As I browsed through three weeks of photos of our recent holiday to Thailand, it really hit me how lucky I am to have such an international family.
With a step brother born in Columbia, a brother and a sister in law from Thailand, a mother born in Germany, a Swedish husband and an innate love of adventure I have seen so much of the world with the assistance of family and friends.
Thailand is an incredibly difficult place to visit once you leave the well worn tourist trails. English is rarely spoken, Thai uses a unique alphabet, Wifi is not common and there are a lot of people who are happy to take advantage of your perceived money. I spent a week in Bangkok without my family and it was a huge increase in both stress levels and expenses.
Many places we have visited are well and truly off the farang tourist trail and I would never have been able to get there without the language and customs assistance provided by family and friends. Some of the highlights of our most recent holiday included fairy tale temples, watching the sun rise over the Laotian border, exploring ruins by bicycle, chopping and preparing fresh sugar cane at a local farm, driving into town in the back of the ute and taking a boat ride down the Mekong.
