Thailand Jungle Survival Courses

Thailand's History of Outdoor Survival Skills

One of the many things that impress many travelers in Thailand is the ability of the locals to live off of the jungle. Today, most Thais don’t have to rely on the jungle for sustenance, though they have retained much of their ability to identify wild edible and medicinal plants.

Wild Edible Plants & Jungle Crafts

In addition to knowing a lot about the plants in the jungle, many Thais still know how to make temporary shelters and many other jungle crafts that would make being lost in the verdant terrain… not so uncomfortable.

PaddleAsia's Thai guides are well-adapted to living off of the land. All of our guides came from simple backgrounds and fairly poor families. I (Dave) combine their natural jungle survival skills with my lifelong love of the outdoors and survival skills to provide you with an opportunity to visit the jungles of Southern Thailand with the bare minimum of tools. Take advantage of our collective skills.

Unlike what tends to be popular on TV survival shows, you will learn how to conserve energy and not take chances. True survival is all about making decisions that affect your longevity and a focus on safety is paramount to this end. You will not jump off of any cliffs, cross raging rivers, or scale cliffs to get a better idea about where you are located. This makes for more interesting TV, but it is not what you do in a true survival situation.

Jungle Survival Courses (in Khao Sok National Park)

PaddleAsia offers a variety of jungle survival courses in Thailand. One of our jungle survival courses take place in Khao Sok National Park. This course combines jungle survival with wildlife viewing from a comfortable kayak.

As far as picking wild edible plants go, we would not pick any plant that is uncommon or rare.

Rare plants will be pointed out, but not eaten. In other words, we’d only sample plants that are very common and that are capable of growing back rapidly. Animal snare Luckily for you, there are many plants that fall into this last category. You’ll get to eat directly from the jungle.

Many of these plants are actually commonly found in the regular markets of Thailand!

We do not kill any animals. We will show you how to set up animal traps, but we do not actually use them to capture animals.

Jungle survival courses address the following:

Survival kit items –
What to take
What not to take
Items specific to tropical conditions
Click here to see survival kit information

Water (avoiding dehydration is your #1 priority) -
Learning to find water on land
Learning how to find water in vines
Finding water in bamboo
Conserving water
Transporting water

Fire –
How to use a flint and steel (flint and magnesium fire starters)
How to make a friction fire with bamboo (see YouTube video)
The tinder > kindling > Fuel building schemes
Types of fires
Fires for warmth
Fires for cooking
Fires for signaling
Underground fires

Cooking basics -
Making cooking utensils

Strategy –
Setting priorities (basic needs)
Preparing for the unexpected
Weather concerns jungle shelter

Food –
Wild edible plant
Boiling water in bamboo
Fishing with handlines and bamboo poles
Hunting weapons
Building traps and snares
Food preparation

Shelter –
Finding suitable site
Types of shelters (including natural shelters)
Building shelters with only a knife and know-how. jungle survival bamboo shelter

Rope –
Making rope from plants
How to tie knots

Finding your way back –
Reading signs
Determining direction
Reading weather
How to use a compass and map

Moving –
Moving solo through the jungle
Moving a group of people
Planning food and water while traveling
Signaling

Gain the confidence to tackle life’s problems as they arise. Regain your self-esteem by proving to yourself that you could survive alone in a tropical jungle by using your mind and your newly-gained ‘continued existence’ skills.

Our mission with this endeavor is to help you build the confidence to stay calm if you ever find yourself lost. You should be able to analyze your situation and figure out the best course of action.

Jungle Survival Destinations

You can choose from Khao Sok National Park whereby kayaking is included in the course. This is a comfortable way for you to see the jungle and experience one of the nicest national parks in SE Asia.

For more budget-minded travelers who also want a more hardcore jungle survival experience, PaddleAsia offers a two-day jungle survival course in Phang Nga Province. Bushcraft courses are also available for those who are more interested in camping, woodlore and traditional wilderness living skills than just surivival.

Would you know what to do if you were shipwrecked or in a plane crash? Check out our coastal survival training course.

Check out the various videos on our YouTube channel

See our tour prices list for prices.

Or, you can choose from some smaller national parks or conservation areas. Contact us for details.

Please follow us on Facebook and/of follow us on Twitter.

Check out our YouTube videos on survival skills. This one is about the Thai Jungle Knife, as used on Dual Survival "Bitten" episode of Season 2. Here is one about making a bamboo floor. This one is about a bamboo fire saw. Here is one about the wild edible plants that are in my yard in Phuket.

Join our YouTube Channel. Bytheway, "Raksaht" is Thai for "Love Animals".

For lots of information on common sense survival and self-reliance as well as survival supplies, check out my friend Dave Canterbury's Pathfinder School.

Dave has a multitude educational videos on YouTube pertaining to survival skills.

Dave also offers a unique magazine called Self Reliance Illustrated.

Furthermore, if you're looking for a knife that will last a lifetime, Dave offers one of the most durable, beautiful, high-quality knives on the market. Check out his Pathfinder series knives by Blind Horse.

My friend Cody Lundin is a master at primitive living skills, wilderness living and survival skills. His Aboriginal Living Skills School is a must for all who are interested in training and learning survival techniques to use in the modern world. Cody proves that ancient skills are still applicable.

Cody also believes in sustainable living and his philosophy shines through with his incredible self-reliant home. Cody is the author of two best-sellers: When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes and 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive!

Dave and Cody are the 'stars' of The Discovery Channel's show Dual Survival, one of the best survival shows to ever air on TV.

Me with Dave and Cody

Highly recommended reading - Deep Survival, Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales. This book deals primarily with the psychology of survival with plenty of real-life stories. It points out certain (often repeated) patterns in many survival fatalities and how they can be avoided.

Visit the Wilderness Survival Skills website for information about safe wilderness travel, what gear to take, survival techniques and links to survival schools around the planet.