Hi cuties!

I can’t believe it’s already been a few weeks since I’ve been back from Thailand. Honestly, if you asked me 5 years ago, or even 1 year ago, I never would have thought I’d get to visit this amazing country.

I’m going to walk you through what’s basically my Thailand travel journal! Hope you enjoy it :)!

PREPARATIONS

So we were leaving for Thailand, which had temperatures of 35/40C … when it was just becoming Fall/Winter here in the GTA… needless to say, it was kind of hard looking to shop for pieces for the trip!

Thankfully Hudson’s Bay had a pretty decent traveling selection that did the trick. We were also told to make sure to bring long pants, long sleeve tops, and closed toe shoes for all the temples and activities we’d be visiting.

A few items that I feel are MUST HAVES:

“Sweatpant-like (but not actually)” pants, that you can lounge in, but also dress up
Long sleeve button-up
Tank top
Light running shoes
Flip-flops
Boots
Cap
Bathing Suit
Sunglasses
Backpack
Small bag for wallet, passport, and phone

TRAVEL DAY

*October 27

We departed from Toronto Pearson and I was pretty nervous about taking another ~30 hour flight again … I had JUST come back from Japan and I didn’t have the best experience during the plane ride.

We flew with Korean Air, and I honestly don’t think I’ll fly to Asia again on any other airline. I was IMPRESSED. The plane was clean with enough room, and the food was DELICIOUS.

Anyways, with one layover in Seoul, Korea, we finally made it to Chiang Mai, Thailand!

We got off the airplane right outside so we immediately felt the humidity and our “toronto” clothes with our sweaters were no longer applicable!

After passing through security/customs we met up with our first tour guide, Pam! He was so nice and so excited to have us there. There wasn’t a moment when he wasn’t there just to help us with anything we needed!

He brought us to our first hotel, Rati Lanna Riverside Hotel. It was gorgeous and definitely gave us a great first impression of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

We went right to sleep that night because the next day we were going to hit the ground running!

DAY 1

*OCTOBER 29

Thailand is 12-13h ahead so we lost a day travelling … which we gained back on our way home!

This was Elephant day! We were going to Patara Elephant Camp.

Full disclosure: I was PRETTY nervous about going because I’m allergic to basically everything… and I wasn’t sure if I was allergic to elephants or not! I wanted to see them though so we tried it out.

We arrived to the camp and saw baby elephants running about. Needless to say, I didn’t really even care if I was allergic anymore… I just wanted to see them up close!!

I did end up being super careful and washing my hands after each time I interacted with one, but it was so worth it. These elephants were such magical creatures and they seemed really happy in this environment. Patara Elephant Camp is an ethical elephant farm focused on the conservation of elephants who have been adopted from unsuitable living conditions! I went on the trip with 3 other people that have seen the mistreatment of elephants at some other elephant places, and they were so relieved to see that this place was different.

We went to our first Thai meal after that and I discovered my love for this spicy coconut soup that I’ve been craving ever since I’ve been home!! We thought it was just a regular curry first, so we ate it with rice … but then realized it’s a full on soup!! So it was totally acceptable just to drink it allll out of the bowel lol!

Then we watched the sunset at Doi Suthep, which is a sacred temple located on top of a mountain! It has a beautiful golden Chedi and panoramic views of Chiang Mai. We caught the views a little after sunset and saw the most amazing lightening storm from far away! (see my IGTV to see what I mean)

DAY 2

*OCTOBER 30

We started off the day at War Sri Suphan, the Silver Temple. It was A SIGHT! It was originally constructed at the beginning of the 16th century!

Most of it is made of silver and aluminium and apparently they’ve already spent 25 million dollars on it, and it’s only 60% finished!

I wasn’t able to go inside though because apparently females are not allowed inside. It has something to do with how we menstruate… and it could mess up the “magic” inside the temple. So we just had to view it from the outside!

Then we went to Studio Naenna for a very unique and sustainable indigo dying experience! We learned about different colour dye coming from nature, and which ones were actually sustainable to use! We learned that even though something is natural or organic, it does not mean that it is a sustainable practice to continue. Plus, it was really cool to see the 25 year-old indigo vats!

I got to make 2 bandanas / handkerchiefs that are now living happily in our kitchen drawer for special occasion use :)!

DAY 3

*OCTOBER 31

We traveled to Sukhothai this day! It was about a 4 hour drive, but we stopped at another beautiful temple called Wat Phra That Lampang Luang. The colors of the temple were probably my favourite of the trip.

We finally got to Sukhothai around sunset. So we got to walk the Sukhothai Historical Park during golden hour. It was BREATHTAKING. It felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie or something. There were columns that were still almost intact, but then others that weren’t so lucky.

Sukhothai was actually Thailand’s first ever capital city, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ruins date back as far as the 13th century!

There were lots of locals there because they were preparing for the Full Moon festival! So we also got to see different groups practicing for what looked like their act for the show.

DAY 4

*NOVEMBER 1

We went to an organic farm to experience rice planting! We saw where they grew the seedlings, how they transplanted them, and what they looked like before they got harvested. But we also saw how they sort through all the grains! Like there is someone who sits at a little table with a pile of rice in the middle, and sorts different size/quality grains into different piles!

We also go to see their orchid greenhouse, which was incredible. Thailand has about 400 different species of orchids!! They’re my favourite flower if you didn’t know lol. My wedding bouquet was all white orchids :).

We left for Bangkok that night, and went to the hotel, So Sofitel, right from the airport.

The hotel was very different than what we had seen in the other two cities. It was very modern and luxe. All the rooms were inspired by an element, and we ended up in one inspired by Metal… so it was very white, silver, and clean looking. We had dinner at the hotel that night with a view overlooking Bangkok at night. It was a perfect way to end a day of travelling and get ready for the next adventure.

DAY 5

*NOVEMBER 2

Wat Suthat was our first stop of the day. It is a huge temple with beautiful interior architecture and a big courtyard. It also has 156 Buddha images along the outer walls! Plus, it was one of the cleanest temples we’ve been at. Most of it was white so they kept it pretty spotless!

We then went to the most beautiful café I’ve ever been to, Napasorn Flower Café! It was decorated with the most magical florals ever. It was basically what I would want my wedding to look like if I were to do it all over again… but I won’t lol!

The café was owned by a florist that had his flower shop downstairs, and he grew it into a shop + café over the years!

After that we went to the flower market, which I basically like a fish market, but it smells WAY nicer and it is much prettier! We learned how to make a small garland from a pro. The garlands and most of the flower work done in the city are brought to temples as an offering.

Then we went on a boat tour along the canals of Bangkok. I mean, I didn’t even know there were canals in Bangkok! It reminded me a bit of Venice, but on a larger scale. The boats were a lot bigger, and with HUGE engines and there were some water gates, where we actually got stopped at a few times. It was like a “boat traffic jam” and all other tourists in the other boats so it ended up being a little social gathering chatting bout where everyone was from and where else they were traveling! Also, they have little feeding stations in front of some of the temples where you put money in a little basket and take bread to feed to the fish! There are A LOT of fish in front of temples because you can’t kill anything on or near temple grounds.

We also had our first Pad Thai dish after that and it was DELICIOUS. We learned that Pad Thai is actually a secondary dish in Thailand, not a main dish like we usually have it as in Canada!

That night we went to a Michelin Star restaurant called Somtumder, which was known for their spicy papaya salad! It was so so delicious.

DAY 6

*NOVEMBER 3

Time for Phuket! We flew to Phuket early that morning and when we landed we went right to Phuket Old Town!

The old town is a historically rich region of the island that is home to Sino-Portuguese architecture, really trendy cafés, shops and museums! They had so many colourful buildings I felt like I was in Havana almost! But this was actually cleaner and nicer lol!

In terms of coffee shops, we actually ended up in a super cute Japanese inspired one that had Hojicha tea. It was something my travel partner and I are now obsessed with. Think of it as a perfect combination of tea and a mocha coffee!
We ended the night relaxing at the hotel, which was I think my favourite of the trip. It was like a magical oasis!

DAY 7

*NOVEMBER 4

Island hopping day was probably one of my favourites. I’ve never seen water so blue, or swam in water so clear. The land structure of the islands alone were jaw-dropping. I loved how they looked like icebergs, but made of land and trees! Plus, there was one monkey island where a family of monkeys just somehow ended up there!
We had lunch on Phi Phi island, was a happening island! There were people enjoying the beach, shopping, getting on boats all around us. The island has more than a few resorts now, which little shops around almost every corner! We ended up at a restaurant that had these little drawings on the walls from past customers from all over the world. They all wrote their reviews of the place and drew little pictures, which the restaurant owner took and used as mementos on their walls!! It was so cute and very fun to read!

DAY 8

*NOVEMBER 5

Our last day … We made sure to fit in a Thai massage and rum tasting before we left the country though!

In the morning we went to a Thai massage place where I got my first ever Thai massage! It involved a lot of twisting and pushing. Not something I was used to, but I felt a lot better and a lot less stiff after!!

Then we went for lunch at a rum distillery. The food was DELICIOUS, and they had rum drink pairings for each dish! The place itself was definitely “instagrammable” and I wanted the decor in my own backyard! We tasted different flavours of rum (a lime one, a Thai basil one, a cinnamon one… and a few others). It was interesting to learn how minute the changes were and how differently each one hit your mouth / throat… thankfully we ate BEFORE the tasting :P!

We went back to the resort for the end of the day to get ourselves ready for the trip home. It was the perfect way to end our trip, seeing the sunset one last time on that side of the world.

-

This trip is something I will never forget, and something I hope you all get to experience one day. Thailand is a place that I think everyone should see in their life time if possible.

I was super happy with everything I brought on the trip with me.

I used the Rains backpack every day, and I think it was my FAVORITE item that I brought. It fit everything I needed without being super bulky. The other 2 items I loved the most were the Free People Button-up and the Free People Pants.

The items I brought with me from Hudson’s Bay can be found HERE!

*and if they are no longer available, there will be similar pieces there for you to shop.

You can also check out more about booking a trip to Thailand HERE!

*if you guys are going or have gone, let me know! I’d love to hear about what you have planned or what you have done!

Until next time!

xx

Jess