As one does when it is a date of significant importance to remember, you celebrate it properly, by however means the most to you. For us, it's simple: Be together. And we opted to combine it with our favorite shared (SFW) activity: Travel. So...this took us to Thailand!
We opted to keep it simple, basing 10 days out of only 2 cities: Chiang Mai and Phuket.
In short, it was incredible. The people, THE FOOD, the culture, THE FOOD, the temperature, THE FOOD, and the natural surrounding were beautiful.
We landed at Bangkok International Airport. For 60 baht each, we were able to take the S1 bus within 2 blocks of where we were staying, and it took about an hour to get into Bangkok city from the airport. Our villa hotel in the heart of Old Town Bangkok. It was awesome, simple, organized, and clean; and provided free transport to main city attractions, with good (free) breakfast options. Since we arrived 2 hours before check-in we dropped our bags, and set out to find lunch and explore a bit. We went to a tiny place that our villa recommended. We scored one of the two remaining tables when we arrived, and within minutes after that, the place was completely full and gained a huge waiting line. For the longest while, we were the only non-Thai in there, and, after the first bite of food, you quickly learn why it is so popular with the locals.
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| Passing a market on the walk to lunch |
With full and satiated bellies, we went to explore nearby Wat Ratchanadaram. Make sure to pay the fee and climb to the VERY top for an epic panorama of the city, all while appreciating the intricate detail on the way up. Long spiral staircase up and down.
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
Note the insane detail of the wall paintings...from a distance it just looks like it is solid black and gold!
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
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| Wat Ratchanadaram |
By the time we were done with exploring the Wat it was about time to formally check-in, so we did that to get set up and organized, and to take a nap before venturing out for the evening.
The front desk informed us that there was a Friday night (that night) market a few streets up, so we opted to walk down and around all of the other Wats and temples (note, all close at 5p, and we were much too late for this, so plan accordingly).
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| Wat Pho |
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| Wat Pho |
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| Wat Pho |
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| Wat Pho |
Dinner was random meats on sticks and sitting at tiny tables sharing a plate of something or another. Perfection.
