My short time in Bangkok was fortuitously planned over a weekend, so I was able to check out the Chatuchak market, the largest market in Thailand and one of the largest in the world. As I left my hostel, Bua called after me cheerily: ”Don’t buy too much!” I smiled. This was not my first …

I had trouble figuring out how much time to allot for Bangkok. Hitting Thailand’s capital just before leaving Asia was unusual; most travelers end up there closer to the beginning of their trips, since it is such a major hub for flights. And indeed, I had passed through a couple of times on connecting flights …

I loved Time for Lime so much, it was hard to leave. But I decided to spend my last two nights on the other side of Koh Lanta, in Old Town. The east side of the island is pretty undeveloped because the beaches aren’t really swimmable there, and it sounded like an interesting place to explore …

Koh Lanta was a good place to slip into laziness. With two weeks on the island, I had no agenda, and quickly fell into a pattern of long beach walks, cat cuddles, reading in my hammock, and yoga at Oasis Yoga. I frequented the local market and was charmed by small interactions, like when I …

My flight home to New York was out of Bangkok, so where better to spend my last few weeks in Asia than in the Thai islands? There are tons, and although many travelers understandably hop around them to experience as many as possible, I wasn’t interested in doing that. At the tail end of my …

To be honest, I was a bad tourist in Chiang Mai. I never ended up doing any of the typical day trips around the city, and I was there nearly two weeks. Blame it on my election depression fog and a general lack of interest in doing anything other than writing and eating khao soi. …

I arrived back in Chiang Mai on a high from my week at Elephant Nature Park. On my first night back, a group of the people I’d met while volunteering made plans to meet for a drink, and it was so lovely to see everyone back together that evening after wandering the Sunday night market solo. …

Thailand has been on my bucket list for over a decade. When I originally dreamed about visiting, the picture in my mind’s eye was always of me riding an elephant. How great would that be on Instagram? But that was before I learned about the dark side behind what it takes to put a human …