Ideally, when people are traveling whether to Europe, Asia, or Africa, backpacking is the way to go. I can’t recommend it enough. The whole point of backpacking is to break out from your routine. It’s essentially to look at the world from a completely different set of eyes. This set of eyes might not necessarily be those of the residents of the place you’re visiting. Still, a new process takes over you.

You have to step away from your old identity and old life, so your sense of personal curiosity takes over. Of course, when I talk like this, I’m talking about the ideal.

Sadly, we don’t live in the ideal world. There are many contingencies that we have to be aware of. There are many realities that we have to face. One reality is of course the fact that it costs money to go backpacking. While you can backpack like a college student and save quite a bit of money jumping from hostel to hostel. If you’re past the age of 30, this is probably not an option. This is especially true if you have kids.

While backpacking is awesome, you might also want to consider group trips. If Thailand is high on your agenda as far as travel destinations go, here are some reasons why you should take group trips to Thailand.

Economy of scale

Let’s face it, traveling anywhere in the world costs money. Whether you’re traveling in your state, across the country, or the other side of the globe, be prepared to part with some of your hard-earned dollars. The good news with group trips to Thailand is that they operate within an economy of scale. Put simply, the amount of dollars you would spend traveling alone would probably be much higher if you traveled as a group.

The reason for this is actually quite simple. When you deal with a group tour provider, a lot of their costs go down because they centralize their costs. They rent one bus that can accommodate many people. The savings are then distributed among people in the group. Of course, the savings that you enjoy would probably be a bit lower than if you organize the group trip yourself. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have this level of expertise. Given the discounts involved, it’s good enough to go on group trips to Thailand with a credible and reputable local tour operator.

Group protection

As the old saying goes, “There’s security in numbers.” This is definitely true when you’re traveling in any unfamiliar terrain. I’m not just talking about traveling to a foreign country. I’m not necessarily talking about an exotic locale located halfway around the globe. You can be traveling to the other side of the city you live in the United States, and you would still face security issues. That’s just the reality that we have to face.

The good news is when you’re taking group trip to Thailand, you automatically have a large number of people around you. Everybody’s looking out for each other. Instead of you backpacking alone through Thailand and relying on your own singular set of eyes and ears, you have many pairs of eyes and ears looking out for you, and you also look out for them.

You’re less likely to get lost

When you go out on group trips, there’s always an experienced guide coordinating everything. This reduces the possibility of getting lost close to zero. There’s still always the possibility that something could go wrong. There might be some sort of miscommunication and some sort of logistical hiccup, but of the most part, your chances of getting lost are slim to none. Compare this if you’re going to be traveling alone or traveling with a buddy. Half the time you’ll be checking local guide books, and you don’t know how to get from point A to point B. This can lead to lots of wasted time. This definitely can lead to lots of wasted money and possible risks to your personal safety.

You’re less likely to get ripped off by tourist traps

When you go on group trips to Thailand, you’re less likely to get stuck with tourist traps. Tourist traps are everywhere. Tourist traps exist to milk as much cash from travelers who don’t know any better. If you are traveling with a reputable company, they will make sure that you steer clear of these tourist traps. They know that tourist traps cheapen the experience of their customers. Since they want you to come back, it’s in their interest to move you far away from tourist traps.

With that said, keep in mind that there are disreputable tour group companies. These companies get a commission for shuttling unsuspecting tourists through wood carving or jewelry shops. These jewelry shops offer jewelry that you can find in the United States or Europe. There’s nothing distinctive about their wears. If you’re dealing with such a tour group company, let your friends know. That way, they can avoid such scam companies like the plague.

The good news is that most of the companies that offer group trips to Thailand give you real itineraries. This enables you to get a distinct feel for the local culture of Thailand.

More efficient itineraries

Let’s face it, most people prefer a more structured experience when they are traveling. The last thing that you want is to travel where you’re basically chasing your tail. You end up revisiting the same city over and over again. When you take group trips to Thailand, these tour companies are self-interested in making sure that you have the most efficient experience possible.

They lose money if you just loop back to the same place over and over again. Use this to your advantage. This increases the likelihood that you would see more of Thailand and maximizes the amount of time you have. This is of course not guaranteed, but traveling with a group increases your chances of getting the most value for the amount of time you invest in traveling to Thailand.

If you really want to experience a country, I can’t recommend backpacking more. Backpacking puts your feet firmly on the ground. You basically put yourself in a position where you are exploring the country inch by inch. You experience a new country, culture, and society face to face. When traveling from one place to another with a backpack strapped on, you get an opportunity to see, taste, feel, smell, and hear more. This is the way to travel. You’re not just being a tourist zipping from place to place never going beyond the surface. You actually get to dig deep and experience a new place from the perspective of people who actually live there.

You’re also in a better position to meet people at face level. You’re going to be asking questions, you’re going to be put in a position where you’re going to interact with people. It’s one thing to read a travel brochure and say that a country has all this culture, but it’s another to actually experience it with your own set of eyes, your ears, mouth, and nose.

You see, a country is not just a location on a map. It’s a culture. It also is a collection of scents, sights, sounds, and textures. When you’re backpacking, you are in a tremendous position to experience a country through all five senses. Maybe you’re eating at an exotic restaurant or maybe you are listening to local music. Whatever the case is, backpacking really unlocks the mystique, charm, and spiritual wealth of any destination. This is why many people decide to backpack through Thailand.

Unfortunately, like with any other decision, there’s always a right way and a wrong way of doing things. With Thailand, it’s too easy to backpack the wrong way. If you don’t want to leave anything out, if you don’t want to miss anything, and if you don’t want to make a tactical mistake, keep in mind the following.

Take care of the basics

The first thing that you need to do is to care of the basics. This means security. This means ensuring that if anything goes wrong, you can easily get in touch with the U.S. Embassy and ensure that you make arrangements, so you can get to the United States safe and sound. At the very least, you need to make a copy of your passport. Also, you need to get a list of emergency contacts. You simply don’t know what will go wrong. You can’t predict the things that may happen. Make sure that you know who to call in case something bad happens.

Also, make sure that you pack enough cash. This cash must be in a form that it’s not easy to steal. Traveler’s checks, as well as debit cards, are the best way forward.

Plan ahead based on the experience you’re looking for

Now that you’ve decided to backpack through Thailand, the next step is to plan ahead. Make sure that you focus on a particular experience you’re looking for. You see, Thailand is a country that is very rich in culture and naturally best place that there are so many experiences you can walk away with. You can travel Thailand on a nature tour. You can travel Thailand on a food tour. You can travel Thailand on a spiritual tour. Thailand has so many Buddhist temples.

You have to identify the kind of experience that you’d like to walk away with after you’ve backpacked through Thailand. You need to plan this ahead of time. Also, if you’re going to be traveling with other people, make sure that everybody’s on the same page. The last thing that you want is to travel with people who have different agendas. I’ve seen this happen quite a bit.

A group of friends would go to Europe, they would backpack through a couple of countries, and then they would split up because one group would want to see museums, the other group would just want to see nightclubs, and the other group would just want to go on a food tour. Do you see what’s wrong with this picture? So put your heads together and come up with a consensus regarding the common experience you’re looking for.

Space out your itinerary to maximize exploration time

Make sure that when you put things in your itinerary you give yourself enough time to truly soak up the local experience. The last thing that you want is to jump from one point of the map to the next. You’re not in a race. You’re not getting paid for the amount of places you visit. Instead, when you backpack through Thailand your main goal should be to soak up the local experience. It’s all about truly experiencing and living out Thailand from the perspective of the people on the ground. That’s hard to do when you’re zipping through a wide range of travel spots.

Again, you’re not trying to fill a quota here. You’re trying to come back refreshed, and mentally and emotionally energized.

Decide to view Thailand through local eyes

This is non-negotiable. The main reason why I recommend that people should backpack through Thailand is because you’d want to experience Thailand from the ground up. You’d want to experience the local flavours, the local scents, the local colour, and the best way to do this is to experience it through the eyes of locals. Sadly, it’s too easy for western travelers to go to any otherwise exotic locale and strip it of its soul, seriously.

They would just jump from one over saturated tourist spot, complete with tourist traps, to the next. If you wanted to do that, then you did not need to backpack. You could just get on a tourist bus and just go from spot to spot. The reason why you’re backpacking is you want a distinct local and authentic feel to your travel experience. The best way to do this is to plan for this. Try to make local contacts. Try to use the internet to find a local guide. However, if you want to do it, make sure that you get enough local feedback, so you can experience Thailand from a purely local and authentic perspective.

If you spend a lot of your time in a cubicle, and you can’t wait to go on vacation, you probably are nearing a mental burnout. Fortunately, you’re not alone. It’s so easy to burn out in the United States. The way our modern life is set up, it’s too easy to get really deep into office drama and work that you just end up burning a lot of your emotional and intellectual resources. The great thing about traveling., is it truly recharges your personal batteries at many different levels. Not only do you let go of the things that you normally think about at the office or at home, but you also get emotionally recharged. This should not be a surprise.

When you go to a different country like Thailand, you are forced to step out of the routine. You are forced to go beyond the familiar. Your old routines no longer have a hold on you. You are given a tremendous opportunity to look at the world with a fresh set of eyes. This is the biggest advantage of going on Thailand travel tours. You give yourself an opportunity to break you routines so you can indulge your sense of possibility and curiosity.

The reason why many people feel stuck in their lives is not because they don’t know any better. It’s not because they are dumb or they don’t know what it takes to be truly successful. The main reason why people often find themselves banging their heads against the wall as far as the relationships, careers, financial health, and other personal areas go, is because they have burned out. They lost touch with their sense of possibility. This is why I really recommend that you go on Thailand travel tours. Thailand’s friendliness is legendary. People there are happy to have you and there are so many things to explore. The best part is that, a lot of this exploration really is internal. You set aside all your everyday worries, assumptions, and expectations, and you allow yourself to look at the world with a fresh set of eyes. Also, you are able to push back against your comfort zone.

Pushing back against your Comfort Zone is Exactly What You Need

You see, your comfort zone can provide many benefits. The reason why we have comfort zones is that they provide an internal area of safety. This can be used as a place where we can grow a lot of our confidence and personal power from. Sounds good so far, right? Well, the problem is, those people often deal with their comfort zones in such a way that the walls of their comfort zones start caving in. This happens in an almost unconscious level. If you don’t push back against your comfort zones, they start caving in around you.

Ultimately, you find out that you are living as a mental, emotional, and intellectual person. You no longer want to try anything new. You no longer want to go beyond the ordinary. If you keep this up long enough, you will feel stuck. You feel that your life just follows a certain pattern that repeats again and again. Talk about living a boring life.The good news is, by going on Thailand travel tours, you can push against your comfort zones in many, many ways. We’re not just talking about eating cobra or exotic food. While there’s a lot of opportunity for that, by simply finding yourself in the highlands of Thailand, you step out of your comfort zone. You would begin to converse with a lot of the personal faculties that you thought you lost. The chief among these of course, is your sense of curiosity. You are also able to connect the dots. It’s no surprise that many travelers who go on Thailand travel tours come back refreshed. Not only are they more productive but they are also able to make key breakthroughs in many important areas of their lives.

You might want to consider going on Thailand travel tours. The good news is that it doesn’t cost that much. There are so many companies offering this type of travel experience. The pricing keeps going down. Of course, I’m not saying you should go with the lowest price package. You need to cross reference. You need to pay close attention to the itineraries they offer.

A lot of Thailand travel tour companies offer a very low package price. It turns out, the experience is very shallow. They shuttle you from city to city in rapid succession. You don’t really get a chance to truly savour and experience the exotic locale and culture of Thailand. Steer clear of those travel tour packages. Instead, you need a healthy balance between a truly intensive experience and an extensive travel tour itinerary.
At the very least, you need to be clear as to the overall outcome that you should be shooting for. You’re looking at going to a trip that will help you recharge your personal batteries. You’re looking for a trip that will help you regain a sense of possibility and curiosity as far as your personal life goes. The good news is that, simple travel whether to Thailand or even within the boundaries of the United States can help you get that lift going. You don’t have to feel burnt out. You don’t have to feel what you have in your life right now is the best you can do. Whether you’re looking to unlock your creative juices or enhance your ability to reach out to people, travel is a great way to get back in touch with these inner faculties.

Meeting new people during your trip also helps you reset your social batteries. The problem with most peoples’ routines is that we often meet the same types of people day after day.  Thailand is going to change that, trust us. We may meet different people but they fall into predictable types. This is especially true in a business or employment setting. It’s too easy to get caught in the same demographic or social bubble. Traveling destroys that bubble. You remember how to relate to people based on first principles instead of assuming certain patterns.