Preguntas y respuestas con Peggy T de Taking to the Open Road

Mi blog solo habla realmente sobre Bangkok, ¿pero cuál fue tu destino favorito en Tailandia y por qué?

I haven’t actually been to many places in Thailand aside from Bangkok and Phuket. I really liked the diving available near Phuket. In fact, I liked it so much, I’m heading back out there in a few months to visit the Similan Islands on a 6 day liveaboard. The marine life underwater is stunning, and best of all, the water’s warm! 

La mayoría de mis lectores son hombres, ¿sería interesante conocer las razones por las que decidiste venir a visitar Tailandia?

I’d heard a lot about Bangkok, and wanted to see the temples and eat the pad thai for myself! I’m not sure I would revisit Bangkok though, as I found the traffic a little too overwhelming! The city is chaotic and colourful, and although I enjoyed my time there, I think on my return trip to Thailand, I’ll be heading up to the hills, to Chiang Mai instead, to see the temples there and volunteer with the elephant sanctuary. Culturally, I think Thailand is fascinating, and that was also one of the reasons I wanted to go there. And of course, the food! We ate at Nam when we were in Bangkok, and it was an experience! 

What was the best experience you’ve had in Thailand?

I hesitate to say this, but probably the time I spent with Full Moon, a retired circus elephant. It was a beautiful and fun experience but it also prompted me to really think about how we as travelers consume while on the road and how the choices we make can affect others and their environment. If I were to do it again, I wouldn’t repeat the experience. Instead, I would choose to visit the Elephant National Park, a sanctuary in the north of Thailand, where the animals are not used for the entertainment of tourists. The experience with Full Moon was a bit of an eye opener, and it really changed my perspective on the responsibilities that we as travelers have to the places and people we visit.  

¿En qué profesión se desempeña usted para poder vivir y viajar donde quiera? Es un objetivo mío y de muchos de mis lectores poder hacer lo mismo.

I put in some hard years getting qualified as a Chartered Accountant, an internationally recognised qualification that has allowed me to find work (and visas!) in Australia and in the UK. It’s boring, but it’s secure, reliable, pays the bills and depending on who I work for, gives me the right work/life balance in order to travel as much as I do. In New York, I did some freelance copywriting, a side line of income that I still maintain. I think the key to do is to find a way of earning money that is location independent, whether that is because the skills you obtain are applicable in different parts of the world, or because the work you do doesn’t rely on your physical presence.