HONEYMOON Finale Part 4 of 4

Part 4- The finale to the 2 week journey!

If you have been so loyal in reading Part 1, 2 and 3 ... a huge pat on your back because they were a tad lengthier than normal, and know that you just made my day! A lot of time goes into these post, so for you to enjoy it as much as to follow along and see it to the end makes it ALL worth while. Plus, there's some good stuff and recommendations, right? WIN.

As sad as I am to wrap up the 4 part Honeymoon series, I am equally ready to share with you our last and final stop.

Wheels up, ladies and gentleman.

Last but not least, we're landing in:

B A N G K O K, Thailand!

Bangkok is 100% nothing like I expected. After all, from what I knew of Thailand at this point, it's rainforest and elephants followed by tropical and coral reefs.

Bangkok however... major city with tons of history, education, night life, street entertainment, shopping, and technology.

THE HOTEL.

We stayed at the retro Hotel Indigo in what I would call downtown Bangkok, but in full transparency, I have no idea what was actually considered downtown. I do know we were across the street from the US Embassy, what was a fun reminder that home was waiting for us after we take advantage of all Bangkok had in store for us.

The decor of the place was of your wildest industrial, radio-aged, modern dreams. Throughout whole space were "Banksy" inspired art, exposed piping, pully-system light fixtures and exposed brick/ beams. The lobby itself set the stage the second we walked in, as well as the rooftop pool and bar. It was gorgeous, and unlike anything we had seen thus far. Again, borrowing from their website... you know why!

If you been following along, you probably know the drill by now- our travel day in was semi-relaxed, but we did decide to shower off, get ready, explore the city for a couple of hours. Despite our guide warning us that you should always have one hand on your belongings, and the other ready to defend yourself at all times, I will say that at no point did David nor I feel unsafe. Actually, quite the opposite. We would easily ask for directions and without hesitation find a friendly local to at least be willing to try and understand us and help as much as they could.

In our exploration we found that tuk-tuk's are a major mode of transportation, in addition to mopeds. Traffic in Bangkok can easily be compared to that of LA, so most people utilize the small spaces and agility that smaller vehicles offer. We opted for the rail system, since the most tourist spots are right off the exits. We found a go-to foot/ reflexology massage place and ended up returning there twice during our stay in Bangkok! Our night was filled with sight-seeing, light shopping, dinner, and navigating ourselves back to the hotel.

Thank goodness we called it an early night because our full Day 1 in Bangkok required a lot of walking! (Deep Blue rub to the rescue after this one)

Let me interject and brag for a bit on our guide, Angela.

In every city, we had a guide helping us with airports, transportation, checking in to hotels, train tickets, ect...

No one felt more like a mother than Angela. The genuine care she took at all times was the most loved we have ever felt by a complete stranger. We have her cell phone number proudly pinned in our Honeymoon shadowbox, and smile every time we look at it.

Angela met us in the lobby bright and early (7am) to begin our day.

Why so early?

MONKS! Thats why.

On our drive to the Wat Pho temple, Angela explained that really early each morning and mid evening, the local Monks make their way around town with large bowls collecting whatever locals want to donate- food, money, ect. Whatever food is collected, they then divide it evenly between all of them and that's what they eat. Nothing more, nothing less. They only eat those two times a day, and live off donations.

After their breakfast, the Monks spend 2 hours worshipping.

Tourist and guest are allowed to join them for the first 30 minutes, and then they are left alone. In order to be a part of that 30 minutes, you have to get there early to snag a seat.

Notice: the temple that these monks worship in is solid gold, while inside you can see painstakingly intricate hand painted detailing on the walls that tell the story of Buddha and the teachings of Buddhism. They sit on a platform, since they are seen as a higher spiritual body. The flowers you see at the foot of the Buddha are paid for via donations and the man in the framed picture to the right is their beloved king; when we were there has just passed and they were in their year of mourning before the new king (his son) takes over. Thanks to fearless and outspoken Angela, we were able to snag a picture with the young monk apprentices!

(I am really sorry for the flipping angles of this video... but hey, you get the idea)

After such a neat ceremony to be a part of, we walked around the Wat Pho temple- learning all sorts of things along the way. So much, that I can't remember it all except this: Thai and Chinese have a great relationship, so each influences the other in architecture and statues. If you are to visit each country, you can see the respect they share for each other throughout the cities. Each Buddha has slight differences based on the age in which the Buddha was created; they are ever so slight but it's incredible when you start to notice them (eye's open/closed, hand placement, head pieces, jaw line, nose structure...all the ages are represented in the pic of Dave and I with lots of Buddha's behind up lined up). Angela can tell you them all...

The structures coming up out of the ground are called Thai Pagodas, and it is a cemetery for the royals or those in power (other than the Kings)- that is how they are buried so that the public can come visit.

Actually, a royal burial is composed in 3 parts- the ashes of the cremation get divided 3 different ways: 1- to be taken home to the family, 2- to be sprinkled in the river so the legacy and spirit of the individual can "flow" throughout the city, and 3- in an urn which then gets these huge pagodas built around it so people can physically come visit without the fear of the ashes being disturbed.

The last 2 pictures is the infamous reclining Buddha- the largest Buddha in Thailand and completely coated in gold.

Also, yoga is huge in Thai culture, and this temple was one of the original school's for yoga (see the grey statue below) and HOLISTIC MEDICINE!!! The chalkboard looking picture is actually black stone with carvings of medicinal healing recipes using herbs and oils hundreds of years ago.

After seeing the temple grounds, we rode over the streets of Bangkok to see the Pratunam Market.

You've probably seen the movie The Hangover Part 2 and if you pay attention you'll see these markets in the background. We visited during the day- I hear it's a different experience when you visit at night.

Angela explained that grocery stores don't really thrive in Bangkok since just about everyone gets what they need at these markets from local farmers, florist, fisherman, and craftsman. The sheer amount of produce and goods packed in tiny little spaces is more than the eye can take in... and the prices are GREAT. Talk about organic- this is as organic as it gets! (And we found a familiar face from the city of Memphis, Tennessee...yall though Elvis was dead but he's hanging out on a bench in Thailand).

All this was making us hungry, and to no surprise, Angela was like "let's go, I know the perfect place" (not before handing us a wipe for our hands, and hailing us a tuk-tuk...I tell you, she's too good to us).

Dim-Sum for lunch! She was right- she ordered 1 of everything on the menu so we got a chance to try it all, and it was delicious.

From there, we definitely needed to walk off how stuffed we were. Lucky for us, right outside of the restaurant were more markets and street vendors, as well as local storefronts. We ended up buying our niece a cute little dress, and learned that there are some odd delicacies in Bangkok...shark fins and Swallow (bird) nests to name 2. Yes, you read that right. They EAT them on special occasions. Gold is also a big deal, as there are gold jewelry shops at every turn.

After 45 mins or so, Angela had caught us another tuk-tuk and we were off to the Jim Thompson House.

Short background: Jim Thompson is an American who fell in love with Thailand and moved there to help revitalize the silk industry. He disappeared in 1967, launching one of the greatest searches in Thai history, and still remains a mystery today. However, his personal home is highly preserved and you can walk through it and see his elaborate collection of worldly pieces, as well as eat at the restaurant and purchase hand woven silk items from the store.

What a day!

SO many sights, so many breathtaking views.

However, we needed a nap.

After showering off and getting a couple of hours rest, we hit the town again and explored the Siam Paragon mega-plex of high-end shopping, got Thai foot massages, and gobbled down dinner before heading back and just absolutely crashing.

Day 2 started off rainy, which was not ideal for the river-boat tour we had scheduled that day but Angela insisted it would clear up, and we trusted Angela.

She was right!..kind of. It rained on and off for a good part of the day, but nothing more than a drizzle.

Day 2 had LOTS of cool things to see, but between the rain and being on a boat from place to place, we didn't get that many photos. The ones we did get really show you what "real life" is like for those who live off the river in Bangkok. We fed the catfish, which symbolizes 10 years of good luck. Our last big stop was Wat Arun- one of the most famous temples in Bangkok, housing the cremation remains of all Thailand's Kings. Something really interesting about this temple is that is is decorated with broken pieces of China to represent their respects to the Chinese. There was an option to dress up and Dave and I were originally not about it, but at the insistence of Angela we did... well worth the laughs!

After our boat day ended early into the afternoon, we finally took advantage of that rooftop pool.

Our conversation solely consisted of re-living the past 2 weeks, really proud of us and our new marriage, of all that we did, the places we had been, all the things we said YES to so unapologetically, how the things planned and unplanned came about, our favorite dishes, the best parts fo each city... and we stood there in complete gratitude for the past 14 days.

We weren't done just yet...we had one more item on our list to check off. A rather interesting concept for a restaurant, we heard that Cabbages and Condoms was a one in a lifetime must-do kinda thing. Learning from the one and only (Angela) we hailed a tuk-tuk and we were off. I'll let the pictures say it all... but as a place where you eat surrounded by sex-education, it was definitely one of our more weird endeavors. You could say we wanted to end our trip going out with a bang (yes, absolutely pun intended).

At 5am the next morning, we figured it was really that time for us to wake up from this dream, pack it up, and head home as we found ourselves in the airport in Bangkok with a 27 hour journey ahead, looking back at what can only be described as the best trip we've ever taken.

To:

My Mom and Dad

Thanks for dealing with my roller coaster of emotions for 8 months wedding planning, and for the most gorgeous wedding my little girl dreams could ever conjure up. You both are my rock, and never waiver... I am eternally grateful God granted my to be your daughter.

To:

My Mother-In-Law and Father-In-Law

"Thank-You" will never be enough.

A true trip of a lifetime, I still need to pinch myself sometimes to remind me it was real. I am the luckiest to call you family now, for you love me like your own.

To:

Tokyo, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Bangkok,

We adore all your quirks and specialties. You made us better people, and rooted us in a strong start to our first 2 weeks married. Each one of you are so special in your own ways, and allowed our minds to expand and our limits to exceed.

To:

My Husband

Where to next?!?!

Just kidding, kinda.

You're my forevermore travel companion- I'm one lucky lady.

Thanks for dealing with my airport frustration, including but not limited to throwing my passport down and crying hysterically because I thought we missed our flight and no one would understand us to get us a new one. And for running back to get my backpack I left on the plane. Mostly, for all the "good morning, wife" in those tender first few weeks. It was special then, and more special now. You are my better half, as The Lord knew bringing you into my life... My bunny.

Naturally,

Nicki and David