Thailand Jungle Survival Training Courses

We are currently only offering jungle survival courses for school groups.


Unlike what tends to be popular on TV survival shows, you will learn how to conserve energy and not take chances during a real survival situation.

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, go snake hunting, 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.

You will learn the facts about nutritional needs in a survival situation. Here is a video on getting protein while surviving.

We also specialize in wilderness survival skills for kids! This is a wonderful family adventure experience.

Thailand's History of Outdoor Survival Skills

Jungle survival bamboo water boilingOne 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 plants, medicinal plants, and wild fruit.

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.

Paddle Asia's Thai guides are well-adapted to living off of the land. All of our guides came from simple backgrounds.

I (Dave) add 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.

Jungle Survival Courses

Paddle Asia offers a variety of jungle survival courses in Thailand. Our primary jungle survival destination is Phang Nga Province. Thailand jungle survival water in bamboo

There are a lot of hiking trails in Phang Nga Province..

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.

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!

There is also a lot of information about edible plants, survival skills, and survival gear on our Facebook Jungle Survival page. Our blog also provides information.

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

We do not spend the night in the jungle.

Outdoor skills course knots

For Khao Sok, we build shelters, but we return to bungalows each evening. It is technically not legal to camp in the national park. It is legal to camp in Phang Nga Province.

Be aware that if you want to camp, you better be prepared for leeches if the ground is at all wet. During the rainy season, May through October, we recommend not camping.

Jungle Survival Training near Phuket

Phang Nga Province, just one hour north of Phuket, offers just that rivals any national park, yet almost no one goes there. Paddle Asia offers a wide variety of hiking trail routes that range from flat and easy to very challenging.

  • What to take
  • What not to take
  • Items specific to tropical conditions

Water, avoiding dehydration is your #1 priority:

  • Learning to find water on land
  • Survival skills training water vines
  • Learning how to find water in vines
  • Finding water in bamboo
  • Conserving water
  • Transporting water 

Fire:

  • How to use a fire striker (ferrocerium rod)
  • 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

Cooking basics:

  • Making cooking utensils
Building a survival shelter.

Strategy:

  • Planning prior to venturing out. (see YouTube 'planning' video)
  • Setting priorities (basic needs)
  • Preparing for the unexpected
  • Weather concerns

Food:

  • Wild edible plant (watch this YouTube video to realize how easy it is to find edible plants in the jungle here)
  • Boiling water in bamboo
  • Fishing with handlines and bamboo poles
  • Building traps
  • Food preparation

Shelter:

  • Finding suitable site
  • Making bamboo flooring.
  • Types of shelters (including natural shelters)
  • Building shelters with only a knife and know-how

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.

Here is a BBC survival show that I did with Henry Golding in February 2014.

 


Please follow our jungle survival group

Check out and subscribe to our YouTube channel with videos on survival skills as well as other videos. 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. Here is one about the wild edible plants that are in my yard in Phuket.


survival manualRecommended reading: The US Navy Seal Survival Handbook covers a wide range of topics as well as the issues in various climates. This books is well-written and easy to read. There is no shortage of nice color photos.

The first 41 pages covers the types of training that Seals do. They are certainly hardcore, but this is of course not a prerequist for being able to survive in the jungle. It is interesting.

I contributed a quite a bit to the tropical section of this book.


Dual SurvivalAboriginal Living Skills SchoolMy 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 were the 'stars' of The Discovery Channel's Dual Survival.


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 failed survival attempts and how these patterns of failure can be avoided.

Certification in Paddlesports and First Aid

Dave is a British Canoe Union Level 2 Coach (trained to Level 3) and is one of the most experienced paddler in all of Southern Thailand.

Dave is an Emergency First Response Instructor and a certified rescue technician through the Rescue 3 International organization. Dave is also a certified Life Guard through the British Canoe Union. View certifications. Paddle Asia guides are EFR certified in CPR, First Aid, and basic life guard training.

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18/58 Thanon Rasdanusorn, T, Rasada, Phuket Town
Note: We don't offer walk-in bookings
Tel numbers for emergencies, not bookings:
Dave's mobile (English): 081 8936558 Whatsapp
Moo's mobile (Thai): 081 7974855
For bookings, contact us.

Tourism Authority of Thailand License Number 34/00224
Proof of Insurance