Bangkok--6 May--Thailand Summer Camps
Thailand Summer Camps (thailandsummercamps.com) is launching in Khao Yai this summer, offering Bangkok kids an active and adventurous escape from city life, just a three-hour drive from the capital.
Fun-filled days will be spent cycling, rock-climbing, zip-lining, hiking, swimming, canoeing and playing in the sun. Campers will learn how to navigate the wilderness, preserve the environment, work in teams, and take home invaluable new skills. It will be a cellphone- and computer-free week of healthy fun.
“A little digital detox can be just the thing to help children connect to each other and the world around them, instead of their devices,” says camp founder Merritt Gurley.
The daughter of an American diplomat, Merritt grew up in Bangkok. In 1994 she spent two weeks at a sleep-away camp in western Thailand and the experience helped shape the nature-loving person she is today. Now Merritt hopes to pay it forward through Thailand Summer Camps. “The experience I had here as a kid just doesn’t exist any more,” says Merritt, “and I want to bring it back in all its marshmallow-roasting, kayak-tipping, campfire-building glory.”
The camp will bring together students from different schools across Thailand, offering a shared environment where they can get to know each other and stretch their personal limits in one of the country’s most beautiful untouched areas.
This year Thailand Summer Camps will be held at the Wild Lodge, a picturesque eco-adventure center that has been hosting international school field trips and excursions for more than 15 years. The lodge is set on a four-acre sprawl of manicured wilderness right outside of Khao Yai National Park, where campers will have access to comfortable beds and hot showers, a campsite, a salt-water infinity pool, a reading sala, and dining area. There’s even a challenge course for the more intrepid campers, complete with a zip-line, rope cables, timber platforms and aerial elements designed to promote individual confidence and social cooperation.
The staff is highly trained and CPR-certified, ready to support, cheer and challenge campers to be their best selves. The 2015 camp offers five days of adventure and a lifetime of memories.