Three awesome weeks in Chiangrai, Thailand

“Let’s find some beautiful place to get lost.” That was my intention as I chose Chiangrai, Thailand for my 3-week volunteer trip. The beauty was that not only did I find myself but also learnt many new things and made some great new friends through my journey.
Arriving at The Mirror Foundation, I was happy to see such an environmentally friendly living space. There were tall trees, green grass, a lovely hand-built garden, cool wall paintings, a small pond, a lovely bamboo hut, and an impressive sight of colorful handprints from previous volunteers on one of the houses. The Thai interns who had escorted me all the way from the airport were very nice and helpful. They showed me around and we headed to a supermarket in town together with other new volunteers who had also just arrived earlier that day and later became my dearest friends.
The next day, I was really excited for my outdoor project to start after having an interesting orientation with Nikki – the volunteer program manager. I did not have to wait long as my outdoor team started digging a ditch that afternoon. It was hard work I must admit. However, the satisfaction looking back on the road and seeing what our teamwork had brought about was worth it. As time passed, our list of achievements went on; they were mending a dam, preparing a campsite, making a road, building fences, renovating a toilet, and growing chilies. Not a single day was wasted, and I loved every minute working side by side with my friends and our outdoor project mentor. On those days, we sweated a lot, laughed a lot, talked a lot and understood each other a whole lot more despite our different backgrounds. I also really appreciated our lunch boxes which were kindly prepared for us by the kitchen lady whenever we had to work off-site.