Traveling to Thailand on a budget?

My wonderful wife Miranda actually lived in Thailand for a short time right after she finished her undergraduate degree. She was on a tiny piece of turf called Kho Phi Phi, a land solely reserved for the sinister drunk and the crazy young.

That was some 10 years ago -- she coincidentally left a day before the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami devastated the region -- and during our frequent bucket-list travel conversations, she had always mentioned she would like to go back for a visit.

The anniversary of her birth had been coming up so I put two and two together and then booked a flight to Phuket. Happy Birthday, baby!

My favorite airline of all time, Etihad Airways, just launched daily non-stop flights to Phuket so before you could say 'free champagne' we were packing our bags.

The flight was only six hours from Abu Dhabi, so it was more than enough time to get drunk, take a nap and wake up with a hangover -- all before our plane touched down in another continent.

And for you folks who are reading this because you are contemplating a move to the UAE, know this: Thailand is just one of the many countless travel destinations literally at your fingertips while living here. I had already pulled out my credit card and clicked the 'submit' button before I gave it a second thought. And for good reason...

On Kho Phi Phi, we danced our faces off, partied until dawn and lived like rockstars. The first two nights, we stayed at the Maney Resort, a cheap shanty spot that cost only $13 a night and had a laundry list of bad reviews on TripAdvisor.

But we liked it.

Basically, you get what you pay for. People should know that before they get on TripAdvisor and complain about the number of steps before the registration desk or if the staff does not wear a wide smile on their faces 24 hours a day. C'mon dude, get a life.

Manley was a backpacker paradise, where warm Thai soup for breakfast was a welcome attempt at nutrition and the roosters crowing in the morning numbed your hungover soul.

But after many years of traveling and realizing that we are not in college anymore, Miranda booked us a stay at the five-star luxury Zeavola Resort & Spa for the next two days. It was a short boat ride away and was on the opposite side of the Kho Phi Phi social spectrum.

Less than 10 hours after waking up with a stiff neck on a glorified futon in a sweaty room at Manley, Miranda and I were comfortably laying on our stomachs, listening to Enya and enjoying a Thai couples massage while perched on top of a luxury tree fort overlooking the Zeavola resort.

After you turn 30, you pick up on a lot of things. One of them is how to travel. I know everyone has their own specific way of doing it and certain budgets allotted for it. But for us, we love to rough it and then add some some luxury in at the end. Because the sweet is never as sweet without a little sour thrown in there first.

Our trip to Thailand was one for the books. On the flight home, we already started to discuss when and where our next vacation excursion would take us.

Such is the behavior of a travel addict. Counting down the days until we get our next fix.

Fortunately, there is no rehab for our beautiful affliction. With enablers like Thailand, India, Europe, Africa and Etihad flirting with our daily emotions, it is really damn hard not to pull out that credit card and click the 'submit' button again.

Where would you like to go today?