We’ve been back home for almost 3 weeks now, and its taken this long to feel fully immersed back into reality.  Thailand was the farthest jaunt we’ve ever experienced – and spending  up to 26 hours of travel time really takes a toll on one’s equilibrium.  It took us almost a week to stop waking up bright-eyed at 3am and starving for something to eat, followed by a 5 hour nap at 10am!

Even though now we feel caught up on sleep and back into our routines, we find ourselves daydreaming often of the ease and simplicity of our 3 weeks in Thailand.  We feel so blessed to have the opportunities we have to do the things we do, and if we ever seemingly vanish from the face of the planet, you can probably find us living it up in northern Thailand.

Our honeymoon officially started at the Bangkok train station.  It was humid and hot, and (mystery) meat on a stick was everywhere.  While I’ll spare the details of such things as our first encounter with a thai bathroom, the overnight train we took to get to northern Thailand proved to be a special one.  More on that in a later post.  But I’ll add that while trying to sleep on a train that is clacking away on its tracks isn’t the easiest thing to do, we couldn’t help but smile at where we were.

Out of all the adventures two people can encounter during 3 weeks of traveling with no reservations, spending 5 days at an elephant sanctuary has definitely made its way to the forefront of our favorite memories.  From riding on their backs through the mountains, to playing with them in the river, learning which fruits are their favorite and how to get them to say ‘thank you’, getting close enough to let them hug you with their enormous trunks, and learning that baby elephants are perhaps the strongest and most playful creatures on this planet  — the start of our honeymoon in Thailand quickly captured our hearts.

It was sad to leave them, but we knew there was more waiting for us throughout the country.  So we headed south to Chaing Mai where we found some incredibly delicious (and cheap!) food, and made a good friend who drove us around on his tuktuk.  We ventured through the bustling night markets, spent some time with tigers of all ages at a Tiger Sanctuary, visited temples and were blessed by a monk who chanted all things Love into us.  While Chiang Mai held our curiosity with its ancient history and beautiful culture, we spent only a few days there as we felt the oceans calling our names…

We caught a flight from Chiang Mai to the southern island of Koh Samui and spent a few days ferrying to other islands before finally settling down in Koh Tao.  We found a beautiful place right on the beach with incredible views of the Gulf of Thailand.  And here is where we spent the remainder of our honeymoon – where the slow pace of life mixes with the salt in the air.

Its an understatement to say that we are grateful to have such beautiful memories of our honeymoon.  We find it hard to express just how lucky and blessed we are, especially because we know that whatever happens next, its just keeps getting better. <3