Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy-jigg!!

We are back in Canada after 3 fun-filled weeks in Thailand. It truly was a fantastic trip!! As much as I am happy to be home, I miss the heat already (although I complained there! The grass is always greener!), and I am still suffering from jetlag.
We were so happy the way we did this trip. What do I mean? Well, Thailand can be incredibly cheap if you want it to. You can stay in "guesthouses" or "beach huts" or hostels and take your chances eating from vendors on the street. But Why? I think if you can you might as well stay at a nice hotel with great service where you don't have to worry about bugs in your room, where you can have your own bathroom, and get special things like flowers in your room everyday and turn-down service included! As for the vendors, I always feel like going out to eat is an event. You can still try authentic flavors in a restaurant, but you can take your time, get dressed up if you want, and you don't have to worry about the cleanliness or how long the food has been sitting there. Finally, you could take a bus or a train to get places, but when you can take 1 hour to get somewhere that would have taken 8 otherwise, why wouldn't you. Some people may not agree with all of this, and think it takes some of the adventure out of it, but I think it just takes the STRESS out of it all. Then it truly is a VACATION!
Life is all about learning, constantly, and we learned some valuable lessons on this trip. First, if you are planning a trip to somewhere as far away as this, if you can afford it, fly first class. We didn't (we thought about it too late), and really regretted it. Being smushed in like sardines for 20+ hours on a plane is NOT fun. Second, research WHERE a hotel is, not just how it is rated. Twice I picked highly rated hotels that were very far from all the action. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, but at night when you are far away, it is not very fun (especially when people at your resort don't speak english). Third, on a trip if there is something you are thinking about buying, just buy it! If you don't, you will regret it! There was this gorgeous saphire pendant I was thinking about buying, and didn't, and now I regret it! Fourth, once you are settled in your hotel, explore a bit. The meals in the hotels were often very expensive (as were the spa treatments), but there are cheaper alternatives that are often not very far away. Finally, as much as you want to, don't sleep before it is night time when you are arriving at a place, or you will have jetlag!!
This was a great trip and we now have wonderful memories and great pictures!
Next destination? Not sure. Egypt? Greece? China? Scotland? Who knows? Only time will tell!