Trying to put these first two weeks into words is hard…

Where to even begin? What do you think this experience has been like for me? I wonder how close that image is to what I am experiencing. 

Did you picture me spending my time wandering the streets of Chiang mai, eating banana roti from street vendors? Walking through ancient temples in Ayutthaya? Meeting kind spirited locals that share about how they see me and what they think I should create? Sweating my asss off every day? If so, well done!

I truly don’t know how to write about my time here so far. I could talk about the logistics as in, where we’ve been and how we have ended up in these places. We stayed in Bangkok for 5 days where we stayed at a hotel and a hostel. Took a train to Ayutthaya, where we stayed for 2 nights in a hostel. Took a 9 hour bus to chiang mai (which is where we are now and will probably be for a little while?) and have stayed in 3 places now. This current one has a pool which is crazy amazing in the heat. But as informative as that is, that isn’t the kind of update I want to give. I want to talk about the people, the food, the warmth, the colors, everything. But how in the hell do I put that all into words? None of what I will write will do any of this justice but here is my attempt at a glimpse into my time here so far. 

I can tell you with the most confidence that I am so astronomically grateful to get the opportunity to do this adventure with my amazing partner (in travel and in life) Izzy. Getting even a glimpse of her perspective on everything here is the most incredible thing. Witnessing her excitement and pure joy when she takes the first bite of a delicious meal, or sees beautiful art in the night market, or most commonly, sees a plant thriving on the side of the road that she grows at home… it’s unmatched. Getting to share in new experiences is something I think I will always be incredibly grateful for. The opportunity to witness something beautiful and turn your head to share the most awestruck expression with someone you love is something more than special, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

Some of my most altering moments so far have been in Ayutthaya wandering through the various Wats that made up the once upon a time city capital, seeing the remanence of stunning buildings and various Buddha’s was incredible. The photos do it about 20% justice. We ended up going later in the day and got to see the brick become illuminated by the sunset with barely anyone there. I was convinced we were in a movie and we couldn’t have possibly actually been there at that moment. 

Another moment was talking to someone that I will write about soon, but need to wait on for a surprise to come ;)

Izzy found this restaurant called “Faces” that led us to another movie moment. At first we couldn’t find it and were a bit bummed and confused. But, we found a sign that led us on a mini hunt for the tucked away location, and when we found a large stone arch way with massive carved wooden doors and a sign that said “faces” we knew we were in the right spot. Again we found ourselves in a stunning place practically alone. This restaurant was a jungle of beautiful plants and stone walls with engravings of beautiful people, Buddhas, animals, etc. Not to mention the food was ridiculously delicious. We sat aside a pond surrounded by massive bird cages you could dine in, water features, vining monsteras and pathos that climbed all the way up the trees and hung back over our heads. When I say that is not the last time we will be there in this lifetime I MEAN IT. 

Yet another experience was meeting a monk that read our horoscopes. This adorable man with a bright orange rope wrapped gracefully around his small frame was also a Scorpio and had much information to share. It was really interesting to see a bit of how Thai astrology worked, he had many books he was referencing, some kind of wheel with symbols, and he did a lot of calculations in his head which was intriguing. He would look up just past the top of his small rounded black glasses and count and nod and say oh yes yes, then tell me another interesting tidbit of time that was to come my way. My favorite thing he kept repeating was “no big problems”, very promising if you ask me. But what really stuck with me was he said now was the time to find a teacher. What kind of teacher? Unspecified. Which only leaves me more curious of who or what is coming my way that will help guide me in the many lessons I have to learn. 

Yesterday, we attended a cooking class with of course another amazingly sweet teacher Olive. Maybe she is one of these supposed teachers I am to be finding right now. We made 6 courses, all traditional Thai dishes… I made Pad Thai, Laab, Tom Yum, Panang Curry Paste, Panage Curry, and Deep Fried Bananas! Izzy picked all different ones so we could go home with as many recipes as possible, she made Pad Kra Praow, Som Tum, Tom Kha, Khaw Soi Curry Paste and Curry, and Mango Sticky Rice. Everything was so delicious and I couldn’t believe I had made everything that was sitting in front of me by the end. The other students were also so sweet and we as a group covered a lot of nationalities, we had American (2), Italian (2), Spanish (2), German (2), English (1), French (4) and Thai (1). A pretty good spread if you ask me. Plus Izzy got to show off by talking to both the Italian gentleman and the Spanish couple in their native languages. Very fun to watch and have a proud girlfriend moment. She’s pretty cool. 

Overall, I couldn’t possibly write about every moment or every altering experience, it would not only take forever but take away some of the magic of being here and being as present as possible. But this is some of it. Written over a few days between wandering new neighborhoods, yoga classes, and an insane amount of food. I can’t explain how grateful I am to be here and to be on this adventure, but I will keep trying. 

I love and miss you all.

Love, 

Luna