Noura and I traveled all around Southeast Asia trekking Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand for nearly 2 months. I learned a lot of life lessons from backpacking and met people from all over the world that truly touched me.

Those were some of the best days of my life with Noura. I never knew how adventurous she is! Notwithstanding stereotypes aside, my Syrian friends in Brunei were pretty impressed that she had the aptitude and athletic prowess to backpack with me. She’s definitely a guy’s type of girl.

If you missed it, you can catch all of my backpacking adventures organized here.

What blessings are you thankful for this year?

Now here are 10 things backpacking taught me:

#1 Live a compact life to be flexible to change and opportunities. It also helps you keep a clean head and rid yourself of futile worldliness.

#2 Be yourself: You shouldn’t worry about being different. You are beautiful within. Really, you are! People love it when you are yourself.

#3 Don’t be scared to experiment: Explore! Yes, go for the uncharted territory. The world is full of beautiful wonders and you have nothing to lose.

#4 Humanity is all basically the same: People all over the world have the same base tendencies. No matter what language and what color, we’re all the same. God put us on earth as one family.

#5 Don’t plan too far ahead: Just don’t trouble yourself. Plans always change and you should be ready for that moment with good humor because it will happen.

#6 Life needs a companion: It was beautiful being married and having a true friend accompany me. For survival and for love, you need another person with you at all times at best.

#7 Be safe: Yes, do take emergency supplies and survival gear. You never know when you will need it, so don’t skimp on it. Be adventurous and skimp but not on the wrong things!

#8 One dollar goes a long way: Be thankful. I never knew how poor people live. In the US, people are very spoiled. I am a bit more thankful for everything now.

#9 Muslims are everywhere: It’s a great passport to have, a Muslim identity. You are greeted and treated with respect all over the world, except in the US or Europe.

#10 Work is optional: Getting a job and keeping a stable job is not the most important thing in the world. One of our jobs is to make sure we are happy on the inside and spiritually whole. Attend to yourself and take time off to do what you want to do. Work can wait!

What? OK! So we caught a train to On Nut station with the store owner and went to the grocery store there setting out to buy ingredients to make Tom Ka Khai, Green Curry Coconut Chicken, and Pineapple Fried Rice.

I cannot describe how we turned a bookshop with a coffee stand into a full service kitchen! ….It’s like the Thai cook gained the ultimate pleasure seeing me trance into gastronomical ecstasy…

We bought an electric wok and stirred up fish oil and mushroom soy sauce like as if it was Chinese New Years all over again. I cannot describe the extent of hospitality and humor with which Thai people approach life. Cooking and eating and serving people brought this shop pure joy – I felt like my mother or sister was in the kitchen, asking me what I think of the food and if I wanted more.

“Basim! Where’s your spoon? Come taste this, mate” the chef frequently beckoned. It’s like the Thai cook gained the ultimate pleasure seeing me trance into gastronomical ecstasy. I was in pure heaven today and I will never forget the friendship that was built today and the generosity we received. Indescribable and unpredictable, that’s why I love Thailand.

Nike air maxes, lotto’s, spiky hair, Nike bags, messenger bags with cell phone pouches, soft skin tones, low-rise socks, sandals, what looks like a highly-ornate Buddhist 15-foot totem pole, 3/4 capri pants, throngs of people…all converging, walking towards the immigration counter in Bangkok, Thailand, where I have just landed. And I could almost swear my $2.99 hairdresser is standing in front of me in line…

I am rushing to etch some memories of this heavenly refuge on paper to preserve its beauty in my heart. The girls are working with smiles. I love who they are and I just met them 20 minutes ago. Something about them makes them feel like family. I can see right through them; they are not very complex creatures. This culture is very welcoming, hard-working, and…humble. Not flamboyantly proud, but satisfied and quietly content.

Outside, motorcycles catch my attention as I look up and gaze out through the window. Through the palm tree leaves, I see the Thai beach, crystals dancing in the fatherly son. The father looks down on Pattaya pleased with approval and continuance, diligently yet effortlessly serving its bounty. The leaves of the trees wave their fingers, tickling the air – hunched over the water – tending to their visitors, procuring shade. That is…during the day. In the menace of the night, it’s a completely different story.

The Thai ladies have silky coconut-soft skin, walking on the sidewalks of shops while they tend to their children or exchange innocent flirtatious smiles with passers-by. Free smiles are plentiful and go without earning here where the spirit roams free. The spirit has love, respect, an appreciation for life, food, animals, and family. I wonder what else they live for. It is absolutely amazing to see such a vibrant culture who is so full of the right character traits that is not on top of the world.

I am glad I was able to visit this land and understand their joys. I now understand the music. I sympathize with the poor, sick, and elderly as if they were my own family’s. I smile in admiration when I see strangers, wishing they could understand my cuckoo. They are not strangers! That word creates wide distances between the hearts. Just because someone across the world is different does not mean they are strange in the connotation of meaning weird.

One must seek to understand. One must wear their clothes, visit their land, eat their food, live their days and history to truly understand a people. I think people in America are too shielded from the true rip the skin off side of the world; really seeing what’s inside the world and its people and its history. When I lived in America, I thought the world ended between California and Maine. Imagine the effects visits like this could have on the world – it could really bridge the gap and make the world a more loving place. We have so much ignorance in the world, but I am not going to get into that and ruin the spirit. I love Thailand and I am definitely coming back soon!

Itinerary: Day One

• Grand Palace – Emerald Buddha Temple
• Canal Tour – Chopraya River
• James Taylor Tailor – Sukao Thai Road
• Royal Lapidary – Gemstone Manufacturer
• Rot Sabeng Restaurant
• Muay Thai Boxing – Ratchadamnon Road
• Centre Point Hotel – 15 Petbury Road

Itinerary: Day Two

• Pantip – Electronics Shopping
• MBK – Apparel Shopping
• CentralWorld – Shopping Mall
• Shogu Bushi – Sushi
• Tok Tok ride
• Hollywood Disco – Live Performances

Itinerary: Day Three

• Pattaya Beach…