Hi Everyone from Chiang Mai Thailand

[allthai]

I have been living in Thailand since 1989. I have traveled extensively throughout the Kingdom and wanted to share my wonderful experiences of Thailand with others.

I lived in a remote area of north Thailand at Wat Thaton temple in the town of Thaton on the Burmese border for more than 3 years. Altough I am Christian I taught English to Monks, novices, high school students, the Thai Army, local and tourist police. I also did hill tribe programs buying clothes for the children, medicines and blankets for the families. I paid the villagers to build a bamboo schoolhouse and paid a teacher to teach Thai at the school who could speak their language. I taught them how to dispose of waste properly, keep the children and village clean and to use spoons instead of their fingers when eating which was a big source of their health problems. I provided seeds and Logan and lychee fruit trees for planting.

This was fine until I left the temple then the school stopped and the health problems returned. I talked with the Abbot of the temple and he now has a school for the children at the temple. He has a nurse looking after the children and takes those to the clinics that have problems.

I stayed in many villages and met with the village headmen many times. I learned about their culture, way of life, religion, and do's and don'ts.

I am now retired with my beautiful Thai wife and still living in North Thailand. We are very active in helping orphaned children through our church here. I occasionally write travel articles for magazines and newspapers.

Now we both travel around Asia, mostly to Yunnan Province China, Mayalsia and Hong Kong.

If you have any questions about Thailand please let me know.

[sandytoes]

Hello there,
your experiences sound amazing! I am only in Thailand for a weeks holiday and I'm finding it really difficult to decide on a holiday plan.

Is there any way we can help the children whilst we are there? Do you think that organised tours are a good idea.

I'm really into nature ,so long as it doesn't kill me. I would love to see elephants and tigers in the wild, and long waterfalls.

I would also like to learn about the culture, give gifts to the monks etc.

We fly into Bangkok and then have to leave for singapore again after a week. Is there any part of Thailand in particular that you think we should head for?

Thank you for your help
Nicky

[allthai]

Hi Nicky,

You need about a full day in Bangkok to visit the grand Palace complex, Wat Arun Temple and take a private tour of Thanburi to see how people live along the canals.

I would then take the overnight train north to Chiang Mai and experience the wonderful culture of the north Thailand people.

There is a lot of ethnic cleansing of the Karen hill tribes going on in Burma (Myanmar) now and hundreds are fleeing over into Thailand everyday. Fathers are tortured and killed, mothers are raped and killed. For this reason there are lots of children that need help right now. For more information about orphanage homes and what is going on in Burma and how you might help see Channel of Blessings.Org

For volunteer work at one of the many childrens homes or just want to help contact Melissa McCormick as she is in charge of the Havens Childrens Homes projects throughout Thailand and Southeast Asia.

[sandytoes]

Thank you loads for your help. I will email Mellissa McCormick now to see if there is anything we can do for the children whilst we are visiting.

from Nicky