Travel Guides: Thailand

The first time we went to Thailand in 2014, we spent a month in the country– in the city of Chiang Mai and on the island of Koh Lanta. The two places couldn’t have been more different, yet both appealed to us. To this day, we can hear the melodic Thai greeting, Sa-wat-dee-kha, that was always spoken with a smile and sometimes a wave.

We stayed in the historic center of Chiang Mai where we visited temples, talked to monks, perused the markets, got Thai massages and ate the local cuisine. We took two trips outside of the city center – one on a trekking journey and one to two magnificent temples.

In Koh Lanta, our days moved a bit slower. We relaxed on the beach watching the tide roll in and out again and the incredibly colorful sunsets. The only day we strayed from Khlong Khong Beach was to jump on board a traditional long tail boat to explore nearby islands.

When we returned to Thailand in 2017, we visited three destinations: Bangkok, Koh Chang Island and Chiang Rai. In the capital city, Bangkok, we enjoyed navigating our way through the different neighborhoods, sights and culinary delights. We were looking forward to a week of sand and sun in Koh Chang, but Mother Nature delivered on Rainy Season, so our water activities were carried out mostly under dark and stormy skies. Chiang Rai surprised us a bit - we found more to do there than we had anticipated - from temples to tea-tastings to thundering waterfalls.

In 2018 and again in 2019 we found ourselves visiting Thailand, this time with a different twist. We were housesitting on the island of Phuket, in the wonderful beach town of Kamala. We also made time to revisit Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and were introduced to a new Thai beach, Railay in Krabi!