I have a few travel goals, but ultimately, I am looking to grow as a person. I’m constantly doing this throughout all my travels, but I came across one country in particular, that just felt like life’s classroom—that country is Thailand. From Thai massage, to rock climbing high above the open ocean—I’ll be sharing with you 5 skills that I picked up in this country, which has expanded both the person I am, along with my perspective on life itself.

Before setting off for my around-the-world trip, I seldom ever became sick. Within weeks of arriving in South East Asia though, I had a terrible bout of food poisoning, and later averaged 1 sick day, for every 4 days of healthy travel. This is the story of how I dealt with pain and isolation, dropped 20 lb/10 kg of weight, and how I survived malaria.

Within a forest monastery, for four days and three nights, I plunged myself both physically and mentally into practicing meditation. I never once tried formal meditation before this. Maybe a few times a year I would close my eyes and try to “clear the mind”. I didn’t come back from this experience knowing how to bring about world peace, but I did come back with a new awareness, along with being incredibly relaxed. More importantly, I found a new tool for keeping myself focused.