A week in the city.
A week near the river.
Now, a week by the beach.
We’ve decided the pace of living is best the closer we are to the beach.
It’s calm and slow during the day, and the driving is a bit smoother (as compared to Bangkok, where pretty much the only way to cross as a pedestrian is to find a break in traffic or to make one lol).
In Kanchanaburi, we had space to practice routine: morning walks to the coffee shop, catching up with our to-do list, researching future spots to land and how to get there, hitting the gym, enjoying a dinner and sunset, and wrapping up the day with whatever Netflix show we’re on.
By the time we hopped off the plane to an island on the southern part of Thailand, we had finished the last episode of Arcane (10/10 recommend).
If we didn’t find out in Bangkok, we sure learned it our first night on the island… people love to party here.
We’re walking distance to a street with many restaurants and bars. I woke up in the middle of the night to hear the distant bass of music and bike motors, thinking it’s likely midnight…
Nope.
4am.
On a Monday.
At least we know if we ever get hungry past midnight, we’ll have plenty of options available.
“We have to make friends while we’re here.”
I agreed.
So that day, Peyton went on a hike (thanks, AllTrails) where he ran into a couple who were here until the end of the week before moving toward Chiang Mai. Friends!
So they chatted on the way down and turns out they were from California and on their honeymoon.
Let’s just say they were the coolest, and invited us along to their scheduled excursions the following day: the elephant sanctuary & a Thai cooking class.
8am pick-up from our hotel courtesy of the elephant sanctuary & 9am start time. Our guides began by explaining the differences between their elephant sanctuary and the places that offer elephants to ride. There is a very big difference, the main one being the presence of respect and care for these beautiful animals.
We proceeded to make what they call “elephant sushi,” which consists of white rice and bananas wrapped in banana leaves. They then cook these for 40 minutes (photo on the right).


In the meantime, we were given watermelon and bananas to pass to the elephants as we walked to different locations on the property.
Our guide educated us on how they rescue elephants, the conditions they find them in, each one’s story, and the environment they need in order to live the rest of their lives with a sense of safety and freedom.
Then it was feeding time. And these girlies can eat. Close to 300 lbs of food to be exact.


We watched them roam around and bathe in the pool, then immediately roll around in mud and scratch against the nearest tree trunk.
The tour had ended with a delicious lunch buffet of spring rolls, curry potatoes, Pad Thai, and fried rice. We let the driver offered by the sanctuary know we wouldn’t need a ride back to our hotel since we would be headed to our cooking class close by in a few hours.
Our new friends were smart before they came abroad because they had gotten their international drivers license. With this, and an existing motorcycle license from the states, they could scoot around everywhere instead of walking or calling a taxi like us. Not having this license has been our biggest regret by far.
On the topic of not bringing what we needed…
I didn’t think to bring my bathing suit. So once we all arrived by the shops, I ran to grab one for a whopping $27 (If you didn’t know this about women’s bathing suits, that’s a 70% discount for what I’d get back home).
It was cloudy and the water was cold making us extra excited to hop in after spending all morning outside with elephants and walking a mile through the humidity. For the next hour, we bobbed along the waves and conversed about AI and the future.
After an hour in the ocean, we parted ways with our smart friends again to head to the cooking class.
We halt in front of a flooded road just 5 minutes from the location.
I’m picking those prickly seeds off the bottom of my skirt as Peyton flags down a truck that turns onto the same street as us. The driver stops with his thumb up.
“Okay, hop in the back!”
We ride across and hop off with a wave and thanks.
A small memory we’ll keep. :)
Our first stop: the market.



The four of us, plus a couple from Wales, decided on 4 dishes we wanted to learn. Once our guide gave us the rundown on the flavor profiles of each ingredient, he had us try a sweet treat made with rice flour, coconut milk and corn while he collected the spices and vegetables (they had all the meat back at the house).


Back at the house, we began prepping the ingredients for our chosen dishes:
Pad Thai - a popular choice; however, it’s made different depending on where you go in Thailand. Up by Chiang Mai, they cook with water. In southern Thailand, they cook with coconut milk (my fav).
Tom Yum - a hot and sour soup with flavors of lemongrass and lime (delicious, but not my go-to).
Red Curry - the spiciest Thai curry (I opted to make it as mild as possible, because I just wasn’t in the mood to sweat more than I already was & I was waaay too hungry to have to eat my food slowly).
Pad kra Pao - fried basil leaves, chilis, and our choice of meat; a staple in every kitchen, favored for its flavor and convenience (We couldn’t make up our mind on a fourth selection, so we asked our guide for their favorite dish and he chose this one. It ended up being my personal favorite).
We were each given a cutting board, knife, and stove, where we prepped and cooked each dish to our personal liking. The husbands had a competition of matching spice levels when it came to the curry, which they later laughed (and coughed) through as their red faces began producing beads of sweat.




Past the point of bursting, we ended our meal with a one-of-a-kind dessert (the chef claimed that we wouldn’t be able to find this in any restaurant; exclusive to the home of a local):
Made with Nam Wah (smaller and sweeter bananas), sweet coconut milk sauce, sweet corn, and Lod Chong (tapioca pearls with pandan leaf extract). Though we had eaten enough food to last the week, we made space for this sweet treat to end this sweet experience.
And like all good things, our day came to an end. We all said our farewells and see-ya-laters before Cat and Alex hopped on their scooter and we packed the van that drove us back to the hotel.
If there was a party at 4am that night, our food coma made sure we didn’t hear it.
Family! Friends!
I’m so happy you’re here.
There will be many more stories to come and I want to capture it all!
Along with giving you updates on our travel experience, I’m also going to use this platform to journal about thoughts and lessons beyond travel. A little bit like a personal thought log.
But to give myself the space to write with a bit more vulnerability, these thought logs will only be accessible to paying subscribers.
So if you’re into reading about half-baked ideas, thought processes, book reviews, life reflections, etc. from someone who is drawn to character development like a moth is to a flame, they’ll be available very soon. :)
Nevertheless, thanks for being here! Plenty more adventures to come!
Happy December!
Talk soon! x