I had a dream once. It was a damn good dream too. It began last November. I would land in Asia, the last stop on my nomadic journey and explore everything I hadn’t seen and re-see all my favorites. I’d visit Hong Kong, finally get to Laos, relax on the islands off Cambodia, trek the jungles of Malaysia, show my friends Thailand, and volunteer at an elephant park. It would be a great finale to an amazing journey. And as [...]

This is a guest post by Alexandra Baackes. Travelers in Thailand like to label their destinations neatly. Intricate island paradises are boiled down to one or two simple words or associations. Koh Phi Phi? The Beach. Koh Phangan? The Full Moon Party. Koh Tao? Diving. Some of them are fairly well deserved. After all, Koh Tao (Turtle island)  is second only to Cairns, Australia when it comes to number of annual dive certifications. Travelers flock from all over Southeast Asia [...]

It was 2007 and I was only meant to be in Phnom Penh for three days. I had less than a month in Cambodia before I moved to Thailand and I wanted to explore as much as possible and get off the tourist trail a bit. But three days became four, and four became seven, and seven became ten. Every day, I woke up and thought to myself “I’ll get the bus tomorrow” and rolled over and went back to [...]

In my close to six years traveling the world, my days on the lake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia still remain some of my favorite. I had come for a few days and stayed for a few weeks. I spent my days in the famous Number 9 Guesthouse on the lake, watching movies, having a few cold beers, meeting fellow travelers from around the world, and watching the sun set over the lake. We had a perfect view as the bank [...]

Thailand can be as expensive or inexpensive a country to visit as you want it to be. This is a country where you can stay in $3 USD per night rooms or $1000 USD per night resorts. Twenty cent street food or 300 dollar gourmet dinners. Thailand really runs the gamut. When my friends came to visit last December, they budgeted $1,700 USD for their 3 week trip. “No problem,” I said, “that’s more than enough for Thailand. This country [...]

Dear Backpackers of Southeast Asia, We need to talk. I love you. Truly, I do. I’ve been a backpacker for a long, long time now. I love being one and probably will consider myself one for a long time to come. But while backpacking through Southeast Asia over the last few months, I’ve noticed some disturbing behavior that we really need to talk about. To be blunt – why do you act so damn stupid sometimes? I’m asking because I’m [...]

When my friends began planning their trip to Thailand, they had one requirement: that we attend a Full Moon Party. They didn’t know a lot about the party but they had heard so much about it over the years, they knew they had to go. After all, the Full Moon Party is infamous. The mere mention of it conjures up images of a wild, alcohol-fueled beach party where people from around the world have a great time and dance until [...]

Located in the south of Thailand, Khao Sok National Park has always held my imagination. It’s constantly rated as one of the best parks in Thailand with amazing trekking, camping, limestone karsts, cooling rivers, and a beautiful lake. Ever since I’ve been coming to Thailand I’ve been trying to visit Khao Sok, but the road bends in mysterious ways and for one reason or the other, I’ve never able to make it. But this time, I used my visiting friends [...]

I’ve become a bit of a lazy traveler. I barely do any planning or research anymore. I hardly ever look into where I am going until I get there. Sometimes that doesn’t bother me; just winging it has its benefits. But sometimes I regret not doing any research because I never know what to see, do, or where to start and often end up missing sites and activities I know I would have enjoyed. And that’s exactly what happened when [...]

I’ve been to Thailand more times than I can count. I’ve lived in Bangkok twice and if I stay away for more than a year, I feel as if a piece of me is missing. It’s been 18 months since I’ve last been here and my excitement oozes off me like sweat during a hot Bangkok summer. People often ask me why I return to places I’ve already visited instead of exploring somewhere new. Well, that’s an easy answer – [...]