Tanitra Partivit

I’ve been to Thailand more times than I can count. Bangkok is comfortable territory. But this trip I needed something specific: my kids occupied, my elderly parents comfortable, and myself horizontal by a pool with minimal decisions to make. SO/ Sofitel Hua Hin delivered all three—and then some. Hua Hin is where Bangkok’s well-traveled families come to exhale. Two and a half hours from the city—far enough to feel like a real escape, close enough that the drive doesn’t become “the trip”. The crowd at SO/ tells you everything: Thai families on long weekends, international families who know their way around a resort, couples who arrived with their dogs (and, in one case, a dedicated sitter for said dogs). The staff treated every guest—human and canine—with equal attentiveness.

I bought a one-way ticket to Azerbaijan and planned the rest backwards. That probably tells you everything you need to know about my travel style—and about how genuinely excited I was to go somewhere most of my clients have never considered. Baku surprised us completely: a city of ancient fire temples, Zoroastrian history, and world-class infrastructure—where 12th-century fortress walls frame glass towers that light up the night sky. The mud volcanoes are real. Go.

There are travel experiences, and then there are travel stories. The Orient Express Corinthian—the world’s largest sailing yacht, carrying just 54 suites—is already one of the most extraordinary vessels on the water. But what stopped me completely is what very few people are talking about: Orient Express has built an entire world you can move through. You can board a legendary train in Rome, step off into a palace hotel in Venice, and sail the Mediterranean on a ship that feels like the golden age of travel made physical. That is not a cruise. That is a journey.

Armenia was the country I knew the least about going in—and the one that stopped me the most completely. People talk about Paris, Italy, the Greek islands. Almost nobody talks about Armenia. The public drinking fountains on every corner. The quality of the food. The café culture and massive outdoor terraces that invite you to linger, catch up with friends, read a book, and people-watch. The extraordinary monasteries. The warmth of the people. The history that predates most of what any of us were taught in school. I came back a genuine evangelist and have been recommending it to every client who will listen ever since.