The Teach in Thailand Internship won’t make you a millionaire, but because you get your accommodation paid for and a 12,500 baht monthly allowance, you’ll have more than enough money to travel about and really enjoy your weekends and time off. And if you complete the four month contract, you’ll get another 16,000 baht as a thank-you bonus, so we’ve put in a few ideas for things you can do after you’ve finished teaching.

Having big nights out in Bangkok

According to the famous 80’s song, ‘One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster’, so imagine what you could get up to in a weekend? Bangkok offers something for everyone: from backpacker bars and clubs on the Khao San Road to the dubious pleasures of the infamous Patpong district, to temple-hopping trips in a tuk-tuk and longtail cruises down the Chao Praya, there’s enough to keep you busy for a lifetime let alone one weekend! And don’t worry, if your school isn’t based in or near Bangkok, you can get yourself there for the weekend from pretty much any major city in the country.

Travelling to Chiang Mai by sleeper train

You can get to Chiang Mai from Bangkok on a second class sleeper train for as little as 881 baht (that’s about £18 or $25). The sleepers are relatively comfortable way to travel* and if you leave Bangkok on the 6pm train you’ll arrive in Chiang Mai in time for a long lazy breakfast. Chiang Mai is known as Thailand’s Northern capital and it’s home to the world famous night market, chic arts and crafts shopping and more temples than you’ll ever have time to see. For details of train tickets and timetables up to Chiang Mai check out the Thai railways website at www.railway.co.th/english/index.asp

* In fact one of the guys from the office has just come back from a trip up to Chiang Mai and he was saying that after he boarded he had time for a couple of drinks, some dinner and a chat with a family who were heading up to Chiang Mai for a wedding before the cabin guard came down and made up everyone’s beds. Now that’s the kind of thing that passes for luxury at i-to-i!

Having a lazy weekend on the islands

Even if you’ve only got a weekend to spare, you can get a taste of island life by bagging yourself a cheap flight with someone like Air Asia down to Koh Samui or Krabi. The flight only takes about an hour, and from there the Islands are your oyster. Think golden beaches, warm seas, lazy afternoons lying in a hammock, bamboo beach-huts for 300 baht a night, palm trees swaying in the breeze, cold beers at sunset and beach parties that last till dawn. And the best thing? It’s all affordable on the 12,500 baht you’ll get each month on the Thai TEFL Internship!

Eating at local night-markets

So you’ve got your 12,500 baht a month, that sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Well, it sounds even better when you know that you can get a big plate of spicy Thai curry, a big ladle-full of sticky rice and an ice-cold Singha beer at a local night market for less than 150 baht! So you can eat out every night and never do a bit of washing up!

There are night markets all over Thailand. They’re usually a collection of food stalls with simple tables and chairs scattered across the pavement. The best thing about them (apart from how cheap everything is!) is that they’re not just there for the benefit of tourists, in fact the best way to guarantee a great meal is to find a stall that’s packed full of locals, grab yourself a seat and get stuck in! The night market down by Chao Fa Pier in Krabi is a particular favourite of ours!

Learning to cook Tom Yang Kung
One of the best things about life in Thailand is the food. And there’s no better way of keeping the memory of your Thai adventure alive than learning how to cook your favourite dishes at a Thai cookery school. There are loads of cookery schools in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, but pretty much every town has a cookery school or two. The best way to find a course near your school is to speak to someone at your school, take a look in the Lonely Planet or just do a Google search.

Mastering a bit of Thai

You don’t need to be able to speak Thai to do the internship, but being able to communicate with locals comes in really handy. If you can master the basics then life’ll be a little easier, but if you can manage to pick up enough to hold a conversation, you’ll have an even better time. Wherever you are in Thailand, there will be places offering Thai lessons. But if you use your head you can probably exchange a few private English lessons for some Thai lessons!

Travelling to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, The Philippines, Indonesia or Bali…

With your 12,500 baht end of contract bonus stuffed safely in your pocket, you can pretty much get anywhere in the region. For example, a flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam can cost as little as 999 baht plus taxes! And a bus to Phnom Penh in Cambodia will set you back even less! If you’re feeling really adventurous you could take the bus down to the Malaysian border, head out through the archipelago to Indonesia, Bali, the Philippines or even Northern Australia! And with an i-to-i TEFL certificate behind you, you can earn money as an English teacher along the way and make your adventure last as long as you want!

So what’s stopping you? Take a look at our Thai TEFL Internships here and make your adventure happen! Remember, there are only 30 spots available, so don’t miss out by thinking about it too long or the chance could be lost forever!

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