I am trying to upload at least once a fortnight, and I have my scheduled blog post going live tomorrow at 7 (make sure to give it a read!) so today's blog post is just going to be really short and sweet!
I have some very very exciting news! Next July I am going on a 15 day 'voluntour' trip to Thailand! Travelling has been something that I have wanted to do for a really long time, but since I chose not to take a gap year and I didn't particularly want to spend my entire 4 month summer away from my family, friends and Sam, it's something that I never thought I'd be able to do. However, after speaking to my friend Rhiannon who has spent 3 months of her gap year in India, a month in Uruguay and, most recently, 2 weeks travelling around Asia, I decided it is something that I really want to make time for! (Hey Rhi, if you're reading this, thanks for inspiring me!) After hearing that she only spent 2 weeks travelling around Asia, and listening to her incredible stories, it made me realise that didn't have to break the bank and spend months on end in a country that I've never been to before, on my own- instead, I could have a taste of it, whilst only really being apart from my home comforts for 2 weeks- the same amount of time I'd spend in an all inclusive resort on a Spanish island anyway.
This is where STA Travel come in. I have been subscribed to STA for a few years after I registered my interest about going on a gap year with them at my UCAS convention back in 2015. I, luckily, never unsubscribed to these email updates, and the same day as Rhiannon helped me realise my epiphany, I received an email from them, discussing all their different volunteering opportunities. There were loads to choose from, but the one that caught my eye the most was volunteering with elephants in Thailand.
After speaking to my parents and researching more into the opportunities that STA have, I discovered their 15 day Thailand Voluntour, which sounded perfect! This is the itinerary:
I went into the STA shop in Bath last Sunday and put a deposit down on the whole trip. So, on the 19th of July 2018 I am flying to Thailand to start what I am sure will be one of the best experiences of my entire life!
Of course, I am going to blog about the whole trip. I'm planning on writing a travel diary and basing my blog posts around that so that I don't forget about anything, but I was wondering what else you'd like to see? A 'What I am packing for Thailand' post, a 'What's in my long haul hand luggage bag' post? Please let me know in the comments! I'm so excited about this opportunity and I just want to thank everyone at STA Travel (if any of them randomly came across this post) for answering my endless questions and getting everything booked up for me! If any of you are wanting to book with STA travel and want to ask me any questions about them please do feel free- I'm not sure how much I'll be able to tell you until after the trip though.
I hope you enjoyed my excitable ramblings about next year's summer fun, and I hope you look forward to the blog posts as much as I am looking forward to writing them!
With love,
Chloe x
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