 Mark Wiens is an experienced world traveller, spicy food connoisseur and volunteer. In respect of the latter, he has agreed to answer a few questions for us and share some of his wisdom. Should this whet your appetite, you can read more about his adventures on his blog, migrationology, and there are a couple of links further down which will take you straight to some of his most volunteer-relevant posts. Now, on to the interview! What country did you choose, and why? I didn't really choose a specific country to volunteer in but rather traveled around and decided to volunteer with some spare time which ended up being a little in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. We've put up a certified review of Cultural Canvas, written by Chris who volunteered for them in 2009. You can find a short excerpt below, or the full review (here)! "In Jan 2009 I headed over to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand to volunteer with Cultural Canvas Thailand (CCT) for close to 1 month. During this time, I worked specifically within the CCT Canvas Art Program, which embraces the arts as a tool to connect with people. To put it mildly, I absolutely recommend the CCT Canvas Art Program to any prospective volunteer who is looking for a wonderful, rewarding, creative volunteer experience in South East Asia! Again, you can check out the full review on the Cultural Canvas organisation entry, right here! A country that can be found in Southeast Asia, Thailand is in the mainland section, and borders Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Malaysia. It is south of China, east of India, north of Indonesia, and very much north of Australia. It has a long coast on the Gulf of Thailand and its capital city is Bangkok. Bangkok is a bustling metropolis, is very overcrowded and there is lots of poverty – there are all sorts of vehicles on the roads, drivers in incredibly stuffy little cars and unbearable temperatures, screaming, honking with hundreds of people walking all over the place. There are all sorts of street wares being sold to passers by – a woman with one arm and a sewing machine on a corner doing all sorts of jobs for people; a man selling fruit at a stall beside a man digging up a sewer. The Chao Phraya River runs through Bangkok and reflects some of the dirtiness of the city, being very wide and brown, but also part of the culture of the people, because it is used for an assortment of ferries and taxis, known as longtails, linking up people and places, and there is also a food and drinks market on the river on a network of little boats.Bangkok is also a city of startling contrasts – amidst this stumbling city of smells and dirt and poor, you may suddenly fall upon a haven of cleanliness, of white tiles and gold statues, plants, fountains: you have fallen upon a Buddhist temple, a sanctuary that reflects the religion of the country. For although there are many poor, and although the city harbours filth, and fosters it with heat, Thailand is a firmly Buddhist country, and the beauty of the Buddhist temple, its well-kept statues and floors, its peace and calm, reflects how important it is to them, and also creates a bizarre feel for visitors who see this contrast very clearly. Moving from Bangkok, Thailand is a hotspot for gap year students and backpackers not only because of the variety of contrasts, but because of the stunning culture shining in all the facets of the country. There are brilliant beaches and jungles, and coupled with the very tropical climate, where it is hot and humid all year round, the land is laced with a magic that can only be felt once submersed into the Thai culture. The food is exciting – it is like Chinese food but less oily, with more lime, more green vegetables, with things like spicy noodles, although there is an international influence because of the massive tourist trade, which could be beneficial to the less adventurous eater. Though Thailand is a country full of different things to be experienced, travel is not advised through the far southern provinces of Songkhla, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani because these areas are rife with insurgencies and continue to be frequently attacked, with bombings and shootings being a danger to life. Underneath this surface level of human conflict, and beneath the rock at your feet, there is heavy seismic and volcanic activity: the region lies on the intersection of geological plates, and so Thailand is also an intriguing destination for the geologists out there. |
