekking, elephant riding, rafting etc.

Many of the so called Hill Tribes are represented in and around Chiang Mai. They are people that traditionally lived in the mountains, some are the original inhabitants of Thailand some have migrated from China and other countries as late as this century.

Because of its size and character as the central city of the north, Chiang Mai also hosts many immigrants from Burma. Many of whom are Shan (Thai Yai) and Karen. They have their own language and their own culture and many are hoping to eventually return to Burma.

Food
Chiang Mai has a huge variety of both Thai and international food. There is traditional Thai food close to our dorm and a massive selection of international restaurants throughout the town. There are also cooking facilities and fridges in the dorm. The city is also famous for its Thai cooking schools with classes ranging from a few hours to 2 to 3 weeks.

Weather
There are, broadly speaking, three seasons: the cold, the hot and the wet. The cold season begins in November and lasts until February. Because of its elevation the Chiang Mai area can get genuinely cold during this period. March, April and parts of May are really hot and then in the middle of May the rainfall starts and the wet season continues till end of November.

Activities
Being a major city in Thailand Chiang Mai offers a variety of things to do, these include:

Trekking and rafting The many National Parks and Wild Life Sanctuaries are in abundance in the surroundings

Waterfalls There are a series of scenic waterfalls across the nearby mountains. There are plunge pools to cool yourself off after the trek to the falls.

Elephant trekking Many places around Chiang Mai offers Elephant trekking.

Arts There is an interesting art scene in Chiang Mai and the town is a known as an intellectual center in Thailand.

Transportation
Chiang Mai is about 1500 kilometers away from Bangkok. There are several ways of getting there:

By air
Thai Air, Nok Air and many other airlines fly regularly from Bangkok, the trip takes about 75 minutes. There are also some international flights such as Tiger Air from Singapore.
For more information, see our Thai FAQ page..

Train
There are several trains daily from Bangkok. The trip takes about 14 hours but the sleeping wagons are quite comfortable. A single trip costs about 800 baht

Accommodation
The Travel to Teach volunteer house is located in the center of Chiang Mai within walking distance of Night Bazaar and around 1.5km from our school which is also in the center of town. The dorm is a newly decorated traditional Thai house. It houses up to 7 volunteers and is equipped with a Western style bathroom and shower, computer, cooking facillites and a washing machine.

Staff
Travel to Teach has two staff in Chiang Mai. Check our Personnel page

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