GVI: Volunteer in Thailand

Prior to my trip, I didn’t have any experience travelling, and though the program had amazing reviews and I’d never be truly alone, I was away from my family for the first time. Hell I was terrified, I didn’t know what to think. I quickly got to know the rest of the volunteers, who felt the same way, about it. It’s a scary step. The program was brilliant, I got to learn the karen language, Pakinyaw quite well which turned out to be a very rewarding venture, as talking to the villagers was so interesting! Day to day activities consist of the morning hike (either elephant hikes or other bio hikes, which are like caves and cool shit) lunch at base, theres always school going on in the afternoon, so you can wander up to teach English to the locals village kids, (who are all to fun and crazy) theres truly a lot to do! It was about 3 weeks that I realized that though the elephants were incredible, the people were truly the magic to this program. You’ll realize by the end of your stay your not leaving a group a strangers you met by circumstance, you’re leaving a family, a GVI family.

With GVI I was able to travel to a remote village and be involved learning about elephant conservation programs in Chiang Mai in Thailand. In such a small amount of time I was able to see how the staff GVI take data and health checks on the elephants as well as encouraging volunteers to become immersed with the Karen Tribe culture by teaching us the native language, have us practice this by staying in homes of the local villagers. This was a fantastic opportunity to meet other like minded people from all over the globe of different ages, back grounds, life experience together to make a difference for good of this community.

I chose this trip as my first experience with GVI because I am fascinated by elephants and loved the idea of traveling and learning about them. I loved how GVI was there every step of the way, during booking and questions from slight confusion when landing to the best way to find a taxi at the airport, I always had support. The experience of staying in the village was absolutely amazing. My home-stay family was friendly, accommodating and nice. I got the opportunity to learn some of their language and to interact with the local children at the school teaching English and playing games. All the volunteers were super friendly and I met people from all over the globe. I loved following the elephants through the forest and learning about their behavior and history. These beautiful gentle giants were adorable and showed their individual personalities the longer you watched them. It was truly an inspiring adventure.

My time in GVI Phang Nga, Thailand was amazing. The staff are all incredibly supportive and so dedicated to the cause, and were always open new ideas, allowing for the constant evolution and growing success of all the projects. The fact that GVI are so well respected within the local community just goes to show the extent of the impact that GVI are creating, and it was amazing to be a part of the positive work going on through GVI. I would not fail to hesitate to recommend GVI and hope I can return soon to the Thailand base to continue to support the amazing work being done by GVI there.

I spent two weeks with GVI in Thailand Phang Nga. I learned a lot about nature and about the marine life.

We went to a sea turtle sanctuary twice a week, cleaned the tanks and tended the turtles and checked their health.

Super organized, very great staff. Still very inspiring for travelers alone to meet new people from all over the world.
And to learn about the environment and marine life at the same time.

Twice a week we were cleaning the beach once with the military and a school class that helped us a lot. We collected over 300kg of rubbish

A real once in a lifetime experience I doubt I can do justice to. Being able to observe these elephants in their natural habitat up close is incredible and it’s something you do everyday on this program. I was there 4 weeks and in that time you’re able to recognise each individual elephant and their own personalities. You get to see first hand how different they behave to captive elephants and the progress they’ve made since being released form their camps. I was even lucky enough to see Lah Lah, a 9 month old baby who was born in the forest and is essentially a giant puppy!
The only thing I was apprehensive about before going was the home stay, I was nervous about staying in someone else’s house who didn’t speak the same language as me. I stayed at Old Chief’s house and it became obvious very early in my nerves were misplaced, although it’s an unusual experience for me it isn’t for them as they’re very used to having westerners staying with them. GVI give Pakinyaw lessons so you’re able to communicate in a basic way and this really helped. Being vegan I was also worried how my home stay would cope but Faw, who did all the cooking, was great. The food was amazing and I certainly never went hungry with the portion sizes she served. They made me feel very welcome and I was very sad to say goodbye when my time was up.
Twice a week we teach at the local school and some evenings we go to teach English to other villagers. This really helped you feel a part of the community and even in my short time I was able to build good relationships there especially at mahout football (where I put in a couple of wonderful performances)
All in all I can’t recommend this place enough, as soon as I left I began planning my return and I’m counting down the days until I can come back to Huoy Pakoot and see all my friends again.

I would highly recommend this programme. I met so many amazing people and had so many great experiences that were unlike any that I’ve ever had before. I was able to develop my skills and learn lots about marine conservation through hands on experience. GVI made the whole thing enjoyable and informative and the members of staff were extremely passionate which just made the whole thing even better! I would recommend this programme to everyone who wishes to gain experience in marine conservation.

GVI is a fantastic company to volunteer for with so many great projects around the world. After I visited GVI Chiang Mai base it changed my thinking and my career plans. The impact that the project has is astounding. The relationship between GVI and the local community is completely unique. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly and the villagers take you into their homes and cook for you. Spending time walking with the elephants in the forest is a special experience and I would thoroughly recommended enrolling on this project.