Gap Year in Thailand
Dive into Thailand’s vibrant cities, striking natural beauty, and mind-blowing cuisine.
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Take your time in Thailand so you can soak up the succulent street food, ancient ruins, ultramodern cities, and sustainable agrarian communities.
Bounce between two coastlines, pungent market stalls teeming with fresh ingredients, and dramatic limestone cliffs emerging from the water like giant bean stalks. This largely rural nation is comprised of over 4 million rice farms and over a thousand small villages, where you will spend much of your service learning module.
When you seek out Thailand for your service learning module, you'll work with local NGOs and community members to conserve this precious natural environment, join sustainable community development efforts, and help care for elephants.
Note: This itinerary is subject to change due to availability and local conditions at the time of departure.
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Eat like a local. Eat your way through the markets and noodle shacks of Bangkok and learn the secrets of these seemingly complex dishes (spoiler: they’re not so hard to make at all) in a cooking class.
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Sustainable community development. Work with locals to implement sustainable development solutions that improve life—environmentally, economically, and socially—for villagers, based on the needs articulated by the community.
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Help take care of elephants. Elephants in Thailand, both captive and wild, are under constant threat. EF has partnered with elephant sanctuaries, elephant hospitals, and elephant care facilities for at-risk animals that need urgent care. Help by maintaining safe, clean, and sustainable living environments for captive elephants.
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Striking temples like these poke their heads up all over Thailand's lush countryside.
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Unpack indigenous history. Spend time at a Hmong lodge in a lush national park to learn about the culture of the indigenous Miao people who emigrated from China in the 18th century.
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Immerse yourself in rural Thai culture. Travel to the highland regions of Northern Thailand and spend time in rural villages. You’ll learn the powerful impact NGOs have had in the region, and help with on-going efforts to preserve the forest and the communities that depend on it.
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Reflect and recuperate. Round out your stay by flying to a resort on one of Thailand’s 1,400 flourishing tropical islands where you’ll relax, reflect, and refocus your energy on applying your service learnings to your post-gap life.