Thai Massage, Thai Food, Swim, Drink, Repeat (Thailand Photos)

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“Thank you for loving Thailand,” a smiling Thai woman told a group of international journalists and bloggers before we boarded Bangkok’s immaculate Sky Train to the first ever TBEXAsia. Each of us were on our third to eighth trip to Thailand, and all here to tell our stories.

Let’s be honest. Thailand is the new EuroTrip, and it’s because we love massages and food. A country that effortlessly covers all of our senses, we can each indulge as a glam-packer or luxury traveler. Define your dime, but you’ll get what you want out of Thailand.

Sure, you’ll find temples in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, play with elephants on day trips from Bangkok, meet monks in ancient Ayutthaya, and maybe even dare to take on beach bucket boozing (pronounced “Full Moon Party”). In Thailand, you’ll hop into a TukTuk taxi, venture into a night market bazaar, scuba dive around the islands, and maybe pop bottles Las Vegas style in Bangkok — but these are all activities we can get elsewhere.

Can we really though? Real Thai-style life?

I’ll tell you what you can’t get elsewhere. A hard, strong, Thai massage for $6 to relieve all of your anxieties without the Calvin Harris happy ending, followed by $2 Pad Thai.

Maybe that’s too far. Maybe we don’t buy international flights to get three massages a day. Perhaps, the combination of these activities are a complex part of what makes Thailand such a desirable destination. Maybe the reason why I can travel anywhere in the world for work, but my third time in Thailand has more substance than elbow-to-the-neck reflexology.

But one thing is simple: massages and food porn make anyone happy. That’s why we love Thailand — it’s the anti-stress of travel.

So if you’re looking for somewhere to trade an empty stomach and tense back for a happy heart and mind, check out these activities in Thailand:

1. Luxury Resort Pools

Take a dip at an infinity pool on a rooftop city skyline or within the trees of a jungle on the beach. Whichever environment you prefer, Thailand’s luxury resorts know how much we love a great pool.

The Rocky Point Resort in Thap Sakae, Thailand

Siam @ Siam, Design Boutique Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

The Regent Ch Am, Resort in Hua Hin, Thailand

2. Eat Thai Food

Because eating Pad Thai isn’t enough, get sweet and spicy to learn about ginger, tumeric, coconut, and so many sauces.

Start from scratch with raw vegetables, noodles, and your choice of meat, fish, seafood, or tofu, and make sweet & sour fish, Pad Thai, Tom Yum Kung, and sweet mango sticky rice.

Check out Thai Cooking Course Hua Hin for the experience I pictured above.

3. Get a Massage at Sunrise, and then a Couple More Times

If you’re really feeling adventurous, you can be buried in the sand — unable to move as the waves crash against the shore. Release your mind monkey as you lose mobility and control, the earth tightening into your skin. Check out the Morning Sand Spa massage at Tabsakae Beach before a little sailing and kayaking.

For a natural spa experience, request a traditional Thai massage tool made from local herbs in the nearby jungle of Suan Somdejprasrinakarin (I saw it with my own eyes). This makeshift gadget is steamed to be pressed hot against your flesh.

Stop by the Kanghan Thong Sea Salt Spa, a famous spa salt manufacturer for a massage and/or pure local spa salts.

The most traditional of Thai massages include stretching, pushing, and pulling for only the most soothing and healing physical and mental experience.

Consider sipping on medicinal and relaxing teas harvested in local Thai jungle villages.

And that’s the truth. We need kind people, a good swim, great food, and even better massages. For those sixty minutes and $6 dollars, you might just forget that life can be stressful.

Thank you to Thailand Insider

A little love for Thailand Authority of Tourism for welcoming me into their country in association with the first ever TBEXAsia. TBEX is an international conference for storytellers and partners in the travel media industry. It’s not just where we talk work… we catch up with global friends and fellow digital nomads.

Our colleagues are a little different when we aren’t always in a cubicle.