Pattaya, Thailand – Who would choose to walk 1,000km in Thailand during its hottest months and why? This question was answered at the Wednesday, July 19, meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC). The guest speaker was James Lee Valentine, aka “Wild Wolf” who did just that. He walked 1,000km from Pattaya to Phuket to raise funds for the Take Care Kids Foundation. But this was not his first walk, although the longest, to raise funds for those in need.
James devoted most of his presentation to his trek to Phuket from Pattaya, but began by describing his earlier two walks. On February 14, 2022 (that’s right, Valentine’s Day) he did a 50km walk around Boracay, Philippines where he lived for 24 years before coming to Thailand. He did this walk to raise funds for his friend “No-No” for a brain tumor operation. He showed several slides and one brief video taken during this walk which ended after 14 hours and 50km and 2 pairs of old shoes. He raised USD 2,000 which went toward his friend’s successful operation and noted his friend was wedded the following year.
The second walk, again on Valentine’s Day, February 14 2023, was in Thailand when he and several others did a 33km walk from north Pattaya to the south end of Jomtien and back raising THB 71,400 for Take Care Kids Foundation in Pattaya. James presented several slides depicting the walk noting they started at the north end of Pattaya Beach Road at 8am, stopped for a break at the seafood restaurant at the end of Jomtien Beach Road then began the second half at 1pm with James arriving back at the starting point at 6:16pm. He mentioned he was one of the last to return but explained all with several of his slides, one does need to take a beer break!
James then asked, why walk to Phuket? Last March, the Take Care Kids Foundation needed over a million baht as they are building a new foster home for their children. So, he decided to walk to Phuket to raise more money for them. The timing was dictated by the fact he planned to return to his home country, England, on the 22nd of July 2023. Thus, to allow time for the trek before then, it had to be done during the hottest part of the year for Thailand.
James described the clothes and shoes he was wearing as being the same type he wore for the walk. He pointed out that it included a cape with the Take Care logo on it, but it was more than just advertising. He described how the cape kept his body cooler as he walked. He also wore the same type of clothing he used for the trip as well as shoes, noting he started out with a pair of cheap shoes which didn’t last long and had to be replaced with better shoes more than once.
He then presented some short videos and several slides as he described his start on April 20, his walking 1,050km via Bangkok, Hua Hin, Chumphon, Surat Thani, and Phanga, finishing in Phuket on June 6, 2023 noting that he was joined off and on by other friends and greeted by some of his fellow Hash House Harriers from Phuket when he arrived. He raised THB 257,500 for the Take Care Kids Foundation.
Many of the videos he showed are available on his Facebook page “Wild Wolf Walks,” which can be viewed by visiting https://www.facebook.com/groups/588802319936084. In conclusion, James mentioned that he belongs to the Pattaya Hash House Harriers and invited his audience to join him and others in their Monday runs. More information can be found on their website at https://www.pattayah3.com/. Their website notes they are “The Drinking Club with a Running Problem.”
MC George Wilson then conducted the Open Forum where the audience can ask questions or make comments about expat living in Thailand. A video of James’s presentation should be uploaded to the PCEC’s YouTube Channel soon, which can be seen by visiting https://www.youtube.com/@pcecclub6255. To learn more about the PCEC and their activities, visit https://pcec.club/.
