My half-brother (17 years old), his mother, and brother came to Thailand, and a part of the reason I chose to stay in Thailand a while longer than originally planned. Originally, I was only going to come for 2 months (60 days is the length of the visa exemption).

I had just arrived in Thailand myself the morning they were set to arrive. It gave me enough time to relax a bit, do a little bit of work, and to repack my suitcase for upcoming travels (and also to grab a quick bite to eat). They were set to arrive almost exactly 12 hours after I arrived (and per the flight plans – they were on time). There was no set itinerary, but there were some plans. The start of their trip included 1 night in BKK near the airport (because they were basically arriving just before midnight). The next day, we were off to a pool villa in Pattaya for 2 nights.

It took more than the 2 hours it usually takes because we made a couple stops along the way for coffee and food. The pool villa was in like a gate community and more condo-like (but it had instant pool access out the back door. It was a fun few days in Pattaya, but they were definitely jet-lagged. Jamie, my brother, got to have his first drink ever and experience a nightclub.

After Pattaya, we spent a few days in Bangkok (in Ram Intra, which is nowhere near my place). I took a night to sleep in my own bed and to change out my clothes, yet again. After a few days in Bangkok, we were headed up to Udon Thani (Jamie’s mother’s hometown). I made the most of the few days in BKK. We spent time at a night market and also at Central World. While I was in BKK, I made a call to my friend, Ben up in Chiang Mai and he invited himself along for the ride because he’d never been to the Isan Region before.

After a quick breakfast, we hit the road for Udon Thani. What would normally be a 6-7 hour ride turned into an 11-hour ride with lots of stops to pee and once for food. Oops, but it was a really fun journey up to northeastern Thailand. We were supposed to spend the whole time in Udon, but her hometown was not in the city, so we ended up going with Nicky and P’Da to Khon Kaen (their hometown). Ben and I have both never been there before. Khon Kaen was fun. We spent a night there and then went back to Udon and spent our last night there (which also happened to be my birthday.

Khon Kaen shenanigans:

Udon Thani shenanigans:

Then, it was back to Bangkok for me because the next day, I was headed down to Koh Tao for a liveaboard with Dumdee (in another post).

After my scuba birthday trip, I was back in BKK in time to pick Jamie up at the airport. He was going to be spending the week with me before we both headed back up to Udon Thani to celebrate his brother, Jonathan’s birthday. It was a whirlwind June for sure…and that’s not even the end of it.

We were back up in Udon Thani on June 30th and celebrate both Nicky and Jonathan’s birthday that evening. Then I hung out with them for a few days before flying to BKK with Noom (their mom). She had some appointments and I was ready to be back home before my next adventure. I was headed to Laos with Ed for a week in July (15-22). When I got back home, however, I ended up booking a flight back to the USA. My grandfather wasn’t doing so well. So, I hung out with who I could my last few days in town.

My birthday dinner with these two lovely boys when I arrived back from Udon Thani.