i wish we had a wedding video

You haaaaaaaave to watch these. They perfectly portray our experience in Thailand, and they are just so beautiful.

Jane & Visnu Teaser from Zach B on Vimeo.

I start tearing up after watching this one...

Jane & Visnu from Zach B on Vimeo.

...and I pretty much bawl when I watch this one. 

Zach did such an amazing job at capturing all the amazing parts of this trip. I love seeing the Thai ceremony again and the dancing at the wedding? Kills me. Visnu and his mom. Jane and her brother. How Jane and Visnu are together? That's exactly how they are in real life.

OMG thank you so much guys, for letting us be a part of something so amazing.

Best wedding ever.



I wish so much that we had something like this from our wedding! But videographers at that time in Utah were just not that great, yet still insanely expensive. Ah well, we do have amazing photos!

to chatuchak market

Chatuchak weekend market!

I didn't even know it existed until Aniyia told me about it, and I'm sooooo glad I went! Aniyia and Marco went super early, but since we all like to sleep in- Mary, Megan and I went around noon. It was super easy to get to, we just took the train. I thought I'd need to learn a few Thai words while we were there, but I didn't. Getting around was so easy!

Oh hey cowboy!

Lots and lots of goodies!

OMG thai banana stand!

We turned into giggling schoolgirls when we saw these bunnies. I looooooove bunnies.

I really want one as a pet, (not from thailand) but Danny isn't convinced that they can be litter trained or get along with cats and plus I am super allergic to them so ok fine.

Sad bun bun.

It was soooooo hot, the animals were clearly overheated, and it was kinda sad. 

OMG so tiny!

And some puppies. You had to be super careful around the dogs- rabies is a huge problem in Thailand. 

They had all kinds of animals for sale- bunnies (with dresses!) puppies, birds and kitties. The kitties were the saddest, they were outside and looked like they desperately needed water. I kinda had to leave that area quickly before I snatched them all away.

I got some great fabric while I was there, along with trinkets and souvenirs. We stayed as long as we could, the heat was unbearable. We even had lunch there- from a cart! I had chicken satay from a cart! It was fabulous. 

The day before, after the temples, Marco, Aniyia, Danny and I went in search of this fabric district I had read about in my travel guide. It said it was amazing, awesome, etc.

It wasn't. It was hard to find, and all they had was sequins and lace. If you are into apparel, then maybe it was a great find, but for me, not so much. Think fancy fabrics for prom and bridesmaids, formal stuff. I didn't get anything. If I had know how awesome the market was, I wouldn't of bothered with the other.

temple day

The next day we got together with our new friends (Mary and Chris! Megan and Moustafa!) and some old ones (Aniyia and Marco!) and went back to the mall for some food. After eating, some of the boys went off to get tailored suits and the rest of us went to see some temples. (I regret not visiting the tailoring place on another day, I could have gotten some seriously amazing custom jeans for next to nothing.)

We took the train to the boat that took us to the Grand Palace.

We're on a boat! Hi!

We got off the boat and made our way to the palace.

It was hot. Over 100 degrees and high humidity.

Wall outside the Grand Palace.

The Palace has some strange/stupid rules. Danny purposefully wore closed toe shoes and I brought a skirt to put over my shorts so that we could get in. They wouldn't let Danny in without pants. They tried to SELL him some pants. So us girls went in to see what how much it was to get in and so forth.

It was like $30 a person, and they were closing in 20 minutes.

So we snapped some shots outside, and left.

It was soooooo nice to meet these new people- also friends of Jane and Visnu, and get along with them so well. Everyone was so down to earth, and go with the flow. We were all grateful for each other- standing in that heat we were all nervously waiting for the other to proclaim "Buuuuut I wanna see it ALL!" And then none of us did and we didn't care and then we all laughed and became best friends.

We walked down the street to Wat Po.

(the temple of the reclining buddha, and a monastery)

And it was filled with amazingness. So many pretty structures, statues, etc. And shade! And free water! And like half the price of the Grand Palace! We felt like we hit the jackpot.

A quiet moment.

The donation bowls.

Handmade silk flowers.

I studied this buddha in school, so it was so incredible to see it in person.

Soooooo long.

On the soles of his feet are these intricate mother of pearl inlays.

Gold everywhere.

Is it just me, or are you thinking what snow would do to these beautiful roofs?

Just me.

Intricate is their jam.

All those tiny glass petals!

This one is my favorite. It was in a little building all by itself.

Seriously, all that tile! Such talent. And patience.

I love these little guys. They tell a story...

...but I don't know it.

Dragon!

I love that someone left flowers in his hands.

Such amazing little details.

Kitty!

I looooove lily pads.

And their pretty flowers.

we flew across the world

It's time to tell you about that time we went to Thailand for Jane and Visnu's wedding extravaganza!

SFO to Tokyo- 10 hours.

I decided that trying to sleep was a great idea. It didn't work, and I missed lunch, meaning I was starving by the time we landed in Tokyo.

It was SO exciting to be in Japan, even if it was only for a few hours in the airport. I REALLY want to go there someday, and I REALLY REALLY want to go there while the cherry blossoms are in bloom.

Danny was so very excited to eat sushi in Japan. 

I however, was looking for something more...

...American?

This was the worst hotdog I have ever had in my life. I had about two bites before I spit it out. Definitely not a costco hotdog. Costco hotdogs are the best!

Tokyo to Bangkok, 7 hours.

I learned very quickly that I don't do well on long flights. I was hungry, tired, and I felt totally crazy. Danny was passed out on my lap in this photo.

I can sleep anywhere, so the fact that I can't sleep on planes drives me crazy. I'm not usually claustrophobic, but on planes I feel like IneedtogetoutofhererightnoworI'mgonnapunchsomeonehelp. I take a lot of bathroom breaks- not to pee but to get away from everyone. 

Finally, just after midnight. My feet and legs were so swollen. I've never had swollen feet before! I was so ready to crash after being awake for more than 24 hours.

The view out our window, that bright pink cab is my fav.

After getting some sleep, I felt great! The time change didn't seem to affect me much- but Danny was pretty tired. 

While in Bangkok we stayed at an apartment we found on Airbnb, it was right around the corner from Jane and Visnu's hotel. We walked over and met everyone for a trip to the uber mall!

The trains in Bangkok were amazing. They were fast, on time, and sooooo clean! They felt luxurious compared to urine smelling BART cars (the underground train that goes across the bay) and homeless filled MUNI cars. 

Note to San Francisco, get with it.

Jane is the best tour guide!

The malls in Bangkok are HUUUUUGGGGGEEEE. In this one there is an entire floor dedicated to electronics, and a Maserati dealership. 

I found it especially hilarious that in the midst of all the newest Apple products, there was this display counter of calculators. 

You can play with the ipad, but don't touch these vintage items.

Super cute desserts filled the food court. We all scattered to find some lunch, and then milled about the mall exchanging money and shopping. 

That evening the girls got together for thai massages and dinner, and the guys met in the hotel bar to drink before going out to the clubs. 

Thai massage. OMG. We all got foot massages for about $7. We sat in overstuffed reclining chairs in a super dark room while petite women worked on our legs and feet for an hour. AN HOUR. Near the end, they had you sit on a stool while they worked on your neck and literally climbed on your back and stuck their knees in your shoulder blades. It's super intense- but it feels so, so relaxing. Trust- if you ever go to Thailand, go to Health Land. They are all over the city.

Then we went to dinner at Cabbages and Condoms. Jane saw it on a travel show, so we went there.

Why condoms? From the restaurants website:

"Our restaurant was conceptualized in part to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and to generate income to support various development activities of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA)"

There were a ton of strange condom sculptures throughout the restaurant, it was odd and kinda gross.

But this pad thai was excellent. The amazing thing about Thai food in America is that it's not all that different from the real thing. So what you eat at home, you'll eat in Thailand. 

I had a lot of pad thai.

We ended the night at the hotel's bar while waiting for the boys to come back. 

The next day was the Thai ceremony!

Visnu is Thai, and a lot of his family and family friends live in Thailand. So they had the Thai ceremony in Bangkok so the family could attend. (the american ceremony was in Phuket a few days later)

They had condensed version (apparently it's very long and boring to non thai people) of a Thai water ceremony. It was awesome. Everyone got up and gave wishes to the couple.

I find it odd that I don't have ANY photos of the actual ceremony. I guess I was being shy? Or didn't want to get in the way of the real photographers?

This cupcake.

That frosting looks great right?

It's unsalted, pink tinted butter. Straight up butter. LOL Thailand!

These tiny purple dumplings were Danny's favorite. I wasn't into them, cold dumplings are creepy.

Jane and Visnu!

Jane's thai dress was soooooo pretty. And Visnu changed out of his traditional garb before I could get a photo. 

They had everyone chilling on their master suite after we ate because there was an election that day, so the hotel couldn't serve liquor during the reception. I snuck a picture of the fancy bed!

Bangkok is know for fancy structures next to dilapidated ones, and our apartment was no exception. This is the outside of our place, and a view of the lot next to us. Yes, people live in those huts, or whatever they are. 

Some crazy power lines. Reminds me of Mexico. Except that it's much lower, crazier and scarier in Mexico.

to be continued!