Just returned from my first trip to Thailand and hands down will recommend it as an unbelievable must-see vacation destination.

There is just too much to talk about this trip, so I’m just going to hit some highlights with some photos.

There is a key takeaway though: BIG Vacations!  I wavered so much on booking this trip. $’s and time away from work! You kidding me; How are we going to manage this? It is so easy to say ‘no’, next year, or a little later, after the promotion or when the kids are a little older. Well guess what, we said ‘yes’ and we handled it and now I can’t stop thinking about the memories, friendships and awesome experiences. A fair quality measure of vacation is how often you continue talking and thinking about it.

Some people looked at me and said “Thailand?” with this bewildering, ‘are your kids going to be safe?’ look. We were on the island of Phuket, which is a destination for what seemed to be everyone around the globe save Americans. I never felt safer.

Cruising to snorkeling destination.

Another one I loved “you’re taking your kids out of school for 2 weeks!?” Well actually it crossed over Thanksgiving, so only about 8 days, but YES! And guess what, their experiences there were significantly more meaningful than two weeks in a crazy classroom of kids.  And they learned some basic Thai to boot.

Ok, so why Thailand and why so much fun…in a nutshell…

I listen to the Ben Greenfield podcast regularly, and he invited listeners to join him in Thailand for some fun, training and triathlon. So basically, he planned it out, we went along for the ride.

Exercise enthusiasts will appreciate that our experience was augmented by the additional fun of attending/participating in back-to-back weekends of big-time triathlons with big-time names like: Chris “Macca” McCormack, Pete Jacobs, Melissa Hauschildt – all multiple Ironman and 70.3 champs – among many others. With each triathlon also came a big-time awards banquet and after-party at a bar on the beach. These guys know how to let loose!

Kids with Macca

I participated in both tri’s, but my performance basically sucked because I came down with Mono the week before leaving….Mono sucks. Oh, and I don’t think I got it from kissing.

The food was delicious and inexpensive. We ate three full-course meals a day, but because the food was so healthy and we were so active, I think we lost weight.  Also, was finally able to introduce some variety to my kids diets; its a chore to get them to try new food, but there they were willing.

The after-party.

Thai massages. Famous, inexpensive and make sure they don’t break your back. The kids got massages too!

Weather. Sunny, hot, humid and rained for about an hour everyday around 4:00.

What else did we do there? Well besides the tri’s themselves and parties. We did have our fair share of hanging out at Angsana’s resort pool and beach. Day trip to Patong; think major parties, counterfeit goods and vendors trying to sell you everything. Three day excursion to Railay Bay; accessible only by boat and truly paradise on earth.  Rock climbing. Snorkeling. It’s easy to fill up 2 weeks.

Rock climbing.

I’m fairly confident we’ll make it back there, and I hope its in 2014. I’m ready for another BIG vacation and I’m ok if it’s the same place.

Hanging out with Rasmus, winner of the 70.3, in The Airport!

Me, at least looking triumphant.

My daughter started pre-swim team last week and was a little nervous because she would be in the big pool for a full hour swimming laps, as opposed to the shorter 30 minute introductory classes in the kids pool.  Turns out it wasn’t the swimming time that ultimately racked her nerves, it was the fact that she was the only girl in the class of 7 other boys!

My wife often tosses around the phrase “Girl Power” and I find it pretty funny; she uses it playfully and in good fun. Lately I’ve been embracing it as well and feeling legitimate passion when I say it. You see I have two daughters and obviously I want them to lead happy, successful, fun and meaningful lives. The probability of accomplishing this mission increases if we can figure out how to raise our girls to be proud they are girls – I think girl power starts with pride.

Part of my inspiration for writing this today was the picture on the right here that was taken from a great article today in the NY Times business section titled Riding the Hashtag.  Sitting in the kitchen reading the paper this morning I mentioned the article to my wife, a social media power user. She went to Twitter real-time and found someone had commented that no women were at the table. I didn’t even notice (which is probably meaningful in itself), but after having it pointed out, it certainly does seem odd. I’m sure Gary, the guy at the head of the table, has plenty of women working at his social media company and my intent is not to bash him or his company. I just look at the picture as a factual representation of what women face today: a world run mostly by boys.

It feels like there is a social movement today to empower women– Sheryl Sandberg has been a tremendous help and driving force with the release of her book Lean In. We’re becoming more aware of societal norms that inherently disadvantage women, and as parents of the future generation we can ride this momentum, educate our children, practice good parenting and raise strong proud girls.

I’d like to see more girls at the table and I’m certainly going to do what I can to ensure my girls are ready to pull up a chair. Ultimately, its their decision as to what they do in life, but as parents we have an opportunity to prepare them for a pool full of boys!

So let’s do it! Girl Power!