THAILAND & VIETNAM

here we go!
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Matt and I are traveling to Thailand and Vietnam! We had received an email that flight prices had dropped significantly for flights to Bangkok. In a scramble - we researched, tweaked dates and booked the flight with only five busy months to go. As lovely as the holiday season is, we decided we were okay with not seeing/hearing/smelling every holiday advertisement between the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. So here we are! A day before take-off, we are packing our bags and getting ready to explore Southeast Asia for the first time.
Hang tight!

- britt + matt

DAY 1/2

The mere flight to Thailand is one that we have dreaded since showing interest in the country. We knew it would be long and possibly overwhelming. But we also knew we weren't NOT going to see a new part of the world based on a decision made out of fear. So we booked it! And if there is one piece of advice I could give about how to make time for travel or make travel a priority - booking a flight DOES IT. Suddenly it's very real and you're thinking less about whether the trip is doable and thinking more about planning for it - aka, making it happen! The first flight was 14 hours from NYC to Tokyo. There we had a layover and then another 6 hour flight to Bangkok - 20 hours in the air, over 30 hours of travel time - phew! The time in Bangkok is 12 hours ahead of NYC - for instance, when it's 6PM on a Tuesday in New York, it is 6AM the following Wednesday in Thailand. After a bit of research, we chose to fly with ANA (All Nippon Airways) out of Japan. The service, accommodations and food were all great. We seriously lucked out and had an empty seat in our row for both flights. This allowed for some limited but desperately needed sleep; while one of us watched a movie, the other slept. Unlike some of our past flights spanning 6-7 hours, these flights lacked crying babies, had working air conditioning and professional customer service. That was all we needed (:. Because of the time difference and time spent traveling, we are considering day three to be the beginning of our actual trip in the country.

DAY 3 - Arrived in Bangkok

With a 6AM arrival at BKK Suvarnabhumi Airport, we made it through customs, grabbed our bags and watched the first sun of the day overtake the city. We used Grab (Thailand’s Uber) to get a ride to our stay – an apartment for rent in the Ratchadaphisek region of Bangkok. The city is a complete overload to the senses and has a way of creating that pressing feeling of “where the * do we start?” This, mixed with intense jet lag, little sleep, some disorientation, some culture shock and an initial (and very strong) skepticism of any and all street food makes for one anxious little ole’ me!! Luckily Matt is calm, not easily shifted by the senses and has a compassion for those who are (aka your girl!) so we took things slow and retreated back to our apartment for a few hours. We notice there are as many people as there are motorbikes and the roads are packed with speeding tuk tuks, cars, trucks, vans, buses, utility vehicles and construction trucks. Smells of cooking meat, sour sauces, diesel fumes, burning incense and the occasional garbage fill every road you walk down. Most of the trucks and buses that pass by at high speeds do not have a muffler and yet the street vendors can hear the softly spoken Thai people placing their orders with ease. After a 6-hour nap (whoops) we jetted out in the evening for some dinner. A night market happens to be across from where we are staying and dons anything from massages, to cook-your-own seafood, jewelry, haircuts, clothing, desserts and more. And this is how every market is! And it’s so difficult to tell which vendor is legitimate and which just decided today that hauling raw meat on a rolling cart to an alleyway was their calling. But you get a hang of it after some many hours of walking, observing and of course – following what the Thais do!

DAY 4 - Bangkok

​So, about this jet lag! I’m kind of a fan… hear me out! I had the privilege of watching Matt fall asleep next to me and wake up before him. This NEVER happens because 1) dude is way too ambitious to be sleeping a morning away and 2) I love and need more sleep than the average bear. But this jet lag (and my high anxiety caused by sensory-overload) has thrown everything out of whack and resulted in me staying up late to work on photos and waking up before the sun the next day – pretty neat! We grabbed a traditional Western breky to start the day (was needing something familiar to feel more oriented) and began our journey in a different part of town. We strolled through a park, paddle-boated, road a long boat with locals to their markets and neighborhood stops (they use these boats like some cities use subway lines), got foot massages, ate at numerous places and then explored our apartment complex’s rooftop pool and Turkish hot tub. We grabbed some dindin at a place who earlier had a line of locals waiting for people to finish eating and swoop on in and briefly shopped a clothing market down the street. The US dollar is equivalent to 30 Thai Baht. Matt got himself some post-dinner pad thai for 100 Baht… or 3$. For comparison, that dish will range from $9-18 in the US. Women’s heavy cotton or linen clothing (not polyester or rayon) are $80-275 Baht… or $2.60-9.16. Neither of us love shopping nor do we care about making it a ‘thing to do’ while we are anywhere. But considering the Thai cultural norms around clothing (long pants, looser clothing and no showing of shoulders, thighs or chest) we snagged a few things that fit the buck.

Day 5 - Bangkok

The start of our day was very typical - with a boat ride down the canal in search of a temple of course! Instead of getting off at the final stop as planned, we stopped at a different stop and explored a whole new area of Bangkok. We found ourselves at a Buddhist temple, Wak Saket (The Golden Mount) where we walked stairs to the very top and captured a sweeping view of the city. There were Buddhist chants being played throughout loud speakers as locals and some tourists prayed to Buddha. We decided to invest in a face mask which are commonly used by locals as the exhaust fumes and dusty air can wreak havoc on your sinuses and throat. Lozenges, cough drops and inhaler/rollers filled with oils and menthol are commonly found at every place you go. We made our way to the touristy area of Bangkok thinking it was worth strolling through – but it turned out to be exactly what we hate. Nothing about it was authentic to the Thai culture and was basically a super busy road packed with fake brand names, bars bumping American music and unfortunate versions of Thai food. But nevertheless – we saw it and know that our decision to stay away was right for us! It wouldn’t be a day in Bangkok without another Thai massage – so you bet that’s what we did! This time we did full body and were placed in the same room dimly lit and cool. They give you cotton clothes to change into, lay you down on a mattress-like pad on the floor and do not use oil. It’s a lot of pulling, slow and steady pressure and moving your body in motions to help loosen your muscles. Cracking your back, toes, fingers and arms is very common and feels so good. Our evening ended with a seafood buffet we had seen advertised nearby – it was just okay, but Matt pigged out on the crab (per usual hehe). We roamed the fancy hotel as if it were our own, checked out the rooftop views and used the Turkish hot tub one more time before calling it a night (: Tomorrow – we go to Chiang Mai!

Day 6 - Onto Chiang Mai

​Breakfast has become a very telling meal for us this trip – if the day prior’s meals were subpar, we crave a familiar breakfast that we can rely on to treat us well and fill us up. After yesterday’s so-so meals, we craved a breakfast of pancakes and French toast. We know we’re in Thailand and “should” eat outside our comfort zone. But two things come to mind with that – we don’t live by “shoulds” and balance is essential. Matt got a mango passionfruit smoothie and I got a matcha (green tea) latte to start our day. We took our time walking through neighborhoods on our way back to our own. On a whim, we stopped at this mango and sticky rice stand that we had passed on our way to the breakfast spot. A sure sign that the place is 1) reliable and 2) delish is when locals are waiting in line. It had a line then and had a line at that moment… so we did what you do when you’re in Thailand – we stopped! Mango and sticky rice is a popular and calorie-dense dish served all over. The rice and mango are topped with a coconut milk that’s sweet and delicious. Matt and I had gotten this for dessert at a place in town for our anniversary dinner last June – but this topped it (: Our flight to Chiang Mai was smooth and low enough the whole time to see cars and homes below. The low passenger count allowed for me to move to a window seat to soak in that crazy beautiful perspective of high above. Our little apartment in Chiang Mai overlooks some popular shopping areas with the mountains as a backdrop. The city center of Chiang Mai is surrounded by a square moat that was used to protect the people from the Burmese invading. Parts of the original walls still remain intact today. We ate at a restaurant in the city center with a reputation – and it lived up! Matt has been seeing the Morning Glory dish all around Bangkok’s street vendors but was worried about possible contamination. So he tried it here and it was gooooood – the first veggie dish we indulged this trip. Our food choices are shown below (: We spent well over an hour being funneled through a street market lined with talented artisans, food vendors and fun little goodies. We were laughing so much from how tight the crowds were – Matt kept pretending to look at things just to see the whole line of people bump into each other bahahaha. We snagged some more pants ($3-8/pair – insanity) and some reusable shopping bags recycled from rice bags. Tomorrow – we hike with elephants. YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT!!!

Day 7 - Chiang Mai

​Before we booked any Airbnbs or hotel stays, before mapping out an approximate route of where we’ll be heading in Thailand and Vietnam… we booked today’s adventure. After so much research and due diligence, I landed upon Elephant Nature Park – an elephant conservation park that buys elephants to rescue them from maltreatment of all kinds and gives them a better life. The group size was 12 and the plan was to feed them breakfast, hike with them for a few miles, have lunch in the forest and walk the elephants back to their river to give them a quick bath. And that is exactly what we did. I have wanted to see elephants in their nature habitat, happy and healthy since I can remember. People close to me know my love for elephants – what they represent, their intelligence (emotional and otherwise), their respect for their mothers and their love of family. The moment the first of the three elephants gracing us today brought tears to my eyes. I felt so alive to see these incredible, massive herbivores walking toward me. We sliced up some watermelon before their arrival to give as their ‘breakfast’ – along with some bananas. Our walk was guided and brought the twelve of us and three elephants through an upward, mountainous path. We walked alongside them with bags of bananas on our shoulders and fed them along the way. The whole experience was surreal. For being so massive and strong, they were so peaceful and calm. We learned about their pasts and the traumas they have experienced. We learned about their ages, their personalities and why the oldest momma, the grandma, can’t eat watermelon with the rinds. We were completely floored. Matt snapped some incredible videos and chatted up everyone in the group. Our tour guide and the team from Elephant Nature Park taught us how to make papaya salad (a Thai classic) and had prepared us a spread for lunch. After walking with the elephants back down, we bathed them in a river cutting through the sanctuary. We enjoyed some local fruit and headed back into town. Matt made a new friend from Texas, JB, who was visiting Thailand with his wife Nicky; they chatted for the entire hour and half drive back into town while the rest of us nodded off in the tiny van. Needing some time to catch up on the website, I stayed at our condo for over an hour while Matt grabbed us some dindin to bring back home. Today, I checked a major item off my bucketlist. We’re sunburned, exhausted and elated; a beautiful day in the mountains of Chiang Mai.