I’m Backkk…and Thailand was GREAT!

Long flights. Bangkok. Surin. Elephants. Dirty feet. New friends. Successful trip!

After 24 hours of travel and a great trip to Thailand, I am back in the states…and sleeping in my own bed. I immediately used my electric toothbrush and threw my laundry in for two rounds of cleaning. I wanted those clothes cleaned ASAP and even cleaner teeth 🙂 Just so we are clear – I did have a toothbrush, but not my electric one. Something about my electric toothbrush was sincerely missed the last two weeks!

There is so much to share from my trip and I hope to get everything posted by this weekend. I have uploaded pictures already, unpacked, and sorted through my gifts. I’m also back at work and trying to deal with the struggle of jet lag. It’s no joke – one second I feel like I took 10 shots of RedBull, another I could be in a deep sleep at the snap of my fingers. The struggle is real!

Overall, my trip was magnificent. Of course, I had my likes and dislikes, but it was full of adventure, connection and exploration. Exactly what I was looking for! I had the opportunity to experience a culture, in the big city and a small village, and appreciate connection, despite major language barriers. I learned about the Thai people, met other “farangs” (foreigner in Thai), and took care of gentle giants for a week! It was pretty f*ing awesome.

So, the Thailand trip went like this. 24-hour travel day > 2 1/2 days in Bangkok > 7 days in Surin/at the Surin Project > 1/2 day in a Bangkok spa > 24-hour travel day > Home!

There were a few things I discovered during this adventure. Some are actually things I already knew, but just needed some reinforcement. Below are my “lessons learned” from my entire trip:

1. Listen to myself. I know how to travel, pack and what’s good for me. Don’t let others get into my head and tell me what’s best for me.
2. I can do anything I want! I went to Thailand (yes, not alone) and experienced a culture that was new and interesting to me. Can’t wait to schedule the next adventure!
3. Appreciate everything, even the small things. Things like sidewalks, water pressure, and electric toothbrushes are things that I don’t think about when I am living at home. But they are things that I missed while in Thailand. I learned to appreciate the American life even more than before.
4. I learned that I want to continue to give. I volunteer at the hospital, cuddling babies, but I want to do more. I plan to research some overseas teaching programs and find more voluntourism opportunities for the future.
5. I valued the chance I had to forget about work and other distractions at home. It was absolutely incredible to disconnect in a different way, not just from technology. I am glad the “bad things” did not sidetrack my adventure.
6. I learned a new appreciation for elephants, the gentle giants they are.
7. There is much more out there to experience in life…and I am 110% ready to experience EVERY LITTLE THING about it.

There are more pictures and sharing to come! So stay tuned…

Upcoming posts:

• Bangkok (link pending)
• Surin (link pending)