Life in Thailand

Tatum & Corbin
Oct 1, 2019
3 min read

In May, after wrapping up our backpacking trip, it was time to get a job and start our living abroad experience. We arrived back in Bangkok, Thailand and spent the first two weeks doing loads of research. We made the decision to teach English online. This allows us to make our own schedules and continue to move around and explore new places... which is the reason we started this adventure after all!

We have talked about Bangkok twice before on this blog, but Bangkok is a massive city and there was still much to explore... especially because we were meeting up with the Canadians once again! The four of us enjoyed a biking/food tour of the city and grabbed a ridiculously expensive drink at popular rooftop bar. The prices stung but the views were worth it!

Another highlight was attending a Muay Thai fight. Muay Thai is a type of traditional kick boxing/fighting that is very popular in Thailand. The match-up was Myanmar vs. Thailand and we enjoyed taking $1 bets on who we thought would win each fight. The fighting was intense and we enjoyed watching the local crowd get rowdy.

One of the more memorable events during our two weeks in Bangkok was sitting down and ordering some dinner from a really local restaurant. We ordered larb (spicy pork salad), a meal we had eaten and enjoyed before, and of course... papaya salad. The larb was THAI SPICY! We barely made it though the meal and each had tears in our eyes while our mouths were on fire! Although, Tatum may have been crying about the poor company... we'll never know!

After more than enough time in the city, we escaped to the island of Koh Lanta. We spent the next two weeks applying for jobs, interviewing, and lounging on beautiful beaches. Koh Lanta quickly became one of our favorite places in Thailand. We loved walking to the beach in the evenings and watching the sunset after a day of work.

There was a national park on the island that we really wanted to explore. On our first attempt to go there we took a wrong turn and by the time we realized it, about 5 minutes after the turn, we were already 3/4ths the way across the island; so we decided to roll with it. We ended up having a great day on the coast and took in some incredible views.

Second times the charm... we made it to the national park. We took a quick hike to a lighthouse which gave us gorgeous views of a cove and white sand beach. We played in the water and relaxed on the beach before making our way home. To leave the national park we needed to take the motorbike up a very steep hill. The hill was so steep that Tatum needed to get off and hoof it to the top. Tatum was well aware that monkeys were in the area so instead of being monkey bait she took off and sprinted up the hill, while screaming at Corbin to hurry up and drive. Her monkey anxiety seems to be well under control... NOT!!! P.S. is monkey anxiety a real disorder? Tatum is a nurse and insists it exists.

With 30 days since our arrival to Thailand fast approaching, and with our visa’s about to expire it was time to pick our next destination. But... before we left Thailand we decided to take a detour and check our the famous Railay Beach. We spent a quick two days enjoying the beach, hiking to viewpoints, and enjoying the cliff side coast. What a way to wrap up our month. So... where to next? It’s time to check off our 6th country of the year as we head to Bali, Indonesia!