When I first thought about teaching, I automatically associated it with rigid schedules and constant stress. But after getting my first TEFL job here in Thailand, I found an unexpected freedom. Teaching and lesson planning do take up a lot of time, but over the past year, I’ve been able to explore far more of Thailand, and even other parts of Asia, than I ever imagined possible.
For those considering teaching in Thailand through the BFITS Program, this blog is written to show you that you can indeed have it all. Work can be meaningful, time off can be full, and life abroad can become a balance of purpose, travel, and discovery.
Teaching Opens Unexpected Travel Freedom
I teach at Buriram Pitthayakhom (BP) School. It’s in the small city of Buriram, which is located in the Northeast of Thailand. It’s quite far from most places, but luckily, it’s well connected to Bangkok.
Bangkok, in turn, boasts a truly HUGE travel network, with two airports, many train stations, multiple long-distance bus stations, and I believe you can even catch ferries to Koh Tao from there! This presents a multitude of ways to spend time off.
Six hours on the comfortable Nakhonchaiair buses takes you into the metropolis that is Bangkok. You can go for onward travel, or simply to explore more of the city’s delights. I myself have been to Bangkok maybe four or five times now and still have not seen it all.
Some absolute highlights I feel I’d be remiss not to recommend are places such as the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Wat Pho, and, of course, Khao San Road and the Chatuchak Markets. These are all places any decent blog will tell you to visit, but there is much more to the capital.
Finding Quiet Corners in Bangkok
One great experience is a sunset or nighttime dinner cruise. You get to see the city’s highlights along the main waterway. There is usually live music on board, and some even have traditional Thai dancers for entertainment. There is also unlimited food for an extremely decent price.
The parks in Bangkok also provide a quiet reprieve from the hustle and bustle of busy city streets. My personal favorite is Benchakitti Park, which boasts an extensive “sky walk” with epic skyscraper views as you walk along. It is best enjoyed at sunset.
Lumpini Park is also a popular haunt for locals and tourists alike. It is a tranquil, green oasis where many go for exercise, relaxation, or to take little pedalos out onto the lake. This park is also home to huge monitor lizards, giving you a touch of wildlife and nature in an otherwise concrete jungle.
There is, of course, much more to see: the tallest buildings, many cafés, canals, markets, but I do wish to move on. Bangkok is a city that I could write about forever.
Exploring Isaan Beyond Buriram
Slightly closer to home are places that the common traveller does not always make it to. One example is Korat in Nakhon Ratchasima, home to a huge Terminal 21 shopping mall. It is also close to ancient temples and the beautiful national park of Khao Yai, one of the best, most accessible places to see wild elephants in Thailand, although I was not so lucky when I went!
There is also Khon Kaen, a great place to really indulge in traditional Isaan culture. Khon Kaen is also, quite interestingly, for history nerds such as myself, famous for the discovery of various dinosaur fossils not found anywhere else in the world!
These are all great options for a long weekend. Buses are relatively inexpensive, as are hotels. Sightseeing is often free or extremely cheap due to the lack of heavy tourism.
Beaches, Islands, and Long Weekends
Involving slightly longer travel times are the beaches of Pattaya and Rayong, approximately 9–10 hours on the bus. With them come the islands of Koh Larn and Koh Samet.
You could go even further south if you found you had the time, and visit the beautiful Koh Chang and the surrounding areas. Most of Thailand, if not all, is extremely accessible from Bangkok, and it hardly breaks the bank.
You can even fly from Buriram to Bangkok. YES, we have an airport. We are small, but we are mighty!
For anyone who wants to teach in Thailand, this is one of the unexpected benefits. Even if your school is not in Bangkok, the country’s travel network still makes weekends and school breaks feel full of possibilities.
Using Thailand as an Asia Base
As teachers in Thailand, we are afforded what I consider to be quite a luxury: two half terms of quite a decent length. They are long enough to venture outside of the country.
The first rolls around in October. Many places are open to visit with Thailand as your base. All of Southeast Asia is at your fingertips: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and Singapore. These are all very short flights or very long buses away. You could also be in the Philippines or Indonesia in just a couple of hours.
Personally, I had already spent 7 months travelling Southeast Asia before taking the position at Buriram Pitthayakhom School. Because of that, I was eager to see a slightly different side of Asia and decided to visit India at that time.
A four-hour flight saw me landing in New Delhi, ready for a new experience. India was unlike anything I’ve ever had. It is something that will stay with me forever. It’s very different from the rest of Asia: busier, more crowded, more chaotic, but there is something so beautiful about it.
The locals are friendly and so helpful. The temples are stunning, and the history is deep. I saw only a small fraction, touring from New Delhi to the state of Rajasthan, then to the national park of Ranthambore, where I saw wild Bengal tigers, and Agra.
Here, I saw my second wonder of the world: the Taj Mahal. It is a truly breathtaking work of art and a symbol of unwavering love. After that, we made our way back to Delhi and then to Thailand after an exhilarating two weeks away.
Funnily enough, in Term 2, as part of my reading comprehension lessons with Mathayom 1 (Grade 7), we studied an article written about the Taj Mahal. It was fun to show the students pictures I had taken, and pictures of me standing in front of the magnificent building. I think it really helped make it a bit more real and engaging for the students.
Choosing Sri Lanka by Chance
After Term 2, if you are staying on as a teacher, you get another chunk of time off before the next school year begins. As a way of keeping life interesting, I decided to write down Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia and put them all in a hat. The one I drew out would be the next one I went to.
They are all so easy to get to and relatively inexpensive to fly to. So, I thought it would be a bit of random fun. When else am I going to have access to all of Asia like this!?
Sri Lanka was pulled, which I was secretly incredibly happy about, as it was my personal top contender. So in January, flights were booked, and we had something to look forward to for the rest of Term 2.
Once the term ended, we spent a month exploring all Sri Lanka had to offer. We saw a good chunk of the country in that time, including places such as Sigiriya and the South Coast.
Also, we rode the famous Kandy–Ella train, with incredible views of the highlands the whole way. We even managed to fit in not one, but two safaris! We saw countless wild elephants, jackals, a sloth bear, and much more.
I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity not only to explore Thailand more but also to visit places I don’t think I would have visited if I hadn’t become a teacher here with BFITS. India and Sri Lanka were, of course, on my travel bucket list, but I hadn’t envisioned going for many more years to come.
However, with such a huge part of the world at our fingertips, we decided to simply just do it. We have plans to travel more of Asia. The Philippines and Indonesia are, of course, still on our list. But China, Japan, and South Korea are becoming increasingly feasible. Our list just keeps expanding!
Where Teaching and Travel Coexist
Becoming a teacher with BFITS in Thailand not only gives you important life skills and resilience, which I have written about in previous blogs, but it also opens the door to further travel. For me, as an avid traveller and part-time backpacker, this is an incredible bonus. It remains unequalled in any other role I’ve ever had.
Looking back on the last year of living here, I can see that I didn’t just gain a teaching job. I gained access to an entirely different way of living. One where travel and work don’t feel like opposing forces, but something that can exist, peacefully, side by side.
From weekends in Bangkok to once-in-a-lifetime trips across Asia, this job has allowed me to experience places and moments I never thought would come so soon. And that, more than anything, is what makes it so rewarding.
If you have ever so much as considered getting your TEFL and finding work as a teacher, let this be your sign. Term time is rewarding and fun, and time off is even more so.
With this job, the world becomes your oyster. And you can build a great work-life balance that your friends at home will be envious of!