Thailand was an unexpected trip for me. It was somewhere on my bucket list, but admittedly there were plenty of other places I had intended to see before this one. But – as it happens – a good friend of mine from business school was planning a milestone birthday celebration in Phuket, and despite the fact that the islands are much closer to her current home in Hong Kong than to mine in Miami, I decided to bookend her celebration weekend with 14 days exploring the rest of the Southeast Asian country. Why not, right?
It’s nearly impossible to see everything in just two weeks. I worked with an amazing company in California called Global Basecamps to put together a custom itinerary so that I could see as much of Thailand as would fit. I am immensely grateful that I found them, honestly – I couldn’t have had this kind of trip without them. I was able to explore city life in Bangkok, visit an elephant rescue farm near Chiang Mai, take a cooking class in a local woman’s home, and see many of the temples and sacred places that exist in this spiritual country. And, of course, I spent a few days in Phuket living the island life.
There’s something really special about a place where the local wildlife aren’t the least bit afraid of humans. It’s even funnier when our people-snacks are also their food of choice!
