The first morning at Centara, Hua Hin, Thailand
Balance.
This year I decided to focus my blog not only on fitness and fashion but also food and fun. I’ve come to realize that a huge part of leading a healthy life is to lead a balanced life. I’ve always been a go big or go home type of person so balance hasn’t been my forte’. I hope these additions will help you find balance in your life as much as I hope they help to balance mine. To me fun includes travel, and in this case, an enlightening visit to Thailand. Through upcoming travel posts I will share experiences including fun, food, and tips to help you stay fit no matter where you are in the world.
Why Visit Thailand?
The first time I mentioned to anyone that I had a dream to visit Thailand a few thought I had lost my mind. What was the lure? Why travel so far? Certainly you’re not going to travel alone are you? What were my answers? I can’t say specifically where the desire came from to visit this unique area of the world. Maybe I was just searching for something inside myself and I thought that this was a place to find it. There is so much history, and so much to learn about the people, the religion, the food, the list goes on. When I first set my sights on visiting Thailand I was going through a difficult time in my life. I was separated and living on my own for the first time in decades, I had lost my mom and suddenly felt like an orphan who needed to shake things up. That was over a year ago. Much has changed since then and I was determined not to let another year pass by without a visit Thailand.
Documenting a Dream
I’ve always been of the mindset that everything happens the way it’s supposed to and now I know that I was meant to wait and I’m so grateful I did. Did I find what I was looking for? The short answer is yes. I still have so much to learn and I could not have imagined the way I was going to feel in this magical place. I traveled with my friend Sarah whom I now jokingly call my spirit animal. Sarah is a professional photographer and a beautiful person inside and out. We only met this past spring so we were both taking chance by traveling together and not really knowing each other. As it was supposed to, it worked out perfectly. We both had the same instincts as to what we wanted out of the trip and she documented our adventure using her keen eye and her camera. We experienced the heat of Thai food, and we walked through night markets and learned the value of their “baht” versus our dollar. Our experiences ranged from one end of the spectrum to another. One evening we shared cocktails with a bar owner and had a candid conversation about her female employees who would spend time with men for the evening. Another day we donated food to monks and then ate breakfast among them. We bathed, fed, and walked tigers, visited temples, and swam in the River Kwai with an elephant named Apple. Magical.
As I write this I can feel the emotion of the trip and tears want to stream down my face. I was so happy to be there and truly sad to leave. I hold back the tears and deeply breathe in and out as suggested by a former monk turned tour guide because as he said, “There is no need for tears”.
I look forward to writing and sharing detailed accounts of our adventures. I hope you will feel the warmth of the country through my blog posts and photos from both my little I-phone and the beautiful photography of Sarah Hrudka.
Here’s to finding your style,™ – Kim
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