And Other Adventures of a Family's Travels
The pick-up truck bounced along the dirt road through the Thailand countryside. Riding open air in the bed of the pickup truck, we had a 360-degree view of the forest we were entering. The towering cliffs rose above the dense foliage. The sun was hot. As the truck slowed down we felt the heat envelope us and we missed the cool air of the highway breeze. Rubber trees lined either side of the road, their sticky sap pooling into misshapen balls ready to harvest.
Though our tiny bungalow and its secluded beach gave us little reason to want to leave (unless we thought about scorpions under the bed) we were in southern Thailand so many stunning beaches, remarkable coves, and remote tropical islands called to us. We had to listen.
Travel is at its best and worst an adventure. It’s also hard work. Recently, we went to the largest Starbucks in the entire world (which opened in Shanghai in December) and two taxi drivers, a passerby, and Google Maps didn’t know where it was, yet it was right off a major metro stop. This Starbucks is practically the size of a convention center and hard to miss. It took us 90 minutes, rain-soaked shoes, and standing in line before we finally enjoyed our espresso in the grandest Starbucks of all.