What No One Tells You: Thailand Edition.

A bucket list item that Matt and I had always talked about was getting to Thailand. I can’t remember the exact moment it was brought up but over the course of our five years of dating, it was always there. I had Pinterest boards, travel books, google docs, notes, and I was determined to make it happen.

When we began brainstorming places for our honeymoon our brainstorming session didn’t last long… we were going to Thailand.

Through my prior research, there were two things I knew ahead of booking our trip. (1) I wanted to visit mid to end of November for weather purposes and to try to catch some of the annual festivals and (2) We had to visit an ethical Elephant sanctuary. I’ll get into both of those aspects in a separate post to come, alongside my individual itineraries, but this post I felt needed to be my first; the things no one tells you before you head to Thailand.

Rush hour in Bangkok.

What is the big deal with rush hour? Oh the big deal is rush hour is every hour… not 4PM to 6PM or 8AM to 10AM… it is every hour of the day. Which is semi-hilarious to the point that we looked out our hotel window, in the middle of the night, and there was full on bumper to bumper traffic. My point here is don’t anticipate to hop in an Uber (which also doesn’t exist over there… you’ll have to download Grab) and get to your destination quickly. You’re forced to take your time and honestly, there’s no need to get anywhere quickly…especially on vacation. Laugh at the mopeds that weave in and out of traffic and just enjoy the scenery.

You will never stop sweating.

Now keep in mind we went during the beginning of Thailand’s ‘cold season’ so you check the weather but beware of the humidity if/when you go! And overall just beware, you’ll be hot and you’ll be sweaty. My hair was in a bun 97% of our trip. I left my hairdryer at home but also could have left my straightener and curler at home and saved some luggage room. So if you learn anything from this advice, it’s to embrace your sweatiness! Oh and bring hair ties and leave your jeans at home.

Under no circumstance should you flush toilet paper.

What’s better on your honeymoon than clogging a toilet? But for real… this happened…. twice. Not sure I’ve ever laughed harder but we (and I mean me) clogged our hotel bathroom toilet twice. After the second time, I decided I had to follow the unwritten rules and not flush any toilet paper. I know, this may be gross (sorry Mom) but no one told me I couldn’t do this until I googled it (as the toilet water was slowly rising). So do yourself, and your travel companion, a favor and just don’t flush any toilet paper.

It’ll be a trip that simultaneously makes you appreciate everything at home but also somehow want to return to this country as soon as possible.

I looked at all the photos. I read all the posts. And yet I still wasn’t prepared for the intense feelings I’d have upon our return home. There was the immediate appreciation of being home and the ability to brush my teeth with our faucet water (or flush toilet paper) but thinking of Thailand today has me feeling overall different. My appreciation for this country was there before, but just not to the degree it is now. There’s an immense appreciation for not only Thailand as a country, but also for its history, its culture, the incredibly nice people, their traditions, insanely delicious food, and overall heartwarming wildlife. At the end of our trip, I wish someone would have warned me how I’d feel. How bittersweet it would be to leave a place and feel like you could literally stay for a couple more weeks…if only Zara could hop on an Emirates flight.

So traveler beware, this place will change you, in the best way possible.

There you have it; just a few things I wish I would have known before going to this place that now has left a forever mark in my mind and on my heart. As we were leaving the last island we stayed at I posted a photo on Instagram saying that this place overwhelmed me; that it is my sincere hope that each of you gets the chance to visit this country at least once in your lifetime, and that’s something I’ll say over and over again.

Tell me, have you been to Thailand? Any interest? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! And look out for my itineraries for Bangkok, Chiang Mai and some of my favorite islands coming soon!

XO!

M

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