Volunteer Thailand | Temple Teaching
Teaching at a Buddhist temple provides an opportunity for a volunteer to experience a wonderful cultural insight into Buddhism and life as a monk. Travel to Teach offers teaching placements at temples located in and around Doi Saket and in Mae Hong Son, allowing volunteers to teach English to classes of monks.
The temples that you would work with are ambitious and well run, with some of the teachers there having a good level of English. The temples are always keen to have volunteers so your support and effort will be most appreciated. In return you will find monk students and teachers to be only too happy to educate you about temple life, Thai culture and Buddhism as a whole.
Sometimes the temples we work with accept males to stay and live at the temple, undertaking duties and activities that monks and living a temple lifestyle. Females are not currently accepted to live and stay at the temple.
The following video shows what a volunteer can expect whilst teaching at a temple:
Volunteer temple teaching video.
Teaching is undertaken with novice monks, aged between 11 and 16. Many of the novice monks come from Burma and through being a monk are provided with a free education which they may not have otherwise received. Volunteers are supported by senior monks, many of whom have advanced qualifications in regards to education and teaching and who speak English competently.
Travel to Teach are offering a discount of 340 USD for couples or friends applying to volunteer in Thailand or Mexico. All the more reason to encourage your partner or friends to join you on your adventure!
Please note discounts are only available for people applying to volunteer together in the same location in Thailand or Mexico.
| 2 Weeks | 4 Weeks | 8 Weeks | 12 Weeks | 24 Weeks | Extra Weeks |
| $609 | $744 | $1015 | $1285 | $1935 | $54 |
Read how your fees are spent or compare our
prices with other volunteer organisations.
View our prices in other volunteer locations's or
combine your stay in Thailand with stays in other locations as part of a
combination
stay.
Our application process typically takes two or three weeks, but can
be speeded up if there is a need for that. When we receive the initial
application from you, we will send you our full application form.
(1) Complete the Initial Application Form:
The first stage of the application process is to fill out the brief initial application form. Upon
receiving this we will send you the full application form.
(2) Complete the Full Application Form:
Fill out the application form. After receiving this we will assess your
suitability and place you on one of our programs.
(3) Placement info:
We will return detailed placement information and an invoice. If you
accept the placement you should pay the invoice and send us receipt of
payment by email or fax.
(4) Program Fee:
The program fee should be paid to us at least 2 months before you are
due to start your placement. However please be aware that we have a limited
amount of placements, so placements will only be secured when we
have received your payment.
(5) Communication:
Once you have made your traveling arrangements you should mail your time
of arrival and the means of transportation and we will confirm pickup.
You can join us for any amount of time, from a week to six months. We do recommend a trip of three to six months since it offers the best value. Regardless of the length of your stay, you will be able to learn some Thai and you will have time to get to know a new culture, come to know its people, and form relationships that will outlast the duration of your stay.
Dates of arrival: All teaching will start on the Monday after the introduction.
|
February: Sat 18 March: Sat 3, Sat 17, Sat 31 April: Sat 14, Sat 28 May: Sat 12, Sat 26 |
June: Sat 9, Sat 23 July: Sat 7, Sat 21 August: Sat 4, Sat 18 September: Sat 1, Sat 15, Sat 29 |
October: Sat 13, Sat 27 November: Sat 10, Sat 24 December: Sat 8, Sat 22 |
| January: Sat 5, Sat 19 February: Sat 2, Sat 16 March: Sat 2, Sat 16, Sat 30 April: Sat 13, Sat 27 |
May: Sat 11, Sat 25 June: Sat 8, Sat 22 July: Sat 6, Sat 20 August: Sat 3, Sat 17, Sat 31 |
September: Sat 14, Sat 28 October: Sat 12, Sat 26 November: Sat 9, Sat 23 December: Sat 7, Sat 21 |
Volunteers can stay at the volunteer house we have in Chiang Mai or Mae Hong Son. All bedrooms have beds and fans. Volunteers will normally have to share a room. Each house has a TV, DVD player, DVD’s, a terrace, western toilets and showers.
Males who choose to stay at the temple will live in a single room and use an outdoor bathroom which is just outside the room. The room is located near to that of the head monk and is basic but comfortable.
Volunteers will teach a number of classes at the temple, working with monks of various ages and levels of English. There will also be some free time between lessons which can be spent talking to monks and gaining an insight into the temple way of life.
For those staying at the volunteer houses, activities and amenities such as swimming pools, gyms, golf courses, tennis courts, saunas and spas are all available.
Males who stay at the temple are welcomed to join in with the monk’s daily lifestyle. This includes the chance to collect food in town in the early morning, to take meals with the monks and to undertake any other activities monks take part in.
Each volunteer house has a fridge, toaster and water boiler, but no cooking facilities. However, the streets of Thai cities are filled with places to eat and within a short walk from the volunteer house you have at several restaurants. There are many convenient supermarkets in Chiang Mai and small store where you can buy bread, milk, cereal and other basics in Doi Saket.
For males staying at the temple, you can join monks between 5 and 6am to help collect their morning alms. An hour or so is spent walking through the local village or area and collecting whatever food is offered by the local people and blessing those that give it before heading back to the monastery to prepare the first meal for around seven-thirty. For lunch, the novices, monks and volunteers will eat a repeat of whatever is left over from breakfast around 11-12. Although monks will not eat after midday, volunteers staying at the temple can opt to have an evening meal.
Ask a local about the weather in Chiang Mai or Mae Hong Son and they will tell you there are three seasons, hot and wet, hot and dry and just plain hot. In reality the temperature can drop to as low as 10°C between November and February and the brief monsoon rains and some breeze throughout the summer months provide a welcome respite to the heat.
Nongkhai Weather Chart
Since the Wat is in Nongkhai volunteers will arrive and receive introductions in Nongkhai, staying in our Nongkhai volunteers dorms during their first weekend.
Trains
There are 3 trains a day from Hualamphong train station in central Bangkok, departing at around 18.30, 20:00 and 20.45. We recommend the night trains since they are quicker and usually more convenient as most long distance flights tend to arrive in Bangkok in the afternoon.
The night train costs around 700 baht and most people manage to sleep reasonably well on them in comparison to the buses.
General information on trains can be found at http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm#Train times or
http://traveller2000.com.
Buses
There are several buses from different companies daily from Bangkok to Nongkhai. Most buses leave in the evening and arrive in Nongkhai early in the morning. Although we recommend the trains as they are more comfortable if you do decide to go by bus the best option is probably the buses that depart from Kao San Road at around 19:00. These go directly to Nongkhai (and on to Vientiane in Laos) and are relatively easy to find. Its costs around 400-450 baht and you can buy tickets from any travel agency on Kao San Road. There are also regular buses from Bangkok's northern Mawchit Bus Station although this is extremely large and chaotic, and probably best avoided if you've only just arrived in Thailand for the first time.
Flights
Three airlines fly daily from Bangkok to Udon Thani, Thai Airways and the budget airlines Air Asia and Nok Air. Nok Air also fly from Chiang Mai to Udon 3 times a week. There is a "limousine" (actually minibus) service from the airport to Nongkhai after each flight.
Jim graduated from Khon Kaen University's tourism program in 2007 and initially completed a 3 month internship with Travel to Teach before joining us permanently. After working with us in Chiang Mai for 2 years Jim now helps manage our programs in Nongkhai. She is responsible for contact with schools and organising English camps and looks after our volunteers giving Thai language lessons and cooking classes.
Contact Jim: jim@travel-to-teach.orgThere are many options for your visa depending on the length of your stay.
One month tourist visa (free)
This is valid for 30 days and is granted free on arrival in Thailand by air. If you arrive at a land border you will currently only be given a 15 day visa. Please note you can only have three free one month visa stamps in any six month period.
Two/Three month single entry tourist visa (1,200 Baht - approx. 24€)
This is valid for two/three months after your arrival in Thailand. If you leave the country during this time your visa will become invalid. This can be arranged in advance at any Thai Consulate/Embassy. For a list of Thai Embassy's around the world see www.thaiembassy.org.
If you are staying in Thailand for more than a month and do not have time to arrange a 2 month visa, you can simply get your free stamp on arrival and then cross over into Laos after 30 days and apply for it there.
It's quite a simple process:
To revalidate your visa you will have to come to Nongkhai. Simply catch a tuk-tuk to the friendship bridge where you
will be able to get a bus across to Laos. On the far side of the friendship bridge you will get your Laos visa (approx $35).
Once in Laos you have two options, you can either return directly to Thailand receiving a 15 day visa extension or if you want a two month visa you will need to visit the Thai Embassy in Vientiane and spend one night in the city. Please note that for your Laos visa and for a two month Thai visa you will need passport photos and a photocopy of your passport. Vietiane is a 30 minute bus or taxi ride from the border.
You can also use your time in Laos to explore the country further and there are regular buses running from Vientiane to most of Laos including Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.
You should tell your doctor that you are likely to go on a jungle trip in Northeastern Thailand and that you will live in villages in Isan. Keep in mind, Nongkhai is considered to be an urban area and one need not worry about malaria pills for staying exclusively in Nongkhai.
Also visit the WHO's (World Health Organisation) Travelers health informationOne of the conditions of entry onto our programs is that volunteers have travel insurance. Most importantly the insurance needs to include medical treatment and repatriation in case of unforeseen accidents or illnesses. Volunteers should purchase insurance independently and bring a copy of their insurance certificate with them for their local co-ordinator to check before starting their program. Read our terms and conditions.
Erin, Australia
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