About 5 weeks ago, a little birdie told me to ask my brother, Denali, if he wanted to go to Thailand. I did some research about the best time to go. Low and behold, its now. So I looked up flight prices, they were good, and then I called my brother. Needless to say, but he jumped at the idea and we bought tickets.
(Denali and I on a previous trip to Puerto Rico)
Then I did nothing for a few weeks. I didn’t really think about how much planning it takes to go on a three and a half week trip to Southeast Asia. Then two weeks ago it hit me. What am I packing? Where am I staying? What am I doing? Are we going anywhere else? It was a little bit overwhelming. My mom suggested I go look at some Lonely Planet travel books. So I made my way to Barnes and Noble. That was a blessing and a curse. I became very knowledgeable about the regions of Thailand…and beyond. I quickly discovered that I was not going to be able to go to all the places and see all the things I wanted to.
Since we were flying into Phuket, I knew we would be spending a few days on the beach. So that was set. I knew I wanted to see Bangkok, so that had to be on the list. I also wanted to go to Indonesia, and Borneo, and the Philippines….but after seeing all that Thailand has to offer, I knew those three would have to wait until another trip. When I got home from the store, I went into planning mode. Hours into my scheming and planning, I realized I hadn’t said a word to my brother about anything. I was being very selfish. I gave him a call, he laughed and told me to plan whatever I wanted. All he wanted to do was, and I quote,”eat good food, see as many temples as possible, and lay on the beach”. So that was that, I had free reign to plan to my heart’s desire.
After getting the go ahead from Denali, I promptly went into shopping for myself mode. I need a new bathing suit. I need new sunglasses. All the blogs say I need a collapsable water bottle. A quick drying travel towel. New shoes. And then it hit me…how was I lugging all this stuff around?? Do I struggle with a suitcase or go for a travel backpack? Can I even travel with that small amount of clothes and still be the fabulously stylish me?? After much thought, I took the plunge and ordered the Osprey Farpoint 55L travel backpack. The pack itself is 45L and it comes with a zip off day backpack. I ordered mine from Amazon because of Prime. I also took the liberty of shipping one to Denali, because if I was packing light…so was he.
The backpack arrives and I can’t believe how small it is. I think there is no way that’s going to happen. But when I start packing my stuff ,the bag becomes the Tardis and I’m astonished. I will admit it’s packed with very little wiggle room, but I’m content with the amount of stuff that I will be living off of for the next three and a half weeks.
(Tangled Blu Ray for size reference, I’m not taking it with me)
After packing, all that was left was to narrow down plans, make hotel and flights to various parts of Thailand and a few other stops we will be making. That took me literally a whole day, and I have a giant itinerary packet but it’s done. Then I ordered more stuff and had to repack my bag like seven times, but it’s finally complete…for now. I’m extremely nervous and excited, because I’ve never been to Asia. It’s a long time to be away, but as always, I’m going to go with an open heart, looking for and sharing good vibes.
Ashley's Good Vibes 