Bangkok opened its heart to me, and I reciprocated by relishing every moment, no matter how spicy. From Bangkok I headed to one of Thailand's most popular tourist islands: Ko Phan Gan. To get there I had to take a bus and a ferry but the whole journey took less than a full day. When I arrived, my friend and I headed straight for the beach even before we found our hotel room. Thankfully, our room was a bungalow on the beach. We stayed a week, leaving two shades darker than we arrived. Not sick of the beach scene yet, we took the boat to Ko Samui, which is next door to Ko Phan Gan. Ko Samui was equally as scenic. I did not want to leave.

However, the next leg of our journey sounded compelling and we put on our backpacks and headed for the hills: literally. Northern Thailand is laden with mountainous regions that are peopled by hill tribes. The indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia have been marginalized geographically and culturally but...

While visiting hill tribes, I questioned the effect that tourism would have on the traditional people of the world. On the one hand, travelers like me and my friend brought much-needed money to their village. On the other hand, the villagers risked assimilating into the dominant culture and losing some of their traditions, languages, and values in the process.
Their hand-woven fabrics now hang on my wall. I use their handmade bag to carry books in and I bought all my souvenirs from that one village. Their food was not as spicy as the stuff I had on the sidewalk in Bangkok but was equally as memorable. Before we left Thailand to go home, the northern Thai city of Chang Mai assaulted me with its cultural riches. The entire country: from the ancient ruins of Ayutthaya to the space-age sky train of Bangkok, left me with such indelible impressions that I am sure to return.