The Andaman Discoveries Blog Archive
This is a selection of some of the blog posts from the past.
Andaman Discoveries 2015 Awards!
Andaman Discoveries is very pleased to be recognized by The Thailand Tourism Award under the Award of Excellence for the inbound tour program. Highlighted was the spectacular five day homestay program featuring Ban Talaenok, a Muslim village on the coast and the island village of Tapaeyoi on Koh Prathong. Please see our Press Release here: TAT Awards 2015 Press Release
Study Groups and Service Tours
This year we welcomed back seven of our study and service groups from Thailand, Netherlands and the USA. The purpose of the study trips was to engage students with educational and fun activities that allowed them to understand the interrelationships between culture, nature, and human activity. By helping students recognize the links between human activity and the environment, we encourage local, regional, and global citizenship. Understanding and respecting the world helps students to realize their place and responsibility to reduce their impact on the environment. KIS International School from Bangkok came back for their third year in a row. They [...]
Children’s Day
Children’s Day (Wan Dek) celebrations are an annual Thai tradition. It’s a day for the adults in the community to show their love for all the children. Andaman Discoveries recently attended three local Children’s Day celebrations: Ban Talae Nok Ban Ta Lae Nok Children’s Day celebrations Ban Talae Nok School was filled with fun and laughter during their annual Children’s Day celebration. The students played fun games and performed songs and dances on the stage throughout the day. The celebrations brought presents and smiles to all the children there. The Community Fund of the Ban Talae Nok Tourism [...]
Andaman Discoveries 2014 Awards!
Andaman Discoveries is very pleased to be recognized by Wild Asia Awards and Thailand Green Excellent Awards. We were selected as a WINNER of Thailand Green Excellent Award for our volunteering program and a finalist for the Wild Asia Award under the category cultural preservation! Please see our Press Release here: AD 2014 Awards Press Release
Hydroponic Garden at the Burmese Learning Center
The new hydroponic garden The children at the Burmese Learning Center can now study plant biology and food production using the example of a hydroponic garden. With the help of the YouthLinc volunteer groups in June and July, the setup was successfully installed in the schoolyard. A group of teachers and students also took a trip to the Home&Life orphanage south of Khao Lak to learn about the essentials of hydroponics and get some practical advice. The orphanage works with this type of garden for a while now and has lots of experience in maintaining it. What is [...]
Youthlinc Service at BLC
Andaman Discoveries was happy to help support the work of two separate groups of Youthlinc volunteers from Utah, USA at the Burmese Learning Center! In both June and July, groups of 40 volunteers and team leaders came to Kuraburi to work hard on different construction projects, teaching English, as well as occupational and health skills to the local community. Thanks to the help of the Rotary Patong , AD was able to work along with Youthlinc and donated over 600 hours of staff time to this program! The construction work completed a new bathroom for the nursery children, much improved playground [...]
Project IMPAACT Report
AD is happy to share the research of Nathan Bennett and his team on the effects of climate change on communities in the North Andaman Coast. The villages of Ban Lion and Ta Pae Yoi are focused on in this research, along with other villages in Southern Thailand. In the past, Nathan, has collaborated with AD to conducted his research in the community based tourism villages. His research sheds light on how these communities are effected by both man-made and natural occurrences. The results provide crucial insight to help us better manage our work in these communities. Together we can all help to make the [...]
Southern Thailand Study & Service Tour
“It has been an amazing week for me. It is definitely the best trip yet!” “I really enjoyed my time teaching and playing with the kids.” Volunteer projects and nature based tours are a combination of elements that offer study tour participants the chance to have a profound and interactive experience. 34 students and 4 teachers from KIS International school Bangkok partook in a four day program that took them from Khao Sok National Park to service activities in the Khao Lak area. The nature based portion of the study tour took place in Khao Sok National Park. This area [...]
Children’s Day in Koh Phra Thong
Last Saturday, the much beloved and anticipated Children Day event was held in Ban Tung Dap on Koh Phra Thong. As the annual host village, the Ban Tung Dap locals were the main organizer of the event with collaboration with the local government authorities in Koh Phra Thong. The villagers from Ban Ta Pae Yoi and Ban Lion also participated in the day’s event along with Andaman Discoveries acting as one of the sponsors of this very special celebration. The day was filled with fun games, creative performances by the children of the island, and delicious food prepared by the villagers. [...]
Colorado University Study Tour 2014
A group of students from the University of Colorado participated in a 5 day study tour with Andaman Discoveries in the first week of January. The goal of the tour was to learn about social and development issues in Thailand, particularly on labor and human trafficking. Led by Tui, as their guide and translator, the group was given an extensive tour of our partner communities and villages. They were briefed on the background and projects of the organization on the first day. Two video presentations were also shown during the briefing. After a delicious lunch of papaya salad, they finished the [...]
Andaman Discoveries Scholarship Program
Andaman Discoveries started a scholarship program after the 2004 Tsunami. The program started with 214 students, and up to now 53 students are still following the program. Some students that graduated came back to teach at their local school sharing their gift of education with the children. For example, Wilansinee ‘’Klang’’ Klathalay is teaching at Koh Surin School and Supaporn ‘’Kai’’ Mardmun is teaching at Ban Talae Nok School. Most of the students are currently still following higher education. With this scholarship Andaman Discoveries wants to support the family, sponsoring stationary, transportation and daily expenses of the students. Andaman Discoveries, [...]
Take a walk on the wild side
Getting around in Thailand is fairly easy. Tuk-tuks, taxis and motorbike rentals are cheap and easy to find. The Thai’s acknowledge this, and therefore they consider everything further than 200 meters to be far. Have you ever asked for directions, and got the answer that the place you are looking for is “too far”, and then it turns out, it’s just a 5-min walk? This is actually a point where I recommend you not to do as the locals! As the famous quote puts it “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey”. By taking a taxi you will probably get [...]
