If you have ever considered, thought about, pondered, mulled over, imagined, or dreamed about traveling to Asia, you should go to Thailand. Especially if you have a small budget.

Thailand is wonderful. It is easy to get around independently, it is cheap, and it has interesting things to see and do.

Thailand is set up for travelers. With a little bit of planning, it is simple to get around Thailand. There are trains, minibuses, songtheows (truck taxis). Even with the language barrier, just go to the train station or bus station and say the name of the town you want to go to and someone with tell you where to go.

Thailand has all kinds of accommodations from $2 night hostels to fancy hotels. Laundry service by the kilo is easy to find and cheap. Most towns have a 7-11 on every corner where you can get most anything you need, from toiletries to snacks and sodas.

Thailand is cheap. If needed, a family of 5 can travel on $65/day. $100 is better and still probably less than living expenses at home. Fantastic meals can been had for $1 – $2 per person.

There are so many things to see and do in Thailand. There are big cities and small cities. There are beaches in the south and mountains in the north. We spent 5 months there and still feel like there is more to see.

Fascinating Buddhist temples are everywhere. Even when we had seen so many, we felt a bit of temple overload, we still found ourselves wandering into beautiful wats we passed while walking down the street.

In Thailand, you can bathe with elephants and pet tigers. You can trek in the mountains and kayaking in rivers. You can swim in waterfalls and see ancient ruins. You can visit fancy malls and tiny villages. You can snorkel with nemo and swim with bioluminescent plankton.

Just making that list reminds me of how amazing Thailand is.

Food, I almost forgot about the food. Pad thai, tom yum, pah tong koh, mango sticky rice. My mouth is watering just thinking about the delicious food in Thailand. Even people who don’t like spicy food can find something to love.

Some people are scared to travel to Asia because it is seems too different. Different is what makes it so great, but really it’s not that different. I remember arriving in Bangkok the first time expecting culture shock and saying, “Oh, it’s just like New York City, only Asian.”

Others worry about it being dirty. Yep, Thailand can be dirty (there is a definite lack of public trash cans). But New York City is also dirty. And it’s not the dirtiest country I have been to ( I’m looking at you Malaysia and India). For me Thailand’s good points outweigh some rubbish on the ground.

So seriously, go to Thailand. Start saving now. It’s cheap, so you don’t even have to save that much. Have a fantastic time in one of the greatest countries in the world. You can thank me for the recommendation later.