Asia, Thailand


Traveling Across Thailand

Asia Thailand

So, where do I start? I left my home, friends, family, and my life back in November 2016 and honestly, I have never been so terrified in all my life!

When I first knew I wanted to travel, I thought in my head “maybe its better to go with a travel company.” With a company, you don’t have the added worry of planning your travel route or having to walk up to strangers in hostels or on the street to make friends. You have the safety net of having your tour leaders with you everyday!

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Bangkok Temples

This story is for off you nervous solo travelers out there! IT’S OKAY TO BE SCARED! When I first left Scotland, my home town, I was petrified! I’d never done anything like this in my life! I’d never traveled alone further than a 1 hour flight (London, still in the UK!) and now I was about to uplift my life and MOVE (not just travel) to the other side of the world.To start, I wanted to visit Southeast Asia, a place I had been dying to see for so long. It was killing me to be at home in Scotland whilst I was dreaming of a life I could have traveling.

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Bangkok Temples

So I went for it. I booked my one-way flight and my time with a company called Ultimate Travel (Ultimate Thailand). I immediately started counting down the days. We travelled right across Thailand; from Bangkok, Khoa Sok, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Phangan. We stayed in a variety of hostels, floating raft houses (?!?!?! Whaaaaat?!?!) tree house hostels, sleeper trains and on unplanned occasions, the beach! At first I didn’t know what to expect and I really didn’t know how I felt about traveling so closely with complete strangers but it was honestly the best time of my life!

Sleeper train to Khoa Sok
Sleeper train to Khoa Sok
Topless Traveller - Maya Bay
Topless Traveler – Maya Bay

The people you travel with in your group become your travel family. They will be the people you share all those amazing experiences with. They are the ones you will truly never forget! I have been so inspired by all their travel stories, their drive and ambition to take what they want from life. I never would have been so inspired if not for this group. This for all of you wanting to travel solo but still contemplating where to start, what to book and everything else in between. I would highly recommend starting your trip with a company, and especially Ultimate Travel. (www.ultimatetravel.com.au)

Travel fam - Thailand - 2016
Travel family – Thailand – 2016
Floating raft house - Khoa Sok National Park
Floating raft house – Khoa Sok National Park

They offer a variety of different tours all over Asia, Australia, New Zealand and even Africa! Now, I’m in no way being paid to promote this company. I just honestly think the company is amazing. When my time came to an end with Ultimate, I was so sad to see everyone leave! I 100% felt more confident in myself that I was going to be okay. I was going to make it through my journey and I knew I was NOT going to be alone the whole way. I felt more inspired than ever and I was ready to take on the world, one step at a time.

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Paradise on Koh Phangan

I’ve been traveling for 10 weeks now. I know it’s not a significant amount of time to others, but for me its huge. I can admit I have had some hard times where I felt myself doubting that I could continue. But I am still here!

Contributed by Sian Galbraith