How The Poorest Thai Families Showed Me the True Meaning of Wealth

And why love and happiness really costs us nothing

Sunset in Koh Samui—photo by Jakob Ryce

We all think we understand what happiness looks like. We’re reminded every day that it’s about attaining wealth, success and the material — a concept as old as capitalism itself. But as cliché as it seems, sometimes it’s the simplest pleasures that reveal true joy.

This is the story about how I discovered the face of genuine happiness on a small island in Thailand.

The Unplanned Stop

While on my way to the islands of Thailand, I found myself strangely marooned in Surat Thani for a few days, waiting for the next boats to arrive; an unexpected pause in the journey.

But while I waited, I spent my days riding around on a motorbike, wandering through temples and backroads until I stumbled upon a fishing village that felt like a world apart.

It was one of the poorest places I’d ever seen — rickety houses on stilts, nets drying in the sun, barefoot children playing on broken wooden slats. Women sat together, chatting over cups of coffee and playing cards, their laughter gentle and easy.

Despite the poverty, there was a strange, untouched peace to the village, and everything moved at a…