The better way to travel
19 days, 7 islands, 1 city – let the fun begin.
When I went backpacking for the first time, my friends and family made fun of
me saying “Meli do you even know what backpacking means? One pair of shoes,
hostels, bunk beds etc.” Well it turned out I was the most relaxed backpacker
ever – 8 kg luggage in my backpack for 2 months, almost no-make-up, bunk beds, dorms, hammocks, bungalows with
mouse, cockroaches – well spiders and iguanas were pretty normal. The fun thing
it seemed I left my inner princess at home and went backpacking through Vietnam
and Indonesia as a different Meli. Even one of my best friends I travelled with
was surprised by my backpacking skills.
After my successful backpacking trip I knew I
want to do this again. Since then I try to convince my boyfriend to travel with
me that way once in his life. Although he is not the typical backpacker either
I am sure he will love it. After discussing pros and cons and coming to a
destination agreement, we finally booked our flight to Bangkok last months.
Philippines, Cambodia or Sri Lanka made it to the top of my list but in the end
we thought Thailand is a good mix and one of the easiest places for backpacking
newbies. Although he was fine with the idea of travelling with a backpack we
agreed not to sleep in hostels or dormitories. Honestly that’s totally fine for
me. I was never amused to share a room with about 10 people – snoring, fucking
and whatsoever. But I can play the cool kid who doesn’t care and he takes over
the princess role.
Two years ago before the backpacking trip I
lived in Shanghai for half a year and was inured about literally everything
disgusting – accommodation, toilets, food, dirtiness and ill-kempt people. I
think that’s why I was so relaxed. So I am actually very happy that he is the
picky one and we are going to be flashpacker instead of backpacker #notsorry
Flashpacking= Whereas backpacking is
traditionally associated with budget travel and destinations that are relatively
cheap, flashpacking has an association of more disposable income while
traveling and has been defined simply as backpacking with a bigger budget – or
backpacking with style.
We fly out from Vienna via Dubai to
Bangkok tonight. The only thing we booked is our first hotel in Bangkok - in the middle of Khao San Road.
Thailand route 18 days:
Bangkok
Koh Tao
Ko Pha-Ngan
Koh Samui
Krabi
Railay Beach/Tonsai Beach
Maybe: Phi Phi Islands
Bangkok
See you in 3 weeks!
