Thailand: Waves and Wilds Program

My trip to Thailand with Adventures Cross Country was nothing short of amazing. Some of the highlights of my trip included: bathing elephants in a river, riding them through rustic, beautiful farmland and forest, scuba diving on an incredibly special little island called Koh Nang Yuan in Southern Thailand, whitewater rafting, meditating in a Buddhist temple, working in an orphanage teaching English, and assisting a hill tribe village just north of Chiang Mai by building a cafeteria. This was my 2nd trip with ARCC, and my trip leaders both on this trip and my last one (in africa) were such incredible role models that made this trip even more special. They had extensive travel experience, were extremely knowledgeable, and not only kept us safe, but made sure that each and every one of us was having the best time possible. ARCC does a fantastic job hiring their leaders. My trip leaders are some of the best people that I know. The in country contacts ARCC has in Thailand are phenomenal and we really did get to see the best parts of the country and do activities that you wouldn't and couldn't do on a vacation to Thailand. ARCC trips attract students from all over the country (and the world), which means that this is not just an opportunity to travel but also to meet a diverse group of people from all over. My group became so very close by the last day of the trip, and many tears were shed on the day our trip ended as well. I made life long friends on the trip that I still talk to on a daily basis. The staff at the ARCC office is incredible and they do an awesome job with their communication with parents. Everything about it was fantastic. The activities, the food, the culture, the people, and the service projects were more than worthwhile. I couldn't recommend it more, truly.