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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.

The whole idea of backpacking around Thailand is so romantic. What is the best way to express any kind of culture or exotic locale: traveling. on the ground. When you travel on the ground and you experience a country inch by inch as you use public transport and take trains, you can’t help but savour the exotic essence of a country. Well, don’t get too excited. What I just described is the idea behind backpacking in Thailand. Your actual experience may vary tremendously. You see what determines whether you end up with a trip that is memorable and enjoyable boils down to two things: proper research and attitude. I’ve already talked about attitude in previous blog posts, I’m not going to discuss that here.

To sum up, you need to have the right expectations. You cannot come into any kind of experience with an entitlement mentality. That, is your recipe for disaster and you’re just simply setting yourself up for disappointment. The best attitude to assume, is to expect that you will be discovering something new. Explore your sense of possibility and indulge your curiosity. If you have this mindset before you go backpacking around Thailand, you increase your chances of having a wonderful time. Best of all, you increase the chances that you will look back fondly to your trip to Thailand. With that said, the other side of the equation is also important. You have to do proper research. Here are my tips regarding this important component:

Research Ahead
One of the most common mistakes backpackers make is to research their backpacking trip once they’ve hit the ground. That’s right. They got on the plane, arrive at the airport, then and only then do they decide to research. This is too little too late. Chances are you might actually end up with nasty surprises. Do yourself a favor and hit TripAdvisor and other online resources weeks before you decide to backpack around Thailand. This can help you tremendously because you would know exactly where to go, what to expect and this sets the right mood for you. Another set resource you could check, are travel blogs that deal with Thailand.

Extensive versus Intensive itinerary
This is a very important decision point. When planning any kind of trip, you have to decide whether you want to have an intensive itinerary or an extensive one. An extensive itinerary involves traveling. to as many different places as possible. It’s all about reach and coverage. On the other hand, an intensive itinerary involves a few places, but you really drilled down. You tried to experience the locale like a local would. You step into their shoes and see the local attractions with their pair of eyes. I know it sounds romantic at this point, but this choice between extensive and intensive itinerary setting can actually create conflict.If you’re going to be backpacking around Thailand with a group of friends, you might end up fighting because there’s a pronounced disagreement regarding extensive and intensive traveling. Decide this issue ahead of time. This way, you can diffuse possible conflicts while you still haven’t bought your tickets.

The Pros and Cons of Intensive Traveling
The great thing about intensive traveling., is you really get a sense of what a place is like from the eyes of a person who lives there. You experience the essence of a place that would otherwise be an exotic point in the map. You can tell your friends that you’ve actually traveled and lived in Thailand. When you say this, you know what the food tastes like, you know the problems and the advantages of people who live there have. If anything, it deepens your knowledge of the social, economic as well as the natural reality of the place you’re visiting.

The big disadvantage to intensive traveling. is that it’s too easy to get a slanted view of a particular country. For example, if I was traveling. to Thailand and I spent all that time in the highlands, I would have a much skewed view of what it feels like to live in Thailand. Compare this if I spent the time in their coastal areas, on islands, in Bangkok, and big cities. I get a more holistic view of their country.

As I’ve mentioned above, you’d get a more holistic view, if you travel extensively by packing a lot of diverse locations into your itinerary. You get to view Thailand from many different perspectives. This pays up tremendously if you’re going to be backpacking around the Thailand. The downside of extensive traveling., is you better budget enough time. The last thing you want, is to just spend 1 day in Bangkok and the next day in Phuket. While you’re more than welcome to do that, I’m telling you right now you would walk away with a very superficial understanding and appreciation of Thailand. Thailand has so much to offer. It really would be a shame to spend only one day in these amazing places. This is the big disadvantage of extensive traveling. You’re forced to cut back on the amount of time you can spend truly experiencing a particular location.

Keep Safety First in Mind
Regardless of what you do in Thailand, it’s really important to make sure you keep safety in mind when backpacking around the country. As I’ve mentioned previously, make sure that you made a copy of your passport. Make sure that your important contact information is easily accessible. It’s always a good idea to travel in a small group that is constantly communicating with each other.

While Thailand has its fair share of tourist-related crimes, the good news is that, crime is at a manageable level compared to other travel destinations in the world. Finally, it’s a good idea to take information from the locals regarding where to go backpacking around Thailand. Locals can give you the quick ins and outs of destinations that are off the beaten path. With that said, make sure you cross reference with online resources so you can get a clear idea regarding the overall safety level of the locations recommended by locals.