Volunteering In Chiang Dao, Thailand
About forty miles North of Chiang Mai lies Chiang-Dao, a small town nestled in the Thai countryside.
A good friend in Chiang Mai had offered us the chance to help out at a nursery school in Chiang Dao just before Christmas 2017.
Annabel came up with the idea that she wanted to make an advent calendar with a difference, and buy a small gift for each of the 25 days leading up to Christmas and present the children of the school with them when we arrived.
So we set about buying little items from toys to soap, that would be fun and useful for the children.
We were so excited when the day came to travel to Chiang Dao with Barbara and Judie, our friends from Chiang Mai.
After a lovely drive through the Thai countryside we arrived at the school and saw all the little children’s faces smiling through the windows at us.
Chiang Dao Nursery
About fifty children all under five greeted us with fascination.
As with any group of children, some were outgoing and full of smiles while others were quiet and apprehensive.
We presented the gifts to the teachers who handed out the toy items to the children.
Then it was time to play some games together and have fun.
All The Wonderful Children And Teachers Of Chiang Dao Nursery
Making New Friends At Chiang Dao Nursery
It was soon time for lunch, so we helped serve all the children their meals and then cleared up afterwards.
The staff at the school do a great job looking after all the children who come from low-income families, many of which live in the surrounding countryside.
After lunch, it was nap time, and with all the children blankets neatly laid out in one part of the main room, they all settled down to sleep.
This was our signal to leave the nursery, but as we did, so some of the children got up to see us off.
Lunch Time At Chiang Dao Nursery
Nap Time
It was such a privilege to be able to spend some time with all the children and a really nice thing to do as a family.
Annabel was really great with the children and Sue, well she got so close to some of the children in a short time, that it was hard for her to leave them.
If ever we return to Chiang Dao, we’ll definitely be going to volunteer more time at the school for sure.
The day wasn’t over yet though as we wanted to see some more of Chiang Dao after coming all this way, so we headed off for Chiang-Dao Caves which are situated to the West of town, near the hills.
Chiang Dao caves weave their way deep into the limestone hillside, as we made our way through their passageways.
Inside the caves, a small temple houses Buddha images and shrines.
Chiang Dao Caves
After exiting the caves we spent some time watching the large catfish in the lake by the cave entrance.
It’s a really pretty setting at the base of the mountain with the forest all around.
Wat Tham is right next to the caves so we couldn’t leave without exploring this lovely temple.
The whole setting is beautiful with the forested mountains behind the temple.
It had a been a glorious day out that we’ll remember fondly.
Chiang Dao Caves Entrance And Lake
Wat Tham
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