Tuk-tuks, sticky rice and elephants-oh my!

I had the most amazing time on my Pacific Discovery trip in Southeast Asia. Having traveled before with my family I was looking for a program during my gap year that would provide me independence and support while traveling in a new and foreign place. Pacific Discovery did just that-there is a range of people that come on their trips and they offer a lot of flexibility in their travel schedule to accommodate that. This meant that our schedule was well-balanced with group activities with everything from volunteering to rock-climbing to kayaking and free time to explore the night markets or go out to bars to meet other travelers. This isn't a program where they are going to caudal you and keep you in a "western bubble" but they don't just throw you in without any advice and guidance of how to navigate the new cultures and cities either. I was lucky to have two leaders on my trip and both of them were well traveled in the area and one of them had already led the trip before. I felt like they were very knowable about the history, culture and sites that we visited throughout the entire trip.

One of the things I think is very unique to Pacific Discovery and that I valued so much is the effort they put in to maintain ethical travel practices. It has become so common for people to travel that I think people sometimes forget about the impact they have as travelers in another country. Pacific Discovery makes it a point to encourage their participants to learn about the history and culture of the countries before arriving as well as while traveling (there is information about each location along with language tips and more in the thorough travel itineraries they provide you!). We had group discussions and readings as well as lessons in basic Thai and how to bow properly. Our leaders also taught us some of the more nuanced elements of the the cultures-things that I would have probably missed had I traveled alone. Knowing these things while traveling makes the experience that much richer.

Pacific Discovery is also very intentional about their decision to participate in service activities while traveling. After traveling with another group where I felt like I would just show up in a community and teach english (completely unqualified) for a few days, it was refreshing to feel like the service projects we participated in were with organizations PD had relationships with and knew our help would be useful and welcomed. I also really appreciated their commitment to leaving as small of an environmental impact as possible. The small size and strong ethical practices of this company makes these things very unique.

Also-our accommodations were extremely comfortable and I always felt safe, this is not really roughing it (if you don't count the occasional holes in the ground for toilets!). But after all these small details i don't want to forget to just say how AMAZING every single day of this trip was. The mix of adventure, volunteer and just exploring was perfect. I would repeat this trip in a heartbeat-it sounds so cheesy but honestly every single day I learned so much about myself and about the countries and cultures we were visiting. We had a great group dynamic and the perfect balance of group activities and independent travel. OH and the food in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam is AMAZING (and so cheap!). I could go on and on about how much I loved this program and I would say if you are thinking about PD-just do it! Every program member comes from somewhere different and PD somehow has a way of meeting everyone where they're at and providing an amazing experience.