march postcard
thailand and an encounter with "la tourista"
here we are already at the end of april and I’m just now getting around to writing my march postcard, though as the saying goes (in my family, at least): better late…if ever. and since march’s adventure technically crossed into april, I suppose this counts as being relatively on time.
after a february filled with nearly three weeks of constant travel, I came into march looking forward to a bit of a breather, but knowing that it wouldn’t last long because at the end of the month I was due to be on a plane…to thailand!
it had been a while since I’d done a “big” trip of more than just a european city break or week or two in the south of france; I think the last one was my trip to mexico city and cancun in 2020 to celebrate getting my master’s degree. (for me, trips home don’t “count”.) the particularities of being a contractor make it surprisingly difficult to organize extended vacations because I have to time them correctly with either the end of a current contract, or have enough foresight to plan it in advance of the writing of my next contract so I can “build in” the time off.
in truth, thailand hasn’t ever been particularly high on my “want-to-go” list but I knew that for this trip I wanted a mix of adventure and relaxation, to go someplace I’d never been, and that wasn’t going to be too expensive for a minimum two week stay. after narrowing down the list to either thailand or vietnam (and waffling for a good while between the two) I finally told myself to just make a goddamn decision already and went with thailand. that my boyfriend (who had volunteered himself to come along barely two months into our budding relationship…how’s that for confidence? 😅) had already been also gave me the boost of confidence to pull the trigger.
so, at the end of march, off we went! my goal for us was to leave as a couple and to return as one, and I’m glad to report that we successfully managed it. there were only a few minor dust-ups along the way, the kind that are inevitable when two people spend every waking moment together in very close quarters and unfamiliar situations, but it was nice to know for certain that we can tolerate each other for that long and neither of us completely lost their shit.
or should I say that no one figuratively lost their shit, because after a grand total of 72 hours on thai soil, I had an extremely unfortunate encounter with what the french call la tourista — otherwise known as the, ah, gastrointestinal distress that can often occur in exotic climes to which we are not accustomed.
separated by what can only be described as little more than a saloon door at a rustic hotel in krabi, I can very safely say that there are officially no more secrets left between E and I, and the fact that he still did not run for the hills after being forced to bear witness to that literal shit show (amongst other things) confirms my previous hypothesis that he just might be a keeper.
with all of that said, I’ll just let the photos do the rest of the talking.
destinations visited
bangkok
krabi
koh phangan and koh tao
les bonnes adresses
I’m not certain how many of you will ever find yourselves in Thailand, but should you feel inspired, here is a (very small) selection places that we particularly loved while we were there:
chinatown, bangkok: touristic, sure, and not exactly thai, strictly speaking, but it felt a bit like bangkok’s version of times square. lights, tons of bustling action and energy, and a crazy good food scene, including a night market that we visited twice during our time in bangkok.
the fig lobby hotel, bangkok: a super funky, fun art hotel in a great location in central bangkok. the entire hotel is a work of art and each element has been purposefully curated/crafted just for this location. the staff was so sweet they nearly gave us a toothache.
following giants elephant sanctuary, krabi (or koh lanta): one of the rare, truly ethical elephant sanctuaries in thailand. many will claim they are ethical because they don’t allow riding, but still allow tourists to participate in bathing rituals and other elephant touching. at following giants, it’s observation-only; the elephants run the show, and you’re just there to watch (from a safe distance). the location in krabi is less than a year old and now counts 8 elephants, all rescued from “hard labor” conditions from various areas of thailand.
koh raham beach club restaurant, koh phangan: the manager of our tiny hotel in koh phangan recommended this place to us and oh my goodness, was it a gem! the restaurant is hidden at the back of a hotel/beach resort and is right on the water. the setting of the restaurant is absolutely idyllic and the beachy-boho decor is stunning. and the cherry on top was that the food was great! we went there for my first real post-tourista meal and I left one happy lady.
bottle beach, koh phangan: this is still a relatively “hidden” beach, due to it’s very difficult-to-access location; while there were enough people around to give it a bit of atmosphere, it was far from crowded and we had ample space to enjoy the beach and the water. the lookout point is worth a visit, though the last stretch involves sideways-scaling a narrow rock wall, and the best view is on top of the rock itself (which I skipped because…yikes). getting down to the beach itself is a bit of a production; it’s not accessible for a scooter and I would only recommend trying to walk down if you have a very good pair of shoes. otherwise, take the 4x4 taxi — it’s cheap and will save you a massive hassle.
you’ll notice there aren’t a lot of restaurants on the list, and that’s for a reason. much of the best food in Thailand is street food, or served in extremely non-descript stalls that I couldn’t hope to remember long enough to recommend them. just follow your nose (and maybe some of the locals, just to be safe) and you literally can’t go wrong.
what’s next?
the rest of april was fairly quiet, with just a quick overnight in bernay for easter, and with my current work situation still being entirely up in the air, I’m not certain how much more I’m going to be moving around in the coming months beyond two upcoming weekends in/around bordeaux for weddings. I’ve never been to a french wedding before so I’m excited to have a new cultural experience, and especially excited to discover bordeaux, which I still have never been to, after a previously planned trip in 2021 had to be scrapped due to contracting covid immediately after lockdown ended 🥴
more time to explore paris, then, which somehow still manages to be full of surprises…
bisous !