Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand April / May 2017: Health & Wellness Issue | Page 6

Cover Story
Amazing
Anita
Thai-Norwegian Anita Bye recently completed a long stint
on reality TV show “The Amazing Race Asia,” and she runs
a successful lifestyle blog in Bangkok. Impressed? There’s
more. Anita also happens to be halfway through her journey
to become a doctor. This expat woman has achieved a lot, but
she’s only just begun: She is, after all, only 24 years old.
I
meet Anita on a Monday morning, the dreaded time
of the week that leaves most of us rubbing our eyes
and wishing we were still in bed. But Anita bounds to-
ward me on a busy Bangkok street, fresh-faced and with
a bright-eyed smile. This is no typical Monday morning,
either. The young expat has just returned from a week-
end of partying at Wonderfruit Festival — though you
wouldn’t guess it.
Like most twenty-somethings, Anita tells me that she
enjoys the great food, thriving nightlife and access to
travel that Bangkok provides. At the end of the day, how-
ever, it’s important to Anita that she maintains an overall
healthy lifestyle, which, I am about to learn, involves a lit-
tle more than the basics of nutrition and exercise for this
flourishing med student.
GROWING UP, MOVING ON
Anita grew up in Norway with her Thai mother and
Norwegian father. A dramatic mountainscape sprawled
right outside the doorstep of her home, so, as a child, she
often explored the outdoors with her family. In the sum-
mer they would bike around their hometown Levanger,
hike the surrounding Harskallen mountains, and swim
in the local lakes. By winter, the Norwegian chill would
set in, and the family would take to their forest cabin.
To balance out her Norwegian lifestyle, Anita spent her
6 WANDERLUST
childhood vacations in Thailand and developed a deep
connection to the country, one that grew as she did.
As idyllic as her hometown sounds, Anita soon out-
grew Levanger. On her search for something more, Anita
grabbed the opportunity to continue her university stud-
ies through distance learning and planned to relocate to
Bangkok for six months.
“That was when the door really opened for me,” she
says. “I had always wanted to move to Thailand, but it was
difficult, what with university and visa requirements. But
once that was set, there was nothing that was going to
stop me.”
Her idea for a short stay snowballed into something
much more permanent — which often happens for those
who move to Thailand. Now Anita sees Bangkok as her
home and has no plans to leave any time soon: “Norway is
a special place for me — it’s where I grew up. But Thailand
is where I want to be. I feel a real connection here.”
GREEN QUEEN
Following a childhood of wholesome family dinners and
a vegetable-rich diet, healthy eating comes naturally to
Anita. A busy lifestyle can get in the way of the best inten-
tions, though, and this woman is definitely busy. Gentle
reminders help keep her on track. On her kitchen wall,
WWW.WANDERLUSTMAG.COM
by ANNALIESE WATKINS