In 2011, we traveled to the other side of the world for our first taste of Southeast Asia. We spent two weeks exploring Bangkok and the coast of Thailand and we were hooked.
We fell in love with Bangkok (and haven’t lost the starry-eyed feeling yet, all these years later). The energy, the food, the people… it’s unlike anything we’d seen before or since.
From there, we headed to Krabi, with blue, blue waters and beautiful land masses– and the same wonderful food + people. I kid you not that there was a neighborhood elephant outside the hotel we were staying in… just the most charming place. We took a day trip to the nearby (and ultra touristy) Phi Phi Islands. This was in 2011 and it was ultra-touristy… unfortunately, I’ve heard that this area is all but overrun by tourists and its now recommended that you don’t visit.
From Krabi, we drove our rental car across to another area of southern Thailand, near Phucket, staying at the Le Méridien Khao Lak Resort & Spa. When we drove up to restaurants and hotels, everyone was shocked to see Western tourists driving. This was before we traveled with smartphones and I’ll always remember trying to read a paper map in the dark and follow road signs written only in Thai.
After visiting Bangkok a handful more times during layovers, we made our way a few years later to Chiang Mai in the northern part of the country. It’s a bit more for the adventurous traveler (not the tropical beach setting of the south) – but equally as culture-filled and mesmerizing.
