I've had a great run in Medellin, Colombia the last few years, but truth be told, I miss a lot of things about Thailand.
The flavorful curries, the Buddhism, the preponderance of coconuts.
Thailand has long been a good choice for digital nomads, such as Cody McKibben of Thrilling Heroics, who I recently interviewed for Travel Blog Success.
Reliable internet access, delicious food, and gorgeous islands and beaches to hang out at in the south make its appeal all but universal.
Over the last few months, travel bloggers have set up shop in the northern city of Chiang Mai, which I visited for a week back in 2008.
Jodi from Legal Nomads is there, and she's rooming with Shannon from A Little Adrift. Those two alone would be worth the trip. Add Wes Nations of Johnny Vagabond, and the many others stopping through town, and well, it seems like the place to be right now for travel bloggers.
So in August, when it comes time to leave Medellin yet again, instead of traveling the rest of South America as originally planned, I'm going to fly to Bangkok (probably stopping on an exotic, South Pacific island or two along the way) and head for Chiang Mai.
Being based in Southeast Asia, I'll be able to visit Burma which I purposefully skipped the first time around, as well as see more of Malaysia, Indonesia, and maybe I'll even get over to the Philippines for some island hopping.
As always, I hope you'll join me for these new adventures.
__________
Editor's Note: Happy April Fool's Day!
Last Updated on April 1, 2011 by Dave
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking uses and recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours
- Skyscanner for researching flights
- Hostelworld for booking hostels
- Airbnb for renting rooms and homes
- Rail Europe for train passes
- World Nomads for travel insurance
YAh! Sounds like an exciting move and we just might meet you there. It isn’t 100% but looks like we’ll be moving there as well in a couple months. :)
Bethany, I look forward to meeting you one day soon, but it won’t be in Chiang Mai. Happy April Fool’s Day. :)
Alright!! Another one for TeamCM!!! :) Congrats on the decision, you will LOVE it here, and the @GotPassports will be back by then, and they’re the heart of TeamCM.
Actually, I’m thinking of forming a TeamMedellin ;) I still have a lot of room to improve my Spanish before I relocate to Thailand, though I would love to hang out with you guys and drink lots of coconut shakes.
Gah! You got me…Jodi and I had a “Doh!” moment when you DMed her :) No coconut shakes for us :(
GREAT decision! We should be back by August! :-)
I think I made this too believable, as it was just an April Fool’s joke, though I really would like to be hanging out in northern Thailand with you guys. :)
We lived in Chiang Mai for three months and it was great – I’m just trying to remember why we left??
Never mind we’re not far away in Bangkok and we will be defiantly be visiting a lot! See you soon!
Doh, got you guys for April Fool’s too. :) I’m sticking to my South America plan for the rest of 2011 — I’ve still got so much to see over here.
Thanks for the shoutout Dave! It would be great to have you as part of Team Chiang Mai. Not sure if I’ll be back by August (I’ll be heading home for weddings in July) but I’m sure you’ll have plenty of people to show you the best street eats. Hope you’re well in Medellin!
Jodi, it was a pleasure to fool you this April 1st. That’s what you get by making it sound so awesome to be in Chiang Mai with the other travel bloggers. :P
thats not a HUGE curveball.. jajaja
Good choice Dave. I’ll be back at some point this year as well.
April Fool’s. Though I do miss the panang curry with chicken.
I’m pretty sure we’re taking over CM… :) Hoping to be back in the area in the fall
Hey Dustin, I know it’d be fun to visit team CM but I can’t tear myself away from South American culture just yet. Happy April 1st.
What happened to Brazil? Argentina exc??? You don’t want to travel it on your own or something?
Troy, mi amigo, it was an April Fool’s Day joke. I thought you knew me better than that! jaja
dude i already changed my airplane tickets and was going to stay in Asia for another 6 months. Joke went to far this time! :)
No way, I don’t believe you!
Awesome, I’m considering learning Thai at some point and spending some time there, can’t wait to see how this turns out! Do you speak any Thai? Are you going to work on it before you go?
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew – I still have a long way to go with my Spanish (and possibly Portuguese) before I start thinking about learning Thai. Happy April 1st.
Not sure if this move is an April Fool’s joke but be sure to check out Air Asia. They have new routes to Bali (including direct from Phuket) that are very cheap. Just got round trip for $63 USD. Happy Travels.
$63 roundtrip to Bali? That’s crazy. I won’t be able to make use of it for another year or two, as I’m going to stick with South America for now. Happy April Fool’s.
Have fun!!! Drink some thai iced teas for me please. :)
April Fool’s Andi. :p
When I first say this post, I immediately called APRIL FOOLS.
You kind of can’t go announcing big news today! Everyone will call fake!
(But if it is real, congrats and good luck!!)
It’s not real, but thanks anyways. :)
Awesome! Sounds like a great next chapter…. and then I read the comments.
Not too shabby ;-)
Good luck Dave! I hope you have a great time.
This seemed totally plausible! Chiang Mai rules.
Awesome Dave! Best of luck to you man. What are your plans for Medellin Living? Oh the dream of location independence.
Hola Kevin, it was a joke. I’m living in Medellin till August and then heading off to see the rest of South America. Looking forward to enjoying my time here yet again!
Well, that’s good news. I’ll be in Medellín in June and will hit you up my friend.
Have fun! I’m visiting to Chiang Mai for the first time later this week – and by what I read on other travellers’ blogs and see on their Twitter accounts, it’s the place to be right now!
Actually moving to Chiang Mai was my April Fool’s Day joke. :)
Wow… If I wanted to hang with numbnuts with guns I’d stay in AZ.