How Thailand is the hottest destination of 2025 – Why I Never Forget Winter 2022
Thailand has officially taken off. again.
Thanks to the White Lotus effect in large part, the smiling land is in the light of a new wave. Announced that this popular HBO series will be filmed in Thailand for the third season, travel searches will grow rapidly, rapidly emerging nationwide as one of the best places to visit in 2025.
But, while I love Thailand in any season, it’s hard to feel a little nostalgic about the version I’ve experienced in the 2022 winter, one of the most surreal, memorable and bittersweet travel moments of my life.
Travel writer Meagan Drillinger embraces the digital nomadic lifestyle while working remotely in Ao Nang, Thailand, overlooking the Andaman Sea.
At that time, the world was still cautiously ridding the pandemic. Thailand has opened the door slightly, welcoming travelers under its Thailand and its bill program, an epic bureaucratic obstacle. I filed a health statement, received special Covid insurance, booked multiple PCR tests, and booked my quarantine accommodation. Traveling feels like applying for a Mars visa.
But, I won’t swap these basketballs for anything. Because of the other side? Thailand, which has not existed for twenty years.
Rare crowdless views of the Grand Palace of Bangkok, Thailand were photographed during the tranquil winter period of 2022 during the peak of travel during the pandemic era.
I wandered around the big palace in Bangkok without having to hide from a single selfie stick. The collapsed ruins of Ayutthaya, usually crawling with tourist groups, keeping them stoic and silent, are the only other sounds that are the distant buzz of cicadas. There is no Tuk Tuk jam on Sukhumvit. There are no lines along Chao Phraya.
Koh Samui is very quiet. So quiet. Chaweng Beach is often filled with nightlife and feels like a forgotten tropical outpost. In Ao Nang, the Longtail boat waited patiently, waving over the transparent aquamarine waters, as sunburned tourists lined up to jump towards the island. The beaches in the Andaman Sea feel like I stumbled upon a postcard – there are only others in the frame.
On the beach of Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, there are traditional long-tail boats leaning against turquoise, which are captured in a rare moment of loneliness.
This is the purest, most meditational form of slow travel.
But this is not all Pacific beaches and happy loneliness. That Thai version comes with a price. A country that flourishes in tourism sees its lifeline. Hundreds of local businesses are closed. The entire community is shocking, with their once vibrant restaurants and hotels, posted on the doors with handwritten signs. The competition among those who stayed was fierce, with some locals quietly sharing the hardships of keeping hope.
As a traveler, I feel deeply the paradox: letting Thailand’s awe of “self” be affected by the lost weight.
Travel writer Meagan Drillinger spent a quiet moment on the beach swing in Koh Samui, Thailand, an iconic scene of life on the island of Thailand’s Bay.
Despite this, that winter trip was engraved in my soul. Not because it is perfect, but because it is completely exotic. It’s a memory that feels wrapped in amber, which may never come again.
Today, Thailand is bustling again. Chiang Mai’s night market is filled with the jingle of hissing pots and trinkets. Phuket is back in headlines, with its turquoise water filling the speedboat and White Lotus film crew. Koh Samui is no longer whispering, but is navigating the usual crowds and is causing a wave of new travelers in the intoxicating White Lotus High School.
I’m happy about it. Thailand deserves it.
Golden sunsets on the Chao Phraya River and the Chao Phraya River capture the vibrant beauty of the Thai capital from the water.
But when people ask me when I visit Thailand, I always stop. the truth? Not now. It’s not suitable for me anyway. Thailand is definitely one of the top travel destinations for 2025, thanks to White Lotus Season 3, its rich health resorts, luxury hotels and remote work escapes.
Yet one of my hearts is still alive in 2022 – in the empty sunrise of Wat Arun, on the deserted jungle road of Mae Hong Son, and in the heartfelt greetings of hoteliers who have not seen their guests in months.
The heart of travel is about the transformation of the world around us and our own. Thailand tells me that some of the most magical moments are not coming when the world is open, but pause (just a moment) to let us really see it.
