Report on Trip to Thailand 20^th World Scout Jamboree

December 26, 2002 – January 10, 2003

By Eric Z, West Hills, CA

What is World Jamboree

Every four years, Scouts from around the world gather together at the World Scout Jamboree. The Jamboree rotates to a different country each time. The twentieth Jamboree since 1920 was held in Thailand from Dec. 26, 2002, to Jan.7, 2003 to encourage peace, world unity, and the brotherhood of Scouts. It is set up by the host nation, and activities are provided for the education and enrichment of the Scouts.

Troop 44   

Our Troop 44 was formed by Scouts from California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and Japan. Western Los Angeles County Council Scouts in this troop were James M, a Star,  Yulan H, a Life, and me, Eric Z, First Class. We were led by Mr. Mike Philbrook, a Scoutmaster from San Diego who arranged three meetings for our troop in California in the months before we left. We agreed on a design for our patch, which showed the statue of liberty and the American flag, and chose patrol and troop leaders.

Departure: Flight to Tokyo  

The day after Christmas, 35 of us Scouts and leaders left on a Thai Airways 747 Jumbo Jet to go through Tokyo to Bangkok, a total flight of about 21 hrs. We napped on the way. We watched a movie in the Thai language, which we could not understand!

Arrival at Camp

The bus dropped us off on December 28 at the crossroads in the camp. We had to carry our suitcases to our assigned subcamp, C5, where we joined with Scouts from Thailand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Japan. We set up camp with tents and sleeping gear. During setup, I lost my sleeping bag, which reappeared between two tents the day we broke camp. It’s a good thing I had a blow-up mattress along!

Opening Ceremonies and Setup

We had to stay awake during the opening ceremonies at 8-11 pm Thai time which is 5-8 am California time. Because of  jet lag, we were sleepy, but the fascinating ceremonies kept us awake and interested. We watched from a huge arena as some of the Thai Scouts marched on stage with flags from each of about 150 nations present.  The colorful flags represented the nationalities of around 30,000 Scouts at Jamboree, including 3,000 from the US. Each troop also carried its own country’s flag. After we were entertained by Thai dancing and singing, the Crown Prince of Thailand greeted us and welcomed all, speaking in Thai.

Camp Life

We participated in workshops called “Crossroads of Cultures.” Visiting various booths,  we learned about many customs and religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, etc.). Troop 44 also built a short brick road going to a Thai school near the Jamboree site.

Security was very tight at the site. My uncle from Switzerland was visiting Thailand and wanted to see me, but visitors could not come closer than the observation area which was ½ mile away from the Jamboree site. We met at the Bangkok airport for a visit instead.

Food was plentiful; either we cooked it ourselves or it came to us in the form of a sack lunch.  Scouts of every nationality cooked a dish from their traditions. We cooked Dinty Moore beef stew which we had brought in our duffle bags from the States.

When we were not swimming, eating or participating in workshops, James and I often played cards or got on the computers. Scouts could communicate with their families by email or with phone cards. One day, we heard that the king of Sweden even showed up in a Scout uniform and camped on the grounds for one night. At night we were usually exhausted and simply crashed, but we were woken up between 5 am and 7am depending upon which day it was.

Meeting other Scouts

We would go around to different camps visiting and trading patches, and even uniforms. I traded my extra shirt for a British uniform, and my American flag neckerchief for a neckerchief from a Swiss girl. (There were girls from Venture crews at the Jamboree.) Sometimes Scouts from other countries would come to us to trade patches and visit also. After about the 5^th day, we would go to the various other nations’ campsites for dinner. We dined with the Swedes, the Thais, the Swiss, the Australians, and the British. I tried to speak with some of the Swiss Scouts in German. The Scouts who came to Jamboree had to know how to speak some Thai, French or English.

Closing Ceremonies

The closing ceremonies were local to each camp. After closing announcements, we enjoyed festivities such as fireworks, fire blowing, and Thai dancing and singing. We said goodbye to our friends and then watched as the flag from the Thai Jamboree 2003 was transferred to the British contingent. In 2007, the Centennial Jamboree will be held in England. Then we went to bed in the hammocks we had bought and dreamed of home.

Touring Thailand

The next morning we left on a bus to go to a Bangkok hotel. We stayed on for two more days to see the sites. We saw many statues, temples, ruins of an old temple, and other structures of Buddhist culture and influence, including the gigantic Sukhothai Golden Buddha.

My Best Memory

My best memory was the flagpole that we erected in order to contest the Australians. They had put up a 60-foot flagpole, and were the talk of the camp, until the day we put up a 75-foot one! 

All in all, I had a great time.  I will certainly remember this Scouting trip for the rest of my life.

            Eric Z        

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