Bangkok, Thailand for Factory Sourcing: Father-Son Business Trip #2

Watch the Bangkok father-son vlog

Alvin’s finished vlog brings together the Bangkok business trip, the walking and city exploration, and the father-son story behind this article.

I am wrapping up a full week in Bangkok with my son Miles, our second father-son business trip to Bangkok, Thailand together.

Flying to Bangkok for father-son business trip number two. Click the photo to view a larger optimized version.

The main business purpose was sourcing and product-development work for a possible Excalibur Brothers men's skincare line. We had a productive trip, met with several potential partners, asked a lot of questions, and came away with much more information to review.

I am intentionally not showing or naming the factories or suppliers. Their identities, formulas, pricing, certificates, staff, and production areas are private. We are also not announcing a selected supplier or final product. This trip was about learning, comparing possibilities, and understanding what it would take to build the product responsibly.

Learning Business Beyond a Screen

Factory sourcing looks very different from the finished product a customer eventually sees.

There are samples, formulas, packaging choices, testing requirements, certifications, communication gaps, and many details that need to be checked before making a commitment. Miles was able to sit inside some of those conversations and see that building a physical product is not simply choosing something from a catalog and adding a logo.

Snook from our team joined us and helped us communicate and understand the details more clearly. Some meetings were interesting to Miles, and sometimes he was bored and ready to move on. That is normal. The value was not that he understood every technical detail. It was that he experienced how real business decisions are made when the answers are not obvious.

Exploring a Men's Skincare Direction

I do not think I would have seriously considered entering skincare before the current AI era.

Skincare involves formulas, ingredients, testing, claims, manufacturing standards, and market requirements. AI does not replace qualified factories, laboratories, compliance specialists, or proper testing. It does help a small team understand the landscape faster, organize evidence, and ask better questions.

An early visual concept for the Excalibur Brothers men's skincare direction. It is not a final formula, package, supplier selection, or product claim. Click to view the larger optimized version.

There is also a strategic reason for exploring a daily-use product. In a world where digital ideas and generic products can be copied quickly, earning repeat use and trust can become a meaningful advantage. That does not mean rushing into the market. It means using the tools available to investigate the opportunity intelligently and build it the right way.

Business, Bonding, and a Lot of Walking

The business mattered, but this week was not only meetings. Miles and I walked all over Bangkok, explored the city, spent time in parks, met people, and made room for experiences together.

Taking in Bangkok together from King Power Mahanakhon. Click to view the larger optimized version.

Miles getting comfortable on the glass floor high above Bangkok. Click to view the larger optimized version.

One of the many walking and exploring moments between business commitments. Click to view the larger optimized version.

Business trips are also about relationships and the time shared outside formal meetings. Click to view the larger optimized version.

Miles also had a small sourcing experience of his own when he met his shirt supplier in Bangkok. More than anything, he was a good travel companion: open-minded, willing to try things, and able to handle both the interesting and boring parts of the trip.

A Bangkok Conversation With Miles

Miles and I also recorded a conversation together for the Global From Anywhere podcast while we were in Bangkok. That episode is expected to be published next week. It gives him more room to share the trip in his own voice, and we plan to connect the podcast and this vlog once the episode has a verified public link.

For me, that conversation is another part of the same experience. Business trips can create learning, but they also create uninterrupted time to talk, walk, notice things, and understand each other better.

What I Am Taking Home

We are leaving Bangkok with a lot of business information to review, but the most valuable result is not a supplier announcement. It is the combination of progress and time together.

We did a lot of business. We also bonded, explored, walked an incredible amount, and had a great time. I am grateful Miles joined me for business trip number two, and I hope these experiences stay with him long after the individual meetings fade.

Would you bring your child on a business or sourcing trip? What real-world experience would you want them to learn by joining you?