Six Weeks in Thailand,
Turned Into an App
Turned Into an App
THE IDEA
It started as a spreadsheet
We were planning a six-week family trip to Thailand. My wife built a spreadsheet - every place, every hotel, every flight, all in neat rows.
I looked at it and saw something else: a database. So instead of leaving it as a planning sheet, I turned it into an app for our family - a travel companion that explains where we're going, gets the kids excited, and keeps everything that matters in one place. The trip data became the foundation; on top of it I layered AI-generated content - games, a podcast for the kids at every stop, and a full set of information, tips, attractions and history for each location - plus an interactive map of the whole route, live weather and currency..
I'm not a developer. I'm an art director and AI R&D lead, and I built this the way I build everything now — by directing AI tools and shaping the result like a designer. This app is da look at how it came together.
HOW I BUILT IT
The making of the app
Every part of the app was directed, generated and assembled with AI - then art-directed by hand until it felt like a real product, pixel perfect, not a tech demo.
From spreadsheet to a real database
I restructured my wife's planning sheet into a clean, typed dataset - nine destinations, ten hotel stays, all the flights and activities - that drives every screen in the app.
I restructured my wife's planning sheet into a clean, typed dataset - nine destinations, ten hotel stays, all the flights and activities - that drives every screen in the app.
Automated research for every place
Because I had the exact list of places we're visiting, I sent AI out to research them automatically - gathering history, local tips, fun facts and things to do, and extracting photos and information for the hotels and locations. It filled in the content for the whole trip.
Because I had the exact list of places we're visiting, I sent AI out to research them automatically - gathering history, local tips, fun facts and things to do, and extracting photos and information for the hotels and locations. It filled in the content for the whole trip.
Illustrated thumbnails - nano banana 2
Every location and every game got a custom painted illustration, generated with nano banana 2 (Google Gemini 3 Pro Image) and held to one consistent storybook style across the whole app.
Every location and every game got a custom painted illustration, generated with nano banana 2 (Google Gemini 3 Pro Image) and held to one consistent storybook style across the whole app.
Backgrounds & UI art - GPT Image
The homepage background elements, buttons and UI pieces were generated separately in GPT Image and hand-placed into the interface - background textures, custom buttons and decorative details.
The homepage background elements, buttons and UI pieces were generated separately in GPT Image and hand-placed into the interface - background textures, custom buttons and decorative details.
A Hebrew kids' podcast for every stop - NotebookLM
For each of the nine destinations I made a Hebrew audio episode for the kids in NotebookLM - two hosts talking through each place, around 20 to 30 minutes each - based on the same research, so they can just listen and learn on the road.
For each of the nine destinations I made a Hebrew audio episode for the kids in NotebookLM - two hosts talking through each place, around 20 to 30 minutes each - based on the same research, so they can just listen and learn on the road.
Built with Claude Code
The app itself was built using Claude Code - React & TypeScript, an offline-capable PWA, live weather, and full Hebrew/English right-to-left support.
The app itself was built using Claude Code - React & TypeScript, an offline-capable PWA, live weather, and full Hebrew/English right-to-left support.
INSIDE THE APP
Home
The home screen changes with the trip. Before we fly it counts down to the flight; once we're there it shows today's city, our hotel and the day's weather, so the kids always know what's next.
Location Guides
For each of the nine places we visit there's a guide: a painted illustration, a short history, fun facts, practical tips, hand-picked videos - and that Hebrew kids' podcast.
Itinerary
Every flight, hotel and activity from the spreadsheet, laid out as a day-by-day timeline the kids can scroll. Each stop is tappable and opens in Google Maps..
Map
An interactive map of the whole route - every hotel and activity pinned and connected by our travel path. Tap a pin to see what we're doing there.
Games and Coloring Pages
This is where my day job comes in: I work in the games industry, so I brought real gamification to the app. All the games sit inside a 200-level progression map, with stamps and badges the kids unlock as they play - the same reward-and-progression mechanics I design professionally, here built to keep them hooked on the trip itself. Trivia on Thailand and each city, with a fun fact after every answer. Puzzles built from painted scenes. A Memory match with Thai icons. And "How do you say…?", a little Thai phrasebook game with the script, the pronunciation and the meaning, so the kids can try a few words on the trip.
Live Weather
A real forecast for wherever we are, with hand-drawn icons, so the kids can tell a beach day from a rain day.
Currency
A currency page so my kids can learn what things cost - and about the coins, the artwork on the bills, and the king who appears on them. It converts baht to shekels and dollars using live exchange rates.
Hotels & Flights
All the bookings in one place - hotels grouped by region with nights, costs and notes; flights with times, airline and flight number, and a badge for what's booked, what's coming up, and what's still to book. No more digging through email.
Attractions
A checklist of kid-friendly things to do - animal parks, waterfalls, quirky themed cafés - that the kids tick off as we go.
Document Vault
A private vault for the trip's documents - passports, visas, insurance, bookings - so everything important is one tap away, even with no signal.
Emergency
One screen with every number that matters - Thai emergency lines, the Israeli embassy, our hotels and family back home - all tap-to-call.
