A Last-Minute Trip to Thailand!

Another day, another gorgeous destination! 

First off, Wow! Talk about a whirlwind last four weeks. Four weeks and three days ago, I officially moved back up to Minneapolis. Then, exactly four weeks ago, I woke up sick as a dog, and spent the next two weeks in and out of the doctors office and hospital. In the midst of that, I found out some very exciting news...

Nick and I!

My amazing husband received and accepted a new job offer! Starting today, he is the new Regional Vice President for New York Life / Mainstay Funds. The best part about this? He will be based right here in Minneapolis, covering Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin (with the exception of a few cities)!

Once we received this news, things began moving even more quickly. I planned a last-minute trip to Thailand, and things worked out where Nick was able to accompany me! So, off to Thailand we went! I only have time for a quick post today (time to get caught up on homework, unpacking from the move, and cleaning house!), but here is a wrap up of our trip to Thailand!

Making sure every detail is perfect!

We departed on a Monday around noon local time, and did not arrive in Thailand until almost midnight on Tuesday - so yet again, it was almost 36 straight hours of travel to arrive in Thailand! Once arriving, as soon as we settled down for the evening we caught a few hours of shut eye. After all, one of the primary reasons for this trip was to get Nick outfitted with several new custom suits and shirts. So the first full day of our trip was spent visiting Tailor on Ten!

On the left, you can see several of the colors of suit jackets we selected. Right hand shows the inner details we were able to customize!

Nick all decked out in one of his stunning new suits!

While at Tailor on Ten, we spent almost 5 hours selecting every single detail of 6 suits, 1 sport coat, and 13 shirts. Trust me when I say that despite this being a long time, it was worth every minute of it!  I'll be posting more about how to find the best custom tailor in Thailand (look no further- this is it) - at a later date, so please stay tuned!

This was definitely the best way to see ALL of Bangkok!

Besides spending time getting Nick outfitted, we had several other things we wanted to do on this trip. I had loved our previous river cruise on the Chao Phraya, so we elected to do a day cruise instead of a night cruise. I'm not going to lie - 20 minutes into the cruise, I thought we had gotten ripped off - but not long after, I realized that this was a great way to see Bangkok that many people may not. We were able to see many of the beautiful sights, as well as some of the not-so-beautiful back alleyways and canals that are not typically seen. A full recap of this experience will be coming later!

Rooftop Garden at Amari Watergate - beautiful, and so secluded!

Previously in Bangkok, Nick and I have stayed at two different hotels. On this trip, we decided to hop around a little bit and explore some new locations, so we stayed at our third, fourth, and fifth Bangkok hotel. Two of these hotels were in a familiar area of town for us off Sukhumvit near Nana Plaza, one of the popular areas of town. Then, we decided to venture out a bit and experience amazing service from Amari Watergate! While in Thailand, I've never stayed at a traditional 5-star hotel - rather, I have opted to try and save a bit of money to indulge in more street food and massages.  Staying at Amari really gave Bangkok a different feel, and made both Nick and I feel much more ready to embark on a 36 hour travel journey home at the end of our trip!

This view of Bangkok just can't be beat!

Overall, the biggest activities we took part in were hopping between rooftop bars and both day and night markets. I discovered that Chatuchak Market is definitely my favorite market in town. The sunset (if you can call it a sunset in Bangkok!) really can't be beat from Above Eleven. Above Eleven is a rooftop restaurant that may take you a moment to find, as the entrance is a speak-easy type entrance with a private elevator at the back of a hotel. Definitely an awesome place!

In addition to all of this, Nick and I had our first REAL experience at Bangkok's Red Light districts. There are three main red light districts, and we had (somewhat) unknowingly visited two of them on our previous trip to Bangkok. This time around, we purposefully visited, spent a few minutes, and then pretty much ran away from them. Lets jus say I will never look at ping pong balls or darts the same way... No worries, I'll be giving you a full detail on what you need to know about Bangkok's red light districts in the future!

Had to get a shot of our new tickets, passport cover, and Delta flight credit!

Finally, our trip concluded on a VERY high note. We woke up at 3 AM to get to the airport in time for our 7 AM flight. Upon arrival, we were informed that our flight was overbooked, and if we were willing to give up our seats in exchange for a $1000 flight voucher per person ($2000 total!) we would be rebooked onto a flight departing two hours later. With zero hesitation, we said yes, hoping that everything would fall in place - and it did!

After several long flights home, we made it back safe and sound. Since then, I've been busy catching up on MBA homework, and Nick has been prepping for his first few weeks on the job. It will definitely be a busy few weeks around here, as I still have posts to catch up on from our time in Mexico, and now a whole slew of Thailand posts to write! What do you most want to hear about from our time in Thailand? I'm so looking forward to catching up with all of you!