WE ALL LOVE A HOLIDAY.

Bayu and I love our holidays.

We haven’t had too many of them over the past few years. Covid and work commitments curtailed fun adventure, but now that I’m back home in Bali to share the workload we’re making up for lost time.

Thailand was an easy choice for our first escape. We’ve been there many times over the years, love the food, markets, walking and adventures in the land of smiles, so we booked the holiday. On the 3rd June, 2023, we left our Ubud home at 3:30am for the Ngurah Rai Airport to catch our 7am flight to Bangkok. The cheapest flight always seem to depart at ridiculously early times.

Walk more, eat less.

This was to be our holiday theme. Somehow over the past couple of years I’ve got out of the habit of walking. I needed encouragement to reform the walking habit, so Bayu downloaded a step counter app to my phone. I entered my age, weight and this app determined I should do 6,000 steps a day for better health. Thailand offered me 14 days to reboot my walking habit. Opportunities to stretch my legs abounded at the Chatuchak weekend markets in Bangkok, the night markets and weekend markets in Chiang Mai, visits to art galleries, bookshops, palaces, temples and of course restaurants. We walked and walked and I exceeded my step target every day.

And the food.

We love Thai food and in the past, have taken many cooking classes while holidaying in Thailand. We didn’t bother this time and were more than satisfied to eat Thai food a couple of times a day. My favourite is Pad Thai and Bayu’s is glass noodle salad with seafood, but of course, we tried everything. Unsurprisingly, I returned to Bali a kilo heavier than when I left. So much for the eat less promise of my “Walk more, eat less,” plan. Never mind – I have the rest of the year to strip off some weight.

Cabaret drag shows.

Thailand is the home of great cabaret drag shows and we went to the 6ixcret show in Chiang Mai and Calypso in Bangkok. Both were professional extravaganzas and no doubt, we’ll go again on our next trip. These shows may not be for everyone, but we love them.

Massages everyday.

I was hooked on full body massages and used to have them at least once a week from the time I arrived in Bali is 1999. This practice changed in 2019, when my cancerous bladder was removed and I was replumbed with a stoma and urostomy bag. This surgery restored my health, but I no longer felt comfortable stripping to have full body massages. I missed the human touch and healing offered by massage, so decided to try seated foot, leg, head and shoulder massages in Thailand. Everyday we found a spa and I succumbed to the bliss of massage. This form of massage will once again be a part of my life back in Bali.

And the special highlights.

No trip to Chiang Mai is complete without a dinner cruise on the Ping river. We’ve done this every time we’ve stayed in Chiang Mai and this time was no exception. For 90 minutes we floated on the Ping river, eating great Thai food, enjoying the twinkle of night lights as we passed and chatting about the adventures of the day. Next time, I think we’ll do it twice instead of once. Why not?

And then it was over.

On the 17th June, we flew home to Bali, recharged and ready to get on with the life we love. We’ve been home 4 days and haven’t discussed our next trip, so Thailand sated our travel needs for the moment. But, I know new adventures are not too far off. I wonder where we’ll visit next.

Tags: #Bangkok, #Chiang Mai, #holidays, #Thailand