Southeast Asia Semester Program

Inspiring educational travel semester in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam & Cambodia - cultural immersion, volunteer & community service, adventure travel

Southeast Asia is a melting pot of fascinating history, welcoming peoples, diverse cultures and dramatic landscapes ideally suited to an incredible and insightful educational travel experience. This semester program travels through the diverse and friendly Buddhist countries of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The program has a strong experiential education component, comprising hands-on volunteer work, opportunities for meaningful connections with local people, pushing personal boundaries, and gaining knowledge of Southeast Asia’s history, societies and environments, facilitated by our knowledgeable program leaders.

This gap year / study abroad travel program is suitable for high school graduates, university students and graduates, ideally 18 – 23 years. This gap year or study abroad semester program is an excellent option for students or graduates wanting to be exposed to and immersed in cultures very different to their own.

If you are looking for an experience that challenges you, broadens your horizons and merges cultural insights and environmental sensitivity with fun and adventure - come and explore Southeast Asia with us. And if you're not sure this is the experience for you, check out what recent program alumni say about their Southeast Asia Semester.


“When my daughter Shira decided to take a gap year between high school and college, Pacific Discovery's Southeast Asia Program became part of that plan. What an amazing adventure it has been! The trip was very well thought out, each day packed with extraordinary experiences and meaningful interactions with peoples of different cultures. She saw remarkable things and learned so much. Her whole sense of the world shifted. Shira returned home with greater confidence, sure of her abilities to navigate any challenge. She gained a deeper understanding of other cultures and more clarity and insight about herself. All in all, a tremendously valuable learning experience.” Ruth Weizman (mother of Shira)

Southeast Asia Semester Program Highlights

• The ancient Thai historical capital of Sukhothai and its superb temples and monuments
• Volunteer week at the award-winning Elephant Nature Foundation
• Volunteer week with Burmese migrants and refugees at a vocational training centre
• Thai cooking course and traditional massage in Chiang Mai
• 2-day climbing and caving introductory course in Northern Thailand
• 2-day trekking trip in the Nam Ha Biodiversity Conservation area in Northern Laos
• 3-day riverboat journey down the Nam Tha and Mekong Rivers
• World Heritage town Luang Prabang, with its relaxed ambience, temples, waterfall and textiles
• 2-day trekking trip in Northern Vietnam amidst fascinating highland cultures
• 3-day boating and sea kayaking trip in spectacular Halong Bay
• Moto tour of Hue, the former imperial capital of Vietnam
• Gorgeous Hoi An and a workshop with a development organization
• Get claustrophobic in Cu Chi’s Vietnam War era tunnel systems
• Mekong Delta exploration by bike and riverboat with rural homestay
• Markets, museums and temples in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Phnom Penh and Bangkok
• Insight into rural Cambodian life, home-staying with a wonderful family in Takeo Province
• Volunteer days building a simple home for a marginalized family in Kampot, Cambodia
• Volunteer days teaching English to high school students in Takeo and Kampot, Cambodia
• Exploring the amazing temples of Angkor Wat
• Intro to Scuba Diving and beach time in Southern Thailand
• Series of informal lectures and discussions on history, culture and society
• Very personalized small group experience (compare with other programs of up to 40 students)
• Fantastic program leader/s supported by local guides

Academic Credit available on the Southeast Asia Semester Program

Click on the links below to view course and registration information for optional transferable credit available on this program.

University of Oregon - International Studies
The courses have been designed specifically for this program, are facilitated in an incredibly stimulating learning environment, and are thus highly relevant to the whole experience.
For non-UO students: 8 credits (400-level) are available. Community education tuition fees apply.
For UO students: 8 or 12 credits (400-level) are available. Regular UO tuition applies to UO students (UO financial aid can be retained if taking 12 UO credits on the program).

Seattle Central Community College
Credit is available through the Seattle Central Community College Office of Cooperative Education and Service Learning. Whether you are from the US, Canada, or elsewhere, you are able to undertake this optional independent-study credit while on a Pacific Discovery program. Courses can be taken for 5 or 10 quarter credits and a maximum of 20 credits can be taken per quarter. This credit is a particularly good option for gap year students and students wanting an economical credit option.

Southeast Asia Semester Program Itinerary

Inspiring educational travel semester in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia - cultural immersion, volunteer and community service, adventure education

Day 1-2. Our adventure begins! Arrive in Bangkok, Thailand, having journeyed from ‘the West’ to ‘the East’. In Bangkok, cultures entwine in a symphony of sounds, scents, sights and tastes - its sensory overload! We have a day in Bangkok for a comprehensive program briefing and acclimatization. Traversing the city by river-boat, sky-train and tuk-tuk to see Bankok’s contrasts before enjoying a traditional Thai massage to unwind jet-lagged muscles.

Day 3-4. Sukothai. Departing Bangkok we take the Northern Train Line to Sukhothai, a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Site, famous for its ancient temples. 1000 years ago, Sukhothai was the capital of Thailand. Today it is a tranquil riverside town. We explore the complex of temple ruins by bicycle before continuing north by minivan, to Chiang Mai.

Day 5-9. Volunteer Project 1, Elephant Conservation. This is an amazing week, based at the Elephant Nature Foundation, a centre that cares for elephants and educates about the problems elephants face today in Thailand. We spend the week doing varied and valuable work at the centre, from planting trees and maintenance, to bathing and caring for the elephants. By the time we return to Chiang Mai, you’ll have learned an enormous amount about elephant conservation, will be very sad to farewell these gentle giants, and will feel incredibly satisfied at the rewarding work you’ve done to ensure their protection.

Day 10-11. Rock-climbing and caving introduction. After a refreshing night in Chiang Mai we head into the country side and spend two days learning climbing, rappelling and caving, over-nighting in a small rural village and visiting nearby hot springs and waterfalls.

Day 12-16. Volunteer Project 2 – Burmese migrants and refugees.Based from our comfortable guesthouse in Chiang Mai, we spend the mornings and early evenings assisting inspiring young Burmese migrants and refugees with their English language and computer skills – both of which are critically important to them in gaining employment and a chance at a better life outside Burma/Myanmar. Each afternoon we embark on a different activity... a traditional Thai cooking course, an ‘Amazing Race’ around Chiang Mai, visiting a spectacular mountain-top temple. There’s also time to trawl Chiang Mai’s amazing night markets.

Day 17. The Mekong. Today’s journey takes us to the awakening town of Chiang Khong, on the banks of the mighty Mekong River. From our relaxing riverside guest house, gaze across the waters to the Laotian town of Huay Xai. Tomorrow…new country, new currency, new language, new food!

Day 19-20. Trekking and village homestay. Spend two days trekking through the monsoon forest of the Nam Ha biodiversity conservation area, staying overnight in a local minority village.

Day 21-23. River expedition. Head down the Nam Tha River, a Mekong tributary, in open wooden boats, through a remote, forested and sparsely populated corner of Laos, homestaying with our boat drivers in their fascinating village. On the second day we make it to the confluence with the Mekong and transfer boats to travel down the Mekong River, with plenty of space to lay back and enjoy the riverscapes – jungled hills, men fishing, kids playing on the riverbanks. Overnight ashore in the small village of Pak Beng. Our last day on the river takes us past the Pak Ou Caves, believed the most spiritually significant site in Laos and containing hundreds of Buddha images, before continuing to beautiful Luang Prabang.

Day 24-25. Beautiful Luang Prabang. Described by a previous participant as a town of 'colonial-french-buddhist-jungle-rainforest fusion', this World Heritage City - with its glistening temple roofs, crumbling French colonial architecture and fantastic food, is hard to leave. We explore the temples, waterfalls, and silk weaving villages. How about getting up at dawn to watch the colorful procession of monks collecting alms (their day’s food) from the local residents?

Day 26. Flight to Hanoi, the cultural heart of Vietnam. Our Laotian Kip become Vietnamese Dong and we’ll have the chance to try another new language and take part in local life at streetside restaurants and markets. Tonight we board our sleeper train for an overnight journey into the north, disembarking in Lao Cai, on the Chinese border.

Day 27. Amazing ethnic groups. From Lao Cai we travel up, up and up into the hills to the beautiful town of Sapa. Once a resort for French colonialists escaping Hanoi’s summer heat, and now a center for hill tribe people to trade their goods...nowhere else can you see so many different ethnic groups in one area. Spend the afternoon catching up on sleep or make friends with some of the local Hmong girls...they are delightful and will have you singing and playing with them in no time! You’ll also want to soak up the tranquility of Sapa and its fascinating market.

Day 28-29. Villages and trekking. We spend two days trekking through minority villages and lush mountainous terrain, home staying with indigenous people; for the energetic, there is also the option to take a 25mile mountain bike ride over Vietnam’s highest road pass with a swooping descent. We all meet up in Sapa before returning on the night train to Hanoi.

Day 30-32. Boating and sea kayaking. Travel to coastal Halong City, where we transfer by boat to a private beach camp in Halong Bay. Adjectives can’t adequately describe this place! It’s studded with 1500 limestone islands rising sheer from the sea. Based from the beach camp for one night, we explore nearby bays and lagoons by sea kayak. The next day we move onto our comfortable house boat/junk for one night ‘live aboard’ cruising in Halong Bay where we navigate twisting passages amidst the stunning Karst landscape and floating villages home to a significant fishing and pearl farming community. Bid farewell to Halong Bay on our final afternoon as we return to Hanoi for dinner.

Day 33-34. Hanoi's culture. We base ourselves in the Old Quarter of the city, where daily life spills out onto the street. Enjoy some free time to explore the colorful streets of the Old Quarter, where streets are named for the products they sell…see artisans creating a myriad of products, gravestones being carved, silk merchants haggling, temple finery, flower markets and everything imaginable being bought and sold on the streets. One evening we enjoy the centuries old tradition of water puppetry. We’ll have an insightful behind-the-scenes look at an organization, which trains and looks after street children, giving them skills to pursue careers in the hospitality and tourism industries and spend time relaxing in the tranquil Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university. Then “all aboard” the Reunification Express for our overnight train journey to the old imperial capital, Hue.

Day 35. Hue moto-tour. Today will be a magical mystery tour of Hue and its environs. Our ‘posse’ of motos joins the melee of bicycle traffic as it surges along tree-lined boulevards. School girls wearing traditional silk ao-dai glide past stalls laden with red dragon fruit as Buddhist monks and produce-laden women jostle by. From Emperors’ tombs to Buddhist pagodas, you’ll really get a feel for this city. Don’t leave home without your sunglasses, camera and a ready smile for your personal ‘motodop’ driver.

Day 36-38. Hoi An. Today we travel to our favorite Vietnamese town, Hoi An, an important trading port from the 17th-19th centuries. Wandering the streets, you really feel embraced by history. The town now has UNESCO World Heritage status and its profusion of old houses, quiet streets and covered bridges are being preserved and restored. These days Hoi An is renowned for its diverse architectural heritage, masterful tailors, abundant silks and superb cuisine. We spend an inspiring morning in a craft workshop at a vocational training organization. In our free time there’s a gorgeous beach nearby for sunrise dips and centuries old buildings to check out. Alternatively, people watching on the riverfront, cool drink in hand, is hard to beat!

Day 39-40. Saigon and Cu Chi tunnels.A flight south takes us to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). A city of stunning contrasts, bursting with energy and a 24-hour go-go-go attitude. Our guesthouse is renowned for its welcoming hospitality. We hail taxis and venture out into the maelstrom of people, cyclo’s, motos, carts, trucks and taxis to zigzag our way to the War Remnants Museum, a chilling memorial to the atrocities of the Vietnam War. In Saigon you can lighten up with a stroll around the unusual Presidential Palace and Ben Thanh, Saigon’s central market - a great place to stock up on fresh-baked croissants and fine roasted coffee from the highlands. A dawn start to visit the legendary Cu Chi Tunnels - over 250kms of tunnels, in some places several floors deep, where Viet Cong forces built pseudo-cities underground, enabling them to infiltrate and control large areas around Saigon virtually undetected. You’ll be able to experience, first hand, the claustrophobic existence.

Day 41. Mekong Delta journey and homestay. The Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s rice bowl, is one of the largest deltas in the world. You’ll experience its fertile abundance and beauty as we explore by bicycle and boat visiting small farms and workshops on islands among its branching water ways and tributaries. Homestay with a rural family tonight.

Day 42-45. Cambodia homestay. . Travel through the delta to a little used border crossing into Cambodia, where we get a taste of culture and an understanding of life for the majority of Cambodians in the countryside by home staying for 4 nights with a wonderful Khmer family who will welcome you into their family. We will visit an elementary and high school in the area to donate books and speak English with the students, and volunteer with a sanitation/health education project for the rural poor. Our time in the Cambodian countryside is the program highlight for many participants.

Day 46-48. Cambodia service projects. . Farewell our new family and travel to Kep and Kampot on the south coast. We boat out to a small island in the South China Sea, then return to the mainland to spend some time with local students learning English and assist with their language development. Over the next two days we volunteer with an NGO and a marginalised community in poverty, to build a simple home for a community member. This will be a challenging and rewarding project, and over two days. When not working on the home, the group will visit Epic Arts and participate in a movement workshop. Epic Arts is an NGO which promotes integration of people of all abilities using the arts as a form of expression, empowerment, education and employment - vital in a country where an estimated 1 in 250 people have some form of disability.

Day 49-50. Phnom Penh. Uncover the tragic history of the Khmer Rouge regime with a visit to Tuol Sleng Museum. Support a Khmer café providing vocational training for some of Phnom Penh’s 20,000 street kids. A morning or afternoon is spent working with orphaned and disadvantaged kids from a community of people that lived off the Phnom Penh rubbish dump. This is a unique opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at the challenges confronting smaller grassroots organizations. There is also time to visit the Killing Fields, and some free time to immerse yourself in the wonderfully chaotic Russian Market, undoubtedly one of the more interesting markets you’ll ever visit.

Day 51-53. Angkor temples. Leaving Phnom Penh, we drive to Siem Reap. From this interesting town we explore the impressive remnants of the Angkor Empire. The Angkor Wat temples are the largest temple ruins on earth. You’ll be blown away by this wonder of the world. Through mammoth carved stone panels, stories unfold of historical events, tales of gods, and legends. See the restoration of some temples and the disintegration of others as the jungle reclaims them. Explore elaborate twisting passageways, stone causeways and moats. Wonder at the civilization that created them - at its peak, with a population of one million people, it exceeded the size and complexity of any other city in the world. You’ll also visit a local children’s hospital to learn about the vital work they do in child welfare.

Day 54-55. Full circle. Travel overland to Thailand via the ‘Wild West’ Cambodian border town of Poipet . You’ll be amazed how welcoming Bangkok feels compared with your first day in Thailand, almost two months earlier. You’ll have free time to travel the city and enjoy its fantastic street food. The options are endless...you choose: Visit the royal palace; night markets; fantastic Thai cuisine; Chinatown...and more. After a day back in Bangkok we catch an overnight bus south to Krabi.

Day 56-58. Beach paradise and underwater encounters. From Krabi, we leap aboard a longtail boat for the fun trip to Railae’s Sunset Beach, a peninsula on the mainland only accessible by boat, surrounded by stunning limestone cliffs, dense jungle and the clear emerald waters of the Andaman Sea. This is a world-class area for both rock climbing and diving. Check into our private, stylish beach houses to finish with a few days luxury. One day we go diving, where you can see colorful soft and hard corals and an astounding diversity of fish. For those who have never dived before, prepare to have your eyes opened to the amazing world beneath the surface of the ocean. Our professional dive company takes you through a morning class, teaching all the skills necessary to safely enjoy your two afternoon dives. There’s also plenty of time for relaxing on the beach swimming, snorkeling and reminiscing over our adventures of the last two months.

Day 59-60. Farewell friends. A short boat ride back to Krabi and flight to Bangkok. Some of us will conclude with the flight home for Thanksgiving or Spring Break. Others may continue on to new destinations or stay on exploring Thailand’s tropical beaches. All of us will carry a lifetime of memories, experiences and bonds formed during this trip. .

Southeast Asia Semester Program Notes

Overland educational travel through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia - cultural immersion, volunteer and community service, adventure education

Suitability

Accommodation

Our accommodation varies from welcoming homestays and camping with shared facilities, to modern hotels and guesthouses with private bathrooms. Laundry, postal, telephone and email facilities will be available most days, except while on expeditions. Accommodation is diverse, comfortable and carefully chosen to fit our needs.

Meals

Food is a highlight when traveling in Asia and throughout there will be the opportunity to eat authentic Asian or Western style food. Special dietary requirements and vegetarians are catered for. Asian style eating is a communal affair, and allows for a far greater variety of dishes to be sampled - it’s also more fun. Two thirds of meals are included in the program cost. The remaining meals are not included to allow us a choice of when, where and what we eat.

Transport

The itinerary has been designed to maximise comfort and safety whilst also giving you the opportunity to experience local transport and take part in daily life. We utilize private vans and buses, private taxis, private and local boats, elephants, bicycles, motos and take four internal flights.

Program fee

Program cost is $6,650 USD (change currency).

Program fee inclusions

All in-country travel and transport including three flights within Asia and departure taxes; All program accommodation; Visas for all countries; Most meals; All activities, excursions and entry fees as described in the itinerary; Numerous volunteer and community projects; Series of informal lectures; Experienced program leader/s and local guides; Online image library for your program. Refer information booklet for international flight options.

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