I aim to become the youngest Thai to visit every country in the world. I've completed a mission to travel from Thailand to Morocco without flying and I now work full time as a business manager for Mudita Adventures while living on the road. For me, traveling is not hobby but a lifestyle. And here's my story...
Born in 1995 (so you can guess how old I am now), I grew up in Bangkok, Thailand. My journey has started when I was 16. I moved to the United States as an exchange student in Michigan, then hopped around Oregon, California, and ended up graduating from the University of Washington, Seattle with a degree in industrial and systems engineering and entrepreneurship minor. Go Husky! I spent a significant part of my life living independently and learning to adapt into new cultures and environment all the time. And I believe that has shaped me to be a traveler today.
My passion for travels was built up during college. I did several road trips with my friends in the Midwest and bordering countries like Canada and Mexico. With an amazing diversity in North America, it urges me to want to see more and more. I started working part-time, serving and delivering food, tutoring, investing in stocks, hunting scholarship - pretty much anything to let me afford a trip during school breaks. I put travels as a priority and slowly blew my savings on it because I knew it could have been the most worthy investment at that stage of life.
While the final year of college in 2018 was hitting me hard, I started to feel depressed from my routine. I needed to be somewhere new. I opened Google Flights and crop out North America. By complete randomness, I pinned at the map and 4 days later I was in Havana, Cuba. With only 18 countries worth of travel experience and most of them being a kid on a tour bus, Cuba was something new and eye-opening for me. No internet, no social media, solo travel... I felt free.
The adventure did not end there but followed by more crazy ones like a 7-day trip in the Peruvian Amazon, 2 road trips around the U.S. and a hike in a bear-active zone in Canada. By the time graduation came, travel bugs already hit me hard. I was ready to spread my wings and packed my bag for more expeditions. I came back home in Thailand and set off to an epic 15,000+ km journey from Thailand to Morocco WITHOUT FLYING!
2018 changed my life forever. That year alone, I visited 33 countries and that was just a beginning! I knew I wanted to do something related to traveling so I decided to ditched my path towards the corporate world and join Mudita Adventures team, a social enterprise that marries the idea of adventure travel and sustainable community development.
Traveling has opened my eyes so much. It has proved that there is so much more than what we see on the media or study from the books. It’s beautiful. It’s diverse. It’s mind-blowing! I create this blog to show what's behind the curtain and remind you that... your life always has a choice. You don't need to have 7 digits in your bank account to be called successful. You don't need the best passport to travel abroad. You don't have get rich first to explore the world and live the life you dream of.
I hope my stories will inspire you, get you out of comfort zone, and start living every day with a purpose. There is so much more waiting for us out there and we will go see it together. I'm planning to visit every single country before turning 31 and, by documenting my journey this early, it means you will get to witness every failing and successful step I take. The 197 countries are just a goal but I promise you there will be many crazy travel missions along the way. I'll make sure I won't get this done easily.
Let's keep in touch! Follow me on...
Facebook: Sidepackstory for blogs and daily updates
Instagram @sidepackstory for my badass photos and LIVE travels on Instagram story
This website for any travel resources and fun stuffs to read
And hey don't be a stranger, guys :) I'm always available by email and other social media channels. Ask me any questions or come by to say hi. I always love to meet and travel with new friends so we are going to same direction, hit me up and I'll see you on the road!
