I talked with many travelers
here in Thailand and saw a need to take visitors away from the normal
tourist areas filled with large tour buses and groups. The biggest
complaint I heard from visitors is "there is no real Thai culture".
"Everything is staged for the tourists". This is because they keep
following each other around using their guide books. 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. I taught English to
Monks, novices, high school students, the Thai Army, local and tourist
police. I also did hill tribe programs by taking a small number of
tourists to hill tribe villages to spend the evening. All the money for
the trek went to the villagers. I bought 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 now help orphaned and abandoned hill tribe children through our
tour operation All Thailand Experiences.
I also write Thailand travel articles for the Welcome to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and other magazines.
How to make Thai Green Papaya Salad, Som Tam by Chiang Mai Thailand Randy Gaudet
Thailand Travel and Culture by Chiang Mai Thailand Randy Gaudet
Thai Food Recipes with Cooking Lessons and Video by Chiang Mai Thailand Randy Gaudet