Sunsets and Honeymoons in Thailand

With a good mix of adventure and relaxation, we had the best of both worlds — and best of three cities — on our honeymoon in Thailand.

Day 1: Strolling and Sweating through Bangkok

After arriving on a long flight and getting good night’s sleep at the Royal Orchid Sheraton, we were refreshed, smiling, sunscreening, accidentally twinning, and ready to get this honeymoon started.

We spent the day temple hopping in Bangkok. We started at Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha), took a detour meandering around Phahurat Market — it was very crowded, if you’re someone who needs personal space then skip this one. We took our first, of many, tuk-tuk rides, successfully negotiated the fare and avoided our first scam — see tips two and three of the Five Tips to Ride a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok. We were impressed with Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha), and our favorite was walking up the stairs and ringing the bells at Wat Saket (Temple of the Golden Mount). During the evening we strolled through Chinatown.

Day 2: Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, the mountainous city in northern Thailand, was our favorite of the three spots we visited. It is relaxed — especially compared to Bangkok, attracts outdoorsy people, and is home to my favorite elephant on Earth, Cha-Na, and my husband’s favorite hole-in-the-wall pad thai place, that I don’t know the name of so I can’t send you there. While in Chiang Mai we stayed at the Ratchamankha, and I’d definitely recommend it. We were impressed with the hospitality and the delicious breakfasts at each of the hotels, but the food and the ambiance at Ratchamankha were the best.

We spent most of Day 2 traveling north, but after checking into the hotel we landed at that hole-in-the-wall pad thai place where we sipped on refreshing iced tea, bit into right-out-of-the-fryer, hot, and crispy spring rolls, and, yes, ate delicious pad thai. It was so good that my husband insisted we go there again for lunch the next day. In the afternoon we took a dip in the pool and found an Indian restaurant for dinner.

Day 3: Elephants and Night Bazaar

Chiang Mai has a variety of offerings for tourists to interact with elephants, but it’s questionable about what types of interactions are and are not humane. We decided to visit Patara Elephant Farm and joined their “owner for a day” program. And. It. Was. Amazing. We started by playing with twin baby elephants and watched them interact with their mama. Then we learned about elephants — what they eat and what their poop looks like. My husband volunteered to squeeze the elephant poop. No, I didn’t leave him. Then we fed the elephants, gave them a bath, and they gave us a lift back to where we started.

That night we splurged for a fancy dinner at The Service 1921 in the Anantara hotel. I’d give it an A+ for atmosphere but only a C for food. Tip: stick to the street food when in Thailand — it’s cheap and delicious. After dinner we browsed — err, shopped — at the Night Bazaar, a must-see.

Day 4: Talat Walorot and Thai Cooking Class

We started the day with the scrumptious Ratchamankha breakfast and then headed to Talat Walorot Market. We ate lunch — Chiang Mai’s famous Khaw Soi — in the market’s food court and I introduced my husband to lychees to which he took an immediate liking. In the evening we impressed ourselves with our chef skills during our cooking class with Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School.

Day 5: Lazy Last Day in Chiang Mai

We had three and a half days in Chiang Mai which was too few to include an overnight trek in the mountains but perhaps too many to keep ourselves entertained in the city. I have many favorite activities when traveling: taking a free walking tour, attending a yoga class, and — this is the first time I’m writing about this one — going to the grocery store. When traveling abroad, you can learn so much about a culture from their grocery stores. The size and fanciness of the store is an indicator of the wealth of the neighborhood, the food — both prepared food in the hot and cold salad bars as well as the food stocked on the shelves — shows you what locals eat on a lunch break or cook at home, there’s always great people-watching of locals in their authentic environment, and it’s a good reminder about how small the world actually is when you find a favorite American snack — in this case, Goldfish — half way around the world. On our last day in Chiang Mai we went to the grocery store. We also went to a bug museum, walked around a shopping mall and spotted an arcade called Stars War, ate lunch at a noodle place in a more residential part of of the city, and I got a massage*. But the highlight, by far, was the Tops Market — the grocery store — and much more impressive, but perhaps less friendly, than our local Tops.

Day 6: Chiang Mai > Koh Samui

We flew from Chiang Mai to the island Koh Samui and then drove to the northwestern tip of the island and checked into our beautifully decorated room with a just-as-beautiful view at Code Hotel. After checking-in we headed to the beach, grabbed a late lunch at Relax (yummy), got a massage*, watched the sunset on the beach, and had a drink at a Chinese restaurant (nothing special) on the beach.

Days 7 — 9: Relaxing and Cruising around the Island

I was hoping Koh Samui would be the relaxing, sit-by-the-pool-and-sip-cocktails part of our honeymoon — and we did plenty of that.

But we also found time to squeeze in some adventure. We rented a moped from the hotel and spent one evening cruising down the west coast of the island. We watched the sunset — we heard the sunsets were the best watched from the west coast — and had a romantic dinner at The Virgin Coast Restaurant. Ice cream sundae inside a coconut? Yes, please!

The next day we rode along the north shore to the east coast — the more hopping part of the island. We walked along Chuang Beach, spotted an enticing water playground — but we didn’t have our bathing suits, had drinks at The Library, lunch at a nearby pad thai place, and got a massage.* And the next morning before checking out, we enjoyed one last hotel breakfast. Tip: while we loved the view from our hotel pool, we’d recommend staying somewhere closer to town (Northeast region of island) on Koh Samui.

Day 10: Koh Samui > Bangkok

We spent one last day and night in Bangkok before flying home. We stayed at the Oriental Residence Bangkok and we were far more impressed with this hotel and the neighborhood than where we stayed on the first night. Perhaps it was because they gave us a nice upgrade for our honeymoon! Feeling like we had our fill of the tourist sites, we opted to experience local life on our last day by going to the mall and to see a movie.

The mall was large and modern. For the movie, my husband picked Mad Max: Fury Road. Before the movie began we were surprised to see the crowd rise for the royal anthem. And similar to theaters in some European countries, the movie had an intermission.

All in all, we were so happy with our adventurous Thai honeymoon and are grateful to have memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

More tips:

Enjoy the hotel breakfasts. You shouldn’t have to spend a dime (or a Baht) on breakfast while visiting Thailand because the hotels serve magazine-worthy breakfast spreads and the service and hospitality is something we don’t get enough of here in North America.

Eat everything. Before our trip, we were advised to avoid the street food. I cannot convey how glad we were that we ignored that recommendation (though, it’s important to note that we did only drink bottled water and if we ordered a cold beverage from a restaurant we asked for no ice). We ate a lot and the street food and hole-in-the-wall restaurants left us much more satisfied than the nicer ones.

Take advantage of the *massages. If you enjoy massages as much as I do, take advantage of the plethora of massage parlors and inexpensive prices ($5-$10) all over the country. You won’t find a better deal anywhere else in the world.

Hotel superlatives. Royal Orchid Sheraton — most American. It’s a good choice if you want the comforts of home. Ratchamankha — best breakfast. Code Hotel — best view and best pool. Oriental Residence Bangkok — best lobby and nicest room.

Baht tips. Use the meter if you take a taxi and know the rate per kilometer in advance so that you can estimate the fare. Exchange $20 at a time so that you have small denominations on hand. Bay services (taxi, etc.) with exact Baht. If you book a domestic flight (from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, for example) register your baggage online to avoid extra fees at the airport.

Ignore “helpful” locals. It may seem cold-hearted by Thailand is infamous for it’s scams. If you’re approached with an offer to give you a lift to the “best temple” or “best shopping” in town, politely decline.

Take a Tuk Tuk. This unique form of transportation is definitely worth trying, but beware because the Tuk Tuk drivers are some of the most frequent scammers (see above.)

Read a few culture tips ahead of time so you’re more prepared than we were for things like the royal anthem at the movies.

Sunsets and Honeymoons in Thailand

Charleston Strong