The Land of Smiles: Thailand Honeymoon (Part I)All the photos can be seen at
Two months after our wedding and after the completion of my contract in Kosovo, PV and I finally headed off for one month of pampering and adventure in the wonderful country of Thailand. Having traveled there extensively 10 years ago I was at least able to propose a well rounded itinerary to maximize our time and experiences throughout the large and diverse country. Better yet, I was armed with the know-how to get around the place and recognize that most people happily lie to your face (with a smile) when you are trying to figure out the best way to do anything or travel anywhere.
Our journey to Bangkok allowed us to thoroughly explore every shop within the Istanbul airport over our 9 hour layover. And another 10 hour flight to boot we arrived relatively exhausted but ready to begin the long awaited for honeymoon. Our first adventure involved taking the local but all the way into the city instead of the drastically overpriced shuttles. Upon driving I was immediately reminded of how the highway system and even subway is all built above ground. Literally a concrete network of transportation shadows the streets, noise and pollution of the city. Even skyways have enabled you to walk for miles above the city. This is the only way to cross over their massive surface streets and carrying a large backpack with all you belonging in the Bangkok humidity is certainly an exercise. The 3 block walk to our hotel from the bus stop had us humping up and over these as Pranvera absorbed the sights and smells (yuck) of Thailand for the first time. Our simple hotel was located in the shopping district of the city which is one mega mall after the other. Although it was very nice at first to grab a Starbucks and see all the modernization that Kosovo does not have, the awe wore off after the first night and encouraged us into the old city and the Royal Palace for the next couple days of sightseeing.
The city is so congested that one of the only, and best kept secrets among tourists, is the water taxi. Much to Pranvera’s dismay we essentially rocked down a sewage canal with some of the foul water spraying on us…but nothing a scream and sanitary napkin couldn’t fix. Upon arriving in the old city we explored a number of Buddhist Watts, Pagoda’s and other religious locations. Our overpriced tour of the Royal Palace required the both of us to rent additional clothes as to not bear unnecessary skin in the Royal quarters. Although I had seen all this 10 years back, it is still a marvel of craftsmanship and a cultural icon and necessity for Bangkok. We then made our way up to Koh San Road which is the famous backpacker hangout district. With more bars, clothing stands, restaurants that one can imagine. All extremely cheap, especially the 30 minute foot massage we had. The dollar is still relatively strong in Thailand so many meals only cost 3-4 euros, along with a freshly made fruit shake. Pranvera took to ‘Thai spicy’ right away and never looked back loading almost every meal with fish sauce and fresh chillies or chilly powder. Of course the seafood is always fresh and the traditional noodle and rice dishes fantastically flavorful. Of course some of the most rewarding dining experience were inhaled right on the street sitting on a little plastic chair wiping the perspiration from my forehead. Other than indulging in late and long dinners with fancy cocktails, we were usually too exhausted to hit the nightlife although we both got countless offers to see strip shows in the famous Pat Pong red light district of Bangkok.
However, we did connect with an old friend of mine who presently runs his own yoga studio. After surviving one of his 2 hour classes (and one of the first classes I have attended not teaching in almost 2 years) he and his new wife took us out to a fancy ‘mall’ restaurant where we caught up and joked about how we had met each other 10 years ago in Thailand. He just never really left.
Knowing how overwhelming (in every way) Bangkok is, we only spent 3 days before taking an overnight bus to our first honeymoon retreat…Chang Mai.
Our journey to Bangkok allowed us to thoroughly explore every shop within the Istanbul airport over our 9 hour layover. And another 10 hour flight to boot we arrived relatively exhausted but ready to begin the long awaited for honeymoon. Our first adventure involved taking the local but all the way into the city instead of the drastically overpriced shuttles. Upon driving I was immediately reminded of how the highway system and even subway is all built above ground. Literally a concrete network of transportation shadows the streets, noise and pollution of the city. Even skyways have enabled you to walk for miles above the city. This is the only way to cross over their massive surface streets and carrying a large backpack with all you belonging in the Bangkok humidity is certainly an exercise. The 3 block walk to our hotel from the bus stop had us humping up and over these as Pranvera absorbed the sights and smells (yuck) of Thailand for the first time. Our simple hotel was located in the shopping district of the city which is one mega mall after the other. Although it was very nice at first to grab a Starbucks and see all the modernization that Kosovo does not have, the awe wore off after the first night and encouraged us into the old city and the Royal Palace for the next couple days of sightseeing.
The city is so congested that one of the only, and best kept secrets among tourists, is the water taxi. Much to Pranvera’s dismay we essentially rocked down a sewage canal with some of the foul water spraying on us…but nothing a scream and sanitary napkin couldn’t fix. Upon arriving in the old city we explored a number of Buddhist Watts, Pagoda’s and other religious locations. Our overpriced tour of the Royal Palace required the both of us to rent additional clothes as to not bear unnecessary skin in the Royal quarters. Although I had seen all this 10 years back, it is still a marvel of craftsmanship and a cultural icon and necessity for Bangkok. We then made our way up to Koh San Road which is the famous backpacker hangout district. With more bars, clothing stands, restaurants that one can imagine. All extremely cheap, especially the 30 minute foot massage we had. The dollar is still relatively strong in Thailand so many meals only cost 3-4 euros, along with a freshly made fruit shake. Pranvera took to ‘Thai spicy’ right away and never looked back loading almost every meal with fish sauce and fresh chillies or chilly powder. Of course the seafood is always fresh and the traditional noodle and rice dishes fantastically flavorful. Of course some of the most rewarding dining experience were inhaled right on the street sitting on a little plastic chair wiping the perspiration from my forehead. Other than indulging in late and long dinners with fancy cocktails, we were usually too exhausted to hit the nightlife although we both got countless offers to see strip shows in the famous Pat Pong red light district of Bangkok.
However, we did connect with an old friend of mine who presently runs his own yoga studio. After surviving one of his 2 hour classes (and one of the first classes I have attended not teaching in almost 2 years) he and his new wife took us out to a fancy ‘mall’ restaurant where we caught up and joked about how we had met each other 10 years ago in Thailand. He just never really left.
Knowing how overwhelming (in every way) Bangkok is, we only spent 3 days before taking an overnight bus to our first honeymoon retreat…Chang Mai.
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