Even though I asked Chi where he wanted to go for our honeymoon… I secretly had my heart set on Thailand for multiple reasons. First, it was a destination that had it all —a shopping mecca and city life in Bangkok, a history-filled old town in Chiang Mai and lazy do-nothing beach getaway in Phuket. Second, November had the best weather and held Yi Peng and Loy Krathong festivities. Third, it would be a cheap destination compared to Europe or secluded islands like Maldives, Fuji or Bora Bora. We would live like king and queen without paying the price tag… and boy did we do that.

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Somehow in the midst of wedding planing, I also planned this exotic honeymoon to my travel standards. It started as a two week trip and quickly extended to three-weeks given how much I wanted to see and do. I wanted to do it all: shop in the city, see the sky lanterns, relax on the beach, stay in gorgeous resorts, play with elephants and hike in the rainforest. It had to be the ultimate honeymoon of everything we love to do.

Massages

I’m not sure why but massage parlours were everywhere like your local Starbucks or Tim Hortons. And they were the price of a usual Starbucks’ coffee. With a range from $3 to $10, we got massages every chance we got and it was so deserved after a long day of exploring.

Food

Like most Asian countries and cities, food options are plentiful and easily accessible. It was great on the wallet as most meals were about $5 each including fresh juice or smoothie.

Development and Cleaniness

For some reason, I was expecting Thailand to be like Vietnam but surprisingly Thailand was more developed, clean and orderly. There are stop signs and traffic lights that people abided by. Bangkok even reminded me of Singapore or Hong Kong.

The King

Thailand has their royal monarchy and everywhere you visit, you will see photos of their King. And not just a small 8×10 inside your hotel… gigantic billboard sized framed prints as you drive by.

Getting Around

This varied from city to city. Bangkok’s MRT was great and ‘Grab’ a rideshare app was very cheap. Tuk-tuks could try to rip you off scams but with some tips from our friends, we started taking them and they were a lot of fun. You just had to compare with the going ‘Grab’ rate as a benchmark. In Chiangmai, there were these red buses called ‘songthraws‘ which was like a cheap carpool shared with others going your direction. The worst place to get around was definitely Phuket. It was expensive and everything was far apart.

Thailand has a beautiful landscape and rich culture for any budget. There is something for anyone, be it for a frugal backpacker, beach bum or a city dweller. But it is because of this, Thailand is swarming with tourists. Regardless, I was able to find secret off-beaten-path spots like Khao Sok National Park and Surin Islands. And even the most popular areas like Railay Beach and Koh Phi Phi is worth seeing. Without a doubt, I’d go back and explore other places I missed like Koh Samui, Koh Lanta and Koh Lipe. I’d want to go back for Songkran, the Thai New Year’s holiday which includes a country-wide water fight.