Arriving in Bangkok was pretty uneventful. I made it to my hostel, took a nap, and headed out to take care of a few essentials, like getting a Thai sim card and buying snacks. The next morning I headed to the southern bus terminal and boarded the bus to Ranong. Luckily, at the bus station I met another TCDF volunteer. We had the entire 6 hour bus ride to get to know each other.
Later that evening we arrived in Ranong and met up with another volunteer en route to TCDF. The next morning the three of us hopped on a bus to Paksong and I suppose that’s where the real adventure began. To our delight, we were pulled off the passenger section of the bus and told to ride in the luggage compartment! I immediately thought of this funny travel story. Thankfully, the compartment was air conditioned and the ride was only about an hour.
We were met at the bus stop in Paksong by Rose, the founder of TCDF, and rode in the back of her truck to the site. The rest of the day was spent going through orientation, taking a tour of the grounds, eating delicious Thai food, and enjoying a campfire singalong.
Are you ready for the tour?
(I’ll explain more about what TCDF actually does and how the volunteer program works in a later post. It’s just too much!)
The restaurant is the main meeting point at TCDF. It sits on a hill above the kitchen in the open air. While you eat dinner (or wash dishes below) you have an amazing view of the rainforest.
Everything else on the property is downhill from the restaurant. This means that every meal you eat is proceeded by a mini-workout.
A short walk from the restaurant is the school. Before Rose and TCDF began operating in the area, children who had special needs didn’t go to school. Now they have a school of their very own! Like the restaurant the school is open air. It was fun to hear the students laughing and enjoying their school day while I volunteered.
The female volunteers stay in a 12-bed dorm with a little kitchen attached. It’s pretty nice accommodations considering you stay for free but I cannot say the beds were comfortable. We joked that the rock hard mattresses were probably just a technique to help volunteers get out of bed in the morning. The males sleep in a smaller 6-bed dorm nearby.
In addition to lodging for volunteers, there are three bungalows and four guestrooms for visitors to rent. The guest accommodations are set in a quiet area of the property and I’d imagine staying there would be very peaceful.
And in addition to lodging for volunteers and guests, there’s also a very whimsical house where the head teacher of the special school lives. I love this house. I’m pretty sure it’s straight out of a fairytale.
The location of TCDF is just gorgeous. As if the view of the rainforest wasn’t enough, a river runs along the edge of the property as well. It provides a nice place for guests to relax and cool off, as well as water for the main garden and bathing for the nearby local families.
So that’s the basic tour! More to come.
xo, jill
