Come With Nothing, Go Home Rich - Thailand and Laos

In the summer of 2016 last year I had a life changing experiences going on the Come With Nothing trip in Thailand and Laos. This was my first Rustic trip and service trip in general so I had no idea what to expect for the next 3 weeks of my life. The focus of this trip was to come, as you can guess, with nothing, or very close to it. We were allowed 5 personal items and a backpack with a change of clothes. The rest of what we needed for our month long trip was purchased in night markets with a small amount money provided from Rustic. The trip was long and challenging, but worth every second. We visited three villages, a new one each week, one in Thailand and two in Laos. The majority of our service focused on building and constructing various things for each villages needs. We built everything from dormitories for school, bathrooms and water tanks, and even walls for an entire school.

In addition to our service work, we were able to immerse ourselves in the culture by staying with local villagers, visiting museums and temples and trying new cuisine. We got to go on a beautiful two day boat ride through the Mekong river right when we got into Laos which stopped at villages and markets. In between our two villages in Laos we got to go on an amazing bike ride through the city we were stopping at and get authentic Thai massages. And at every village we got up at 4-5am to hike up and see the beautiful sunrise.

My favorite memory was at the end of the trip, we walked a three hour hike straight through a rain forest to one of the most amazing waterfalls I've ever seen. We brought bathing suits and it was an memorable and fantastic way to end the trip with friends.

This trip impacted my life because unlike some other trips, you really do get to experience what its like to live like a local. The community service is intense, but you never get tired when you know you're doing something that truly makes a huge difference in these peoples lives that you're sleeping in the same houses with.

I cannot recommend this and any Rustic program enough, they will truly change your life and the way you see things, just like it did to me.