Trip Itinerary

Perth, Australia
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Mae Tuen, Thailand

Travel Log

Mae Tun and Om Goi will always have a special place in my heart. Our adventure started on the 6th of January, leaving Perth airport for three weeks where we were all so excited and eager to experience our placement in rural Thailand.  

When we arrived in Chiang Mai, little did we know the wonderful team from Buffalo Tours would have such a huge impact on our placement. From this moment, we all felt very lucky and grateful to have the team guide and support us throughout our journey. 

After a long six hour drive from Chiang Mai, we finally arrived in Mae Tuen where we were taken back at how breathtaking the view was. Our accommodation looked out onto the beautiful mountains and rice fields, where it was picture perfect. It was overwhelming to see that the lifestyle over there was so different with cold showers, squat toilets and animals almost everywhere we looked. No matter the time of day, you could hear the glorious noise of roosters, which I don’t think any of us will ever forget. 

We experienced our first clinic the next day, where we were all a bit nervous as to how the day would go. The expectations were unclear, however there was an underlying sense of all of us putting in maximum effort and working as a team. The first clinic ran as smoothly as possible, where we all proud of each other. Every day when we got back from the clinics, we would debrief, where we all sat with the amazing scenery in the background reflecting on how the day went. It was great to have insight into each of our experiences.   
 
At every clinic, we had set up stations including reception, height and weight, observations, assessment, pharmacy and health promotion. We all practiced speaking in the Thai and Karen dialect where our pronunciations were a great laugh. It was daunting having a language barrier, but in the end we all gave it our best shot utilizing the translators when required. My favourite part of the clinics was assessment and health promotion as I gained confidence in my clinical skills. Teaching the children how to brush their teeth and teaching through playing games was priceless. We had two days in Om Goi hospital where it was so valuable to see how the Thai nurses cared for patients in the hospital setting.  
 

On the weekends we stayed in Om Goi, where it was great to wind down after the week of clinics. In Chiang Mai we treated ourselves to massages and fun activities before we went home. As a whole, this placement was a wonderful experience providing so many exciting and challenging learning experiences. As a group, we faced many laughs, learning curves, challenges and memorable experiences together. Working as a team and communicating as a group allowed us all to grow as individuals, thriving off each others knowledge and strengths. A highlight of this placement was that we learnt to acknowledge and respect the Thai culture.  If anyone is considering this placement, I would advise if you have the opportunity to go, look at the whole experience as a learning opportunity with an open mind. There may be challenges, however looking back on this experience I wouldn’t change a thing and I would do it ten times over.