My last post, was about the essence of Allëdjo. How it all started, and if you recall Asia paved the way to my wanderlust spirit. The first asian country, after South Korea, I visited was Thailand in April 2012. I will tell you more about why this is one of my fave country and why you need to visit and places of recommendations.

My Korean friend Hwan Park was going on holidays with his best friend Angela Cho, a lovely beautiful straight-forward Korean lady. I was enrolled in my last year of studies at Sungkyunkwan University, and we had long week-end breaks. Say no more, I responded to Hwan, and the 3 of us embarqued into an unforgettable trip to Bangkok.

Upon arrival, the weather was humid, hot and the atmosphere was chaotic. It immediately reminded me of Africa. It was home away from home; Bangkok and I were love at first sight. All my senses were activated, the smell of lemon grass, the noise of Tuks tuks & taxi honks, the sights of colors with flags, garlands on worships shrines, the taste of spicy food with chilis. It’s a cocktail of exotism!

I stayed on Khoa San Road, a notable street in central Bangkok, known for international bag packers. I was a student and booked my flights at last minute; thus, I was on a limited budget. To give you some insight, people range from high school graduates on gap year trips, university students on holiday or sabbatical leave, ordinary holidaymakers, (ex-) volunteers from various organizations to simply westerners with low budget, you name it. If you have watched the movie “The beach” with Leonardo Di Caprio, it gives you a broad idea. On the other hand, my friends were staying in another part of the city, in a more refined place. We met daily to party, go clubbing, share lunches and dinners, visit temples, enjoy relatively cheap massages, and other touristy activities. After a few days, my Hwan and Angela went back to Seoul, and I continued to Kho Samed Island, the closest island from Bangkok. I did not want to limit my experience of the country to the city side. I was eager to discover more. I continued on my own for 4-hour drive combined with a short boat trip to Koh Samed. I remember being sea sick but I was determined to live that adventure to the fullest.

I stayed in a hotel by the sea, called Samed Villa Resort, reasonably priced, and enjoyed my 3 night’s stay. My day were filled with reading, riding quads, walking on the beach and meeting locals on weekends or international back packers. My favorite moment was in the nighttime when I would sit by the beach at the hotel beach restaurant, selecting the fresh seafood that would be cooked: tasty & spicy, while sipping my watermelon or coconut juice.

An easy and slow life, that I have incorporated into Allëdjo values.

Beyond anything, what I like the most about that culture, are its people, who are respectful, kind-hearted, helpful and always smiley. The culinary culture is one of my favorites, with the variety of tasty and spicey food from the diverse regions of the country. Thai Spicy chili and basil fried rice is my go-to meal and mango sticky rice my go-to desert.

From that very first trip, and as my life has taken different turns, I have visited Thailand, many more times and it has never stopped to be a nourishing experience enriched by long-lasting friendship with my Thai friends. I discovered other cities and islands, such as Ayutthaya, Phuket and Koh Samui and stayed in more refined places.