After hearing that my youngest sister Hannah and I would be traveling SE Asia together for a few months at the start of my #growthyear, my other sister Brittany (understandably jealous) insisted that she and her new husband Aaron join us for a short stint. They wanted to visit Thailand, and because I had committed to NOT planning much of anything over the next year, that sounded as good a place as any to start.
Over 12 days we moved from Bangkok (capital) to Koh Phi Phi (islands), Au Nang (beach city) to Khao Sok National Park (jungle), and then back to Bangkok for a few days of the big city.
This initial leg of the trip resembled more of a vacation than anything, and was a bit of an easing into the free-flowing/backpacking/adventure journey it would eventually become.
We trekked through the jungle, swam with tropical fish, hung out with some elephants, laughed lots, slept little, got super sunburnt, and ate enough Thai food to feed an army.
Aaron fully embraced being on vacation with 3 strong-willed women, just went with the flow (classic Aaron), and used the opportunity to order many fruity drinks with umbrellas in them, judgement-free. Brittany soaked up as much sunshine as humanly possible and smoothed out any tension whenever conflict arose in decision-making (classic middle child…). Hannah was there to inform us about all of the ethical considerations of our travel choices, and seemed bummed we didn’t rage more often (classic 21 year old). And I just tried to soak it all in. The fact that I was hanging out with three of my best friends (who double as family) half way around the world, as adults who got to make all of our own decisions about what we did and where we did it — was incredibly liberating in a weird way, and super duper fun.
I cried like a baby when Aaron and Brittany left for the airport. Then Hannah and I timidly walked to our first ever hostel.
We had the most incredible time together, and Thailand was an amazing start to what would be the adventure of my life.
Next up: Laos.........
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