September 14 – 28, 2026

A Honeymoon
in Thailand

Eleven nights in Thailand: three on a quiet bay on Koh Phangan, one on Koh Samui, four in the old city of Chiang Mai, and three above the Mekong in the far north, with a last evening in Bangkok before the flight home.

Golden Triangle, Friday morning
Golden Triangle, Friday morning
Gulf Islands· Chiang Mai· Golden Triangle· Bangkok
11nights
5stops
7flights
3cooking classes

Two Days Earlier

It started at a wedding

September 12
Sat12

The twelfth

The honeymoon had a prologue: a ceremony on a lawn, dinner under a tent, and a long night with everyone who made it there. Two days later we were at the airport.

Down the lawn, before the ceremony From the back row The flower girl met a donkey Married The tent, just after sunset Blue hour on the lawn On the dance floor Black tie, late Last ones up

Getting There

Across the world to Bangkok

Two long flights, connecting in Doha
Mon14

Wheels up

An evening departure from the East Coast on the first of the two long legs.

Limbering up for sixteen hours of flying
Tue15

A day spent in the air

Tuesday happened almost entirely above the ground, with a long layover in Doha in the middle of it. Eleven time zones later it was Wednesday morning in Bangkok.

The long middle of the journey, in Doha

Koh Phangan & Koh Samui

The Gulf islands

Three nights at Anantara Rasananda on Thong Nai Pan Noi, then one at Hansar Samui in Bophut
Wed16

Landing on Koh Phangan

A morning flight from Bangkok down to Koh Samui, then a speedboat north across open water to Thong Nai Pan Noi, a curved bay on the island's northeast coast. We were on the sand with a drink in hand by mid-afternoon.

Waiting on the pier for the boat north First look at Thong Nai Pan Noi from the water On the sand within a few hours of landing
Thu17

Up the hill, and then into a kitchen

The morning went inland: a hilltop stupa above the bay, tiled in green mosaic and holding relics brought here from the Golden Mount in Bangkok, then a coconut farm further up, and a family kitchen on stilts where we were shown what to do with a coconut once it is open. Back on the beach by mid-afternoon.

The way up to the stupa White spires above the trees Green mosaic, tile by tile The relics here came from the Golden Mount in Bangkok The whole bay, from above Opening coconuts at the farm Coconut, halved A kitchen on stilts, open on three sides Our host for the morning Back on the beach by mid-afternoon
Fri18

Bottle Beach, and then a cooking class

At twenty to seven in the morning the beach belonged entirely to the dogs. Later we took the trail over the headland to the Bottle Beach viewpoint and down the far side to the beach itself, which you can reach on foot or by boat and no other way. Lunch was at an open-sided place up in the hills on the walk back. The afternoon was a cooking class at the resort: curry paste pounded in a mortar, two burners open to the sea, and coconut sticky rice to finish. It was good enough that it changed the plan for later in the trip.

6:42 in the morning, and the beach belonged to the dogs Low tide, one set of footprints The resident pack, doing their rounds The trail over the headland The viewpoint, with the coast dropping away behind it Scrambling down the far side Bottle Beach, reachable on foot or by boat and no other way A swing, a palm, and not much else Mynahs working the lunch tables The walk back Through the village A spirit house in the trees Palm fronds, loaded Lunch, up in the hills Looking out from the sala Earned The way in Cooking class, everything laid out Two burners, open to the sea Curry paste from scratch Plating Coconut sticky rice to finish
Sat19

Across to Koh Samui

One more sunrise over the bay and a slow morning on it, then the afternoon boat south to Koh Samui and a night in Fisherman's Village, the old wooden shophouse strip along the water in Bophut.

A dog in the shallows at quarter past six Last sunrise over the bay The boats still out One more hour on the lounger

Chiang Mai

The old city of the north

Four nights at 137 Pillars House, a restored teak house near the Ping River
Sun20

North to Chiang Mai

A morning flight from the islands up to the old capital of the Lanna kingdom. There was khao soi, the north's curry noodle soup, within an hour of dropping the bags. The afternoon was the walled old city: temple courtyards, market stalls, a cat asleep on a table, and Wat Chedi Luang, a brick chedi that has been standing since the 14th century and is worth seeing twice, once in gold light and once in blue. After dark the Sunday Walking Street filled the length of the main road. Dessert turned up with a message written on the plate.

Teak, water, and a wall of green The old teak house First khao soi, within the hour Stalls set up outside the temple White elephants in the courtyard A bamboo footbridge, strung with flags Chiang Mai is a city of cats Gold on the gable ends Inside the viharn Wat Chedi Luang, late afternoon The chedi has been standing since the 14th century For scale Lanterns coming on The stairway and its guardians Blue hour Sunday Walking Street, filling up Paintings for sale Dessert arrived with a message The river, lit up
Mon21

The Monk's Trail and Doi Suthep

It had rained hard overnight, which ruled out the muddier options, so we took the Monk's Trail, a forest path marked by saffron cloth tied around the trees, up to Wat Pha Lat and on to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep near the top of the mountain. We came down past the Huay Kaew waterfall and walked out through the arboretum, then went back into the city for khao soi.

Tue22

A cooking school by the North Gate

A class at Zabb E Lee, just outside the old city's north gate, starting with a walk through the market for ingredients and ending with five dishes made and eaten. North Gate Jazz Co-op, which runs an open jam on Tuesday nights, is a few steps from the door.

Dinner, Tuesday night
Wed23

A day with nothing in it

We left Wednesday deliberately empty, which turned out to be one of the better decisions of the trip. It filled itself in: yoga and the morning alms, khao soi, an afternoon of shopping, dinner, and a quiet night.

The Golden Triangle

Where three countries meet

Three nights at Anantara Golden Triangle, on a hillside above the Mekong facing Laos and Myanmar
Thu24

North to the Mekong

Breakfast at a garden bakery, then about four hours north through the mountains, with a stop at Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, where the only way in is across a bridge over a pit of hands reaching up out of the ground. We got to the resort in the afternoon and were upgraded on arrival: a balcony over the valley, an elephant moving through the brush across the water, and the river beyond that.

The White Temple, four hours north of Chiang Mai The bridge across Hands reaching up out of the ground, under the bridge Every surface worked White on white on blue Mirrored glass set into the plaster The far side, looking back The balcony, out over the valley An elephant in the brush across the water Waiting in the room Settled in The pool, the jungle, and the river beyond
Fri25

Walking with elephants

The camp here looks after a herd taken out of street work and logging, through a conservation foundation that also supports the families who came with them. We spent the morning in mahout blues walking with the elephants through the forest. No riding, just keeping pace and getting out of the way.

Walking with the herd Close up Three of them, taking their time Right of way Eye level Saying hello A trunk is a remarkable piece of engineering Down the track together Scratching behind the ear Both hands At the water
Sat26

The cooking class, after all

After the class on Koh Phangan we asked the resort to swap the yoga morning back to its own cooking class, late notice and all, and they found room. It turned into one of the best days of the trip. The local market at seven in the morning, then Ban Wang Lao, a weaving village near Chiang Saen, where we met the village head's wife, had breakfast at their place, and took a turn on her loom. Then the kitchen with Chef MJ: the third cooking class of the trip, and nobody regretted it. A last evening on the hillside, looking out at three countries at once.

Bangkok

The evening that got rained out

No hotel, and in the end no evening either: the monsoon kept us in Chiang Rai until nine at night
Sun27

Grounded in Chiang Rai

The plan was a midday flight to Bangkok and one evening in the city: the river at dusk with Wat Arun lit up across the water, then Yaowarat after dark. The monsoon had other ideas. The flight out of Chiang Rai was held until about nine at night, Bangkok shrank to the inside of its airport, and we made the overnight flight home with almost nothing to spare.

Mon28

Home

An overnight departure from Bangkok, a connection in Doha, and back on the East Coast the same afternoon.

The Route

Where we went

Roughly 1,500 miles between the first beach and the last, most of it covered by boat, van, and a lot of short flights.

The Weather

September in Thailand

September is the tail end of the rainy season, which is exactly why the whole country was as green as it gets. Most days started clear, clouded over through the afternoon, and got a heavy shower that moved on within an hour or two. It rained hard a few nights, including the one before the hike up Doi Suthep, which changed the route but not the plan. On the last day it grounded the flight out of Chiang Rai until nine at night, which is how an evening in Bangkok turned into a sprint for the flight home.

The Gulf islands run on their own schedule and do not get properly wet until late October, so Koh Phangan stayed bright. Waterfalls were full, the temples were quiet, and nothing ever felt crowded.