Sunrise Owls

From Chiang Dao on, our trip felt like a wind down. We returned our rental bike one last time, then hopped on the local bus back to Chiang Mai before an overnight train to Bangkok to catch our flights home. We have been living in a dream out here. Thailand was more than I could ever imagine. From the busy cities, to the vibrant islands, to the crisp mountains. This place is truly a wonder in this world.

This place challenged our relationship in new ways. Our tension stems from our differences. But our differences are what make us love each other so much. It makes us a good team. My weaknesses are her strengths. It makes us challenge and support each other so we can bring our best selves to the world.

We stayed at some funky places on the tail end of this trip. We chose a small neighborhood north of Chiang Mai, and we fully believe the place was haunted. 👻 An overnight train is certainly a unique sleeping experience 🛤️🚞— there’s something satisfying about watching someone whip your two seats into bunkbeds in just one minute — and lastly, our final resting place in Bangkok was named Victory View…well the view left a lot to be desired.

We both committed to eating traditional food for the remainder of the trip (except breakfast). I ordered the famous Kao Soi curry noodles, Lexi found all the dragonfruit, and we shared a few more of our favorite Thai dishes. We stumbled upon another pop up market and within its labyrinthine depths was a hole-in-the-wall noodle shop. A hidden treat that was worth the exploration. We also had to stop at this unique cafe called Early Owls, a spot with soft grass and tall trees circling a lotus pond — absolutely perfect for a picnic.

Our last night in Bangkok was spent at Saxophone, a jazz bar recommended by our host in Chiang Dao. The vibe in the bar was electric with a packed crowd surrounding the band on both the lower level and mezzanine. The energy in this bar gave off the feeling of celebration. Celebrating all the amazing moments we cherished from this trip.

Before jumping on our first flight back home, we indulged in one last Thai massage at the airport. Another experience with firm stretching and strong elbows that left me sore 😅. The Thai massage is known for its healing properties. On the first temple we visited in this trip, we learned that the Thai people believed in the healing powers of a thoughtful and mindful approach to massaging the body. The profession is highly regarded in this country. The soreness was worth the pain knowing how thoughtful and professional the Thai people are.

Our seven hour manual transfer between the two Tokyo airports, Haneda and Narita, was a bit of a blur but we will dedicate another post to this time once we’ve caught up from the jet lag! The short version is we took a nap in a beautiful park and ate some very adventurous sushi!

Over the past months we’ve traveled together through dense cities, tropical beaches, lush jungles, and crisp mountains. We’ve gotten to know other world travelers and the kind, funny people of Thailand (and Myanmar), in addition to getting to know each other better and talking lots about the kind of lives we want to build together. Our honeymoon was the most wonderful adventure! We’d do it all over again, but we have some parts of the US to explore up next. October will be filled with a domestic cross country adventure.

🦉🦉