Thailand, In a Coconut Shell

On July 13, 2013, Brett and I were married in front of our families and friends.  A week later, we were getting on a plane to go to Thailand for our honeymoon.

We arrived in Bangkok late at night and went straight to our hotel, the Chillax.  We picked it for two reasons, the location and the name.

On our first day in Bangkok, Brett and I both felt like zombies.  We spent the day walking aimlessly through the streets, sightseeing and trying to find our way around.  The streets of Bangkok were crazy and busy.  People zipped by on mopeds, carrying 2-5 adults and children on each.  Cars and tuk tuks drove through the streets as if there were no traffic signals.  Let it be known that crossing the street in Thailand (and Cambodia) were definitely one of the most dangerous things that we experienced while there... everything else that was questionable paled in comparison to crossing the busy streets.

Another adjustment was the heat and humidity.  The pictures do not even tell the story of the heat.  Even though the sun wasn't shining brightly, the heat was intense.  For me when it is hot, I do not like to wear much clothing (shorts and a tank top is my go-to outfit), but the people of Thailand keep their skin mostly covered.  So, after a few days there, I made some wardrobe purchases and spent the rest of my time in flow-y pants, a tank, and always had a coverup hanging over my purse.  This made walking around, going to temples, etc. much easier.

 
After we were in Bangkok for a few days, we hopped on a plane to Chiangmai.

Chiangmai is nestled in the northern jungles of Thailand, where the rain falls and greens are green and the heat is HOT.  We spent seven nights in Chiangmai and loved it.  We stayed outside of the Old City right in front of the Night Market, which is a crazy place to be once the sun goes down.  Each night merchants set up their little "shop" for business.  These shops lined blocks of streets, it seemed like they went on forever.  Every fourth shop sold the same thing, knock off Ray-Bans, handbags, Marc Jacobs, Nike, etc.  Typically when the Night Market opened, so did the sky.  Just imagine trying to walk around the crowded side walks and having the rain just pour down.  However, it didn't rain all of the time, but it did at least once everyday.  I actually loved the rain because it was a nice break to the crazy heat.  Also in Chiangmai, we discovered that we loved spending time in the Old City.  We enjoyed walking the streets, checking out the Wats on every corner, drinking coffee, people watching, monk stalking, tuk tuk dodging, and (my favorite) the Sunday Market.

During our stay in Chiangmai, we did a few group excursions, which was a little awkward for me because I hate being a tourist and doing tourist-y things.  It was definitely out of my comfort zone.  My favorite thing to do when I travel is to just exist in the town or city that I am and if I stumble upon something interesting, then great!  For example, many years ago I went to Barcelona, Spain to visit my best friend Kim and had the best time, but virtually no site-seeing.  I returned to Spain a few years later, went back to Barcelona, and visited the Picasso museum... which was only a few blocks away from Kim's old apartment... I never knew that it was there, and not going there during my first trip did not leave me feeling that I had missed out on anything.  So, with that said, doing deliberate site-seeing is a little weird for me, but I never regret it once I do it.  Anyway, on our day trips we went on a trek in the hills, rafted down a river, saw a hill tribe (which has been so commercialized that I can honestly say that it was my least favorite thing that we did), went to the Golden Triangle (where Thailand, Laos, and Burma meet), and to Chiang Rai.  All in all, each excursion was fun because we were together, saw different things, and shared in experiences, like riding on an elephant, that neither of us had done before.

In Chiangmai, Brett and I took a Thai cooking class at Basil Cookery and it was the best night out!  We went to a local cooking school where a few other couples and us got to go to the local market to purchase our ingredients (with our guided of course), and then to the school to learn how to cook a soup, a rice, an entree, an appetizer, and a dessert.  It was such a great evening and I would recommend it to anyone who travels to Thailand.

(hmmm what's with the girl in the background...)

 On our last day in Chiangmai, Brett and I went to the Baanchang Elephant Park.  There is a lot of controversy revolving around the current usage of elephants in Thailand and I do not want to get into what my personal believes are on my blog.  But I will say that we selected Baanchang because the elephants are well taken care of and not over worked.  With that said, I am so glad we went.  It was such a unique experience to be so close to such a large animal.  Brett and I rode bareback on the elephant, fed it, and then bathed it; so exciting!  It was definitely a memorable experience.

 After our adventures in the jungle, Brett and I went to Koh Samui, Thailand for some fun in the sun and time on the sand... which we had, but we also experienced a serious monsoon one day while we were on our moped!

Koh Samui is an island in the Gulf of Thailand.  Coming from Chiangmai, where everything is so insanely cheap, Koh Samui felt expensive (which in comparison to the US, it is NOT), but still.  I guess it's true what they say, "you pay for sand and sun."

While in Koh Samui, we laid by the pool at our hotel, we rented a moped and cruised around the island, and just relaxed.  Our favorite spot on the island was by far the Jungle Club.  It was up a slightly steep road, but once we got to the top, the views and food were worth it!

Koh Samui was our last stop in Thailand before we went onto Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Everything about Thailand was amazing, adventurous, and just perfect.  I loved spending it with Brett, too.  When we registered for our wedding, we decided to have a "honeyfund" to help pay for this adventure.  Most people, who asked where Brett and I were registered, thought the honeyfund was a great idea, and a few others raised an eyebrow, wondering why we would ask people for money for a trip.  Personally I had a hard time even putting together a registry and basically telling people what to buy for us, if they wanted to buy us a gift, but it's the social norm to have a registry, so we did it.  However, the honeyfund thing is new, so I can see why it would raise an eyebrow.  My best explanation to those who wondered why we would do a honeyfund was, "I can't carry my fine china or crystal around with me, but I can forever keep the memory of an amazing honeymoon in my mind and heart."  So we didn't register for china or crystal, instead we had the trip of a lifetime, and I will forever treasure that gift.

Look out for my Honeymoon Part II post on Cambodia (my favorite part of our honeymoon).