I was extremely honored to be invited by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to be a part of one of their tourism projects — the Family Fun in Amazing Thailand 2018, to tour the country for a week. As a traveler, Thailand is one country that I never fail to visit every year, be it to explore new places, revisit old ones, spend endless hours on the beach, visit its many temples, or to dive. This time however, I got to visit the country on an official tour — as a blogger.

Amazing Thailand
Mention Thailand, and the first thing that comes to mind are smiles, golden temples, white sandy beaches, and elephants. The country is well-known around the world for its culture and history, and of course, its delicious food that is spicy, sweet, salty and sour altogether. Located in Southeast Asia in the centre of the Indochinese peninsula, Thailand borders my home, Malaysia — and is a popular holiday destination to us because it is a short flight, or a bearable drive away.

Just this year, in the first part of 2018, Thailand has seen in a growth of nearly 15% from last year, drawing over 384 billion baht in tourism revenue. About 7.11 million people have visited the country in just the first 2 months! The country aims to focus on family tourism, as it is a market that is growing rapidly in the ASEAN region, and their latest project, the Family Fun in Amazing Thailand aims to do just that.

Enjoying fun family activities in Thailand.

Always good laughs around a table.

Family Fun in Amazing Thailand 2018
The Family Fun in Amazing Thailand project started since 2017, and aims to promote Thailand as a family tourism destination to visitors from the ASEAN, South Asian and South Pacific region.

To start off the 2018 project, Thai and international celebrities, bloggers and travel agents were invited to tour Thailand to learn about the local attractions and community, focusing on Thai destinations less traveled. Teams from Malaysian, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, India and Thailand were divided into 4 routes in 8 provinces — Chiang Mai/Mae Hong Son, Samut Songkram/Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon/Ranong and Phuket/Krabi. Each route were filled with fun family activities and workshops; with videographers and photographers following the teams around, and constant updates on social media.

Wearing the Thai Yai traditional costume at Mae Hong Son’s Wat Jong Kam.

A mud mask experience at the Phuklon Mud Spa in Mae Hong Son.

Traveling to Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai
The Malaysian team (and Indonesia too) were taken on a whirlwind adventure in Thailand’s north to Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son. We got to spend one day in each city, and had so much fun doing all the family oriented activities. In Mae Hong Son, we fed sheep at Pang Tong Palace, went for a mud facial at the Phuklon Mud Spa, and dressed up in the traditional hill-tribe Thai Yai costume while watching the sun go down at Wat Jong Kam.

And in Chiang Mai, we did activities off the usual tourist paths — things that families can do for fun together. We visited the Elephant Parade where we got to paint our very own elephant figurine, and then had a cooking class at the Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School. The entire trip was extremely well-organised, showcasing the well-known Thai hospitality and charm.

Read about my experiences here:-
A Day in Mae Hong Son, on the Northern Hills of Thailand.
A Day of Unique Things to Do in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Celebrities, agents and media gather to launch the Family Fun in Amazing Thailand 2018 project.

A brainstorm workshop of our experiences while touring Thailand.

Launch of Family Fun in Bangkok
After our tour in Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, we were then flown for the official launch of the Family Fun in Amazing Thailand 2018 in Bangkok on the 21st of March 2018. The event was held at the Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok.

The event started off early in the morning with a brainstorm workshop with the media, bloggers and agents who went on the trip around Thailand. In this closed-session, we discussed the routes we took, answered a poll, and had a presentation on what we loved, and what we felt could have been better in terms of family travel in the country. This is the first time I have ever attended an event like this — and I was pleasantly surprised on how much the Thais value feedback. No wonder tourism is booming in this region. There was also a Table Top Sale session between the international agents and the Thai tourism vendors after the workshop.

The official event finally started at about 11am, with the arrival of the local and international celebrities on the Family Fun trip. Performances were had, speeches were heard, videos were watched, and the celebrities were asked to give their feedback about the fun they had in Thailand. The launch ended with confetti, of course… and a delicious buffet lunch that included a lovely lotus-filled dish prepared by the hotel’s Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin, a one-star Michelin rated restaurant.

Wilson (placesandfoods.com) and I make up the Nam Prik Noom team!

Who would have thought we’d emerge in second place in the Family Fun Race!?

Family Fun Race
The Family Fun in Amazing Thailand 2018 trip also included a race — each country, as well as the celebrities, media, bloggers and agents were divided into teams of two to five people. There were only two bloggers from Malaysia, Wilson and I — so we made up the “Nam Prik Noom” team. Our name was inspired by a local Thai dish.

Throughout our travels in Thailand, we were given missions — from taking selfies while feeding a sheep, to cooking and guessing words. It gave everyone fun activities and tasks to do, which made the trip all the more enjoyable! Points were earned and then tallied, and at the launch event in Bangkok — our blogger team from Malaysia managed to get 2nd place! Who would have thought!

We won ourselves a 3 days 2 nights stay for 4 at The Village in Coconut Island worth THB34,000. The 3rd and 4th places went to the Australian media, and the celebrity family from Singapore came in first. More vacations were also given out at the lucky draw. Yay to more holidays in Thailand!

A fun-tastic trip with the Malaysian team.

Thank you for having me!

Overall Experience in Thailand
I’ve always wanted to visit the northern town of Mae Hong Son — and I finally got to go! It really is as beautiful and as rustic as I imagined it to be; where things are much quieter and calm, and life just goes on slowly. We, however, were having so much fun that time just flew by! This was a visit where you can be one with nature and find your own peace — yet still have something to do that keeps everyone entertained.

I had a great time in Thailand (in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok); and it was an even more awesome trip because I had a wonderful team — our celebrity family, my fellow media/agent friends, and our ever gracious host. It really felt like I was traveling… with family. Thank you, Thailand.

Check out all the amazing pictures of our adventures in Thailand at
https://www.facebook.com/experiencethailandandmore.
You can also enjoy special privileges from participating attractions and restaurants on the Family Fun Thailand app,
or www.tourismthailand.org/familyfunthailand.

This means I get to go back to Thailand… with my family!

*She Walks the World visited Thailand on the invitation of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). As always, all opinions and suggestions stated here are my own.
*Photographs with the ‘Amazing Thailand’ watermark are official photos of TAT.