The Wedding Diaries: Starting the Story in Thailand

So, I thought it was about time to share some news of mine and also to kick start my new series here on the blog. I definitely meant to do this sooner but as always life got in the way and I somehow never found the time. As the title to this blog suggests, last year when Jack and I visited Thailand I was asked a very important question – and here is the story of our engagement in Thailand, brought to you by my lovely fiancé Jack..

I had decided that I was going to propose to Victoria quite a bit before I actually did. In April 2018, we were fortunate enough to visit the Grand Canyon during a spectacular sunset. As we sat there in the cold, watching the sun silently go down behind the canyon, I remember thinking that I should have packed a ring. Nothing could ever have topped this moment for its sheer picturesque landscape, dazzling colours and romanticism.

A good few months before our trip to Thailand, I began planning how I was going to pop the question. Being quite a travel novice, and exceptionally clumsy, I decided not to fork out thousands of pounds for a ring and then take it with us to Bangkok. I had visions of me turning up to our first hotel and realise that the ring had either been lost or stolen. Therefore, I opted to pick a ‘token ring’, a far less-risky way of proposing whilst in Thailand. I had also planned in advance where the proposal would take place. When we had booked the holiday, we had decided to stay at the Devasom in Khao Lak, which allowed couples to have a romantic dinner on the beach. I thought that although it wasn’t quite a sunset at the Grand Canyon, it was a sunset over arguably one of the prettiest places on Earth. With my ring ordered, I then had sufficient time to place my mind at rest and mentally prepare for one of the biggest days of my life.

The day before the holiday, I made sure that I packed my suitcase. This was unheard of in our household as Victoria has a very unique talent of packing as much as you need into even the smallest of hand luggage. I had opted to keep the ring in my carry-on and, like Frodo, did not allow the bag out of my sight for the entire day before the holiday, as well as the journey to the airport. The ring was hidden at the bottom of my bag and was kept from sight by me purposefully packing a small t-shirt and some spare underpants, all hidden in the disguise of ‘in case the suitcase gets lost I want spare clothes’. When we finally reached the airport, all sorts of thoughts went through my head. “What if I get stopped at security and am forced to empty my bag?”, “what if she says no?”, “what if we’re slightly too late for a Spoons’ breakfast and pint?” – the list was endless. And, in a bizarre twist of fate, the first question very nearly did come true. My rucksack was randomly selected to be searched, meaning that I had to quickly ask Victoria to sit on the chairs a good few metres away. If she didn’t smell a rat before, she almost certainly did then. Fortunately, the security guard was roundabout my age, and I distinctively remember explaining the situation to her and she made sure that the ring was kept within the bag. What a legend.

Still guarding the ring like a Hobbit, we then made our way into the airport to tuck into some breakfast. Then, before we knew it, we were on the aeroplane setting off towards the Far East. Whilst Victoria slept and I watched the Simpsons, I remember feeling rather spooked about the whole ordeal. I remember thinking that surely my rouse would be suspected and that Victoria would one day stumble across the ring. But, to quote a rather famous survival professional ‘improvise, adapt, overcome’… And that is exactly what I was going to do. I was going to propose in Bangkok. The only issue was as Bangkok was the part of the trip that least interested me, I had not done a lot of research into it. Victoria had made sure she had that part of the trip sorted, whereas I had more or less arranged Khao Lak for this sole purpose. The only part of Bangkok I knew was Khaosan Road, and I couldn’t exactly do it there, now could I?

Arriving in Bangkok was equally as stressful from a proposal point of view. Due to the large demand of drugs in the country, security was exceptionally tight, and every tenth person was selected to place their bags through a large machine and then were forced to empty all of the contents. Whilst the lady at Heathrow may have been somewhat cooperative, I doubted that these chaps would be. Fortunately for us, we were not some of the selected. Arriving at the Rembrandt after around 24 hours of being awake was spectacular and after a powernap and some exploring of some shopping centres, we opted for a drink at their Sky Bar. When we got up there, I was blown away by the colours of the setting sun across the cityscape. Vibrant pinks and oranges glistened off the skyscrapers and somehow placed a gem of mystic within the view. We were truly in the land of Buddha. I sat there, sipping my manly pink cocktail, and thought that this was the place. This is where I propose; what could possibly go wrong? As it turned out, quite a lot!

The next day, we went on a fantastic tour of Bangkok’s temples, all of which had been planned out by Victoria. She knew exactly which routes to take, meaning that we had no issues whatsoever in finding these tourist hotspots. We even arrived at the Royal Palace early, avoiding all the crowds. Despite this, it was ridiculously hot. With the humidity, it felt that the temperature was easily in the forties, leading to us both developing a rather bad temper. This was not helped by the lack of water which we had taken, or indeed our appetites not quite being where they usually were. For our last stop of the day, we went to MBK, the hotspot for counterfeit goods in Bangkok. Playing a game of ‘how much could you get for a fiver’ cheered us both up a lot and, having had a spectacular day out, we retreated back to the hotel.

Perhaps the hardest part of the mission which I had not anticipated was how on Earth do I get the ring from my bag into my pocket, whilst wearing shorts which would easily revel the location of the ring. I decided that I had to somehow get Victoria into the bathroom and then I could stealthily take the ring out of the box and place it in my rather shallow pockets, which again sent alarm-bells ringing in my head. I decided to suggest to her that she needed a shower due to her being sweaty from the exploration earlier on. Fortunately for me she did not question this, nor bite my head off, and went and had a shower. I then quickly snatched the ring and placed it into my pocket. When she came out of the shower, I then suggested that we went up to the bar to have a drink before hitting up the Mexican restaurant in the hotel (yes, you read that right).

I remember feeling an overall sense of terror as I stepped into the lift. I always recall that I have never really been as scared as that in my life. It wasn’t the commitment, far from it, it was the overwhelming fear that for some bizarre reason she would say no. We then stepped out of the lift and saw that the bar was completely rammed, a very different setting from the day before. I immediately went into a panicked state. I don’t really like people watching me at the best of times, let alone at my most vulnerable. We then were taken to our table and were squeezed in like sardines. Somehow I needed to delay our stay here to get rid of as many people as possible, with the dim hope that more people would not arrive. The ambiance was not quite the same as yesterday. Yes, there were stark colours shining over the streets of Bangkok and just above our heads tiny swifts came to greet us in the evening sun, but this time there were far more people than usual and there was even a musician who was swearing at people nearby for not listening to him. Needless to say, it was far from a typical romantic setting which I had planned. However, remember at the beginning of this story where I said that I feel that an engagement should be unique to each couple? It should somehow identify them like a fingerprint identifies a person. If I had got the proposal spot-on and done it at the Grand Canyon at sunset, or whilst tucking in to a steak on the beach of Khao Lak, it would not have represented us. If anything, it would have been cliché and I would not have a story to tell. So, right then and there, with no overthinking, I instinctively proposed atop a skyscraper in Bangkok. Luckily for me, she said yes.

Here’s a sneak peek at what else we got up to in Thailand:

My Travel Tips and Recommendations

Flights

My usual go-to for booking flights is Skyscanner, the flight search engine. What I love about Skycanner is that you have various options depending on your situation. If you know where you want to go it’s easy – all you need is to search for your destination and dates, and you are provided with all flight options to choose from. If you haven’t decided on your next trip yet, you can use the Everywhere tool for inspiration and to find the cheapest places to fly to.

Accommodation

Whenever I plan my travels Booking.com is my best friend. The website is super easy to use and provides a whole range of accommodation from fancy resorts to budget hotels. Jack and I also regularly use Airbnb – in particular, for staycations in the UK.

Things I can’t travel without

As a travel blogger and keen photographer I never travel without my trusty technology. Always packed are my

Canon EOS M3
GoPro Hero5 Black
I’m also saving for a DJI Mavic Pro

Travel Insurance

It is so important to be prepared for all possibilities when travelling and you simply shouldn’t travel without insurance. When looking for cover I would personally recommend World Nomads or the Post Office – both are affordable and certainly won’t break the bank.

The Wedding Diaries: Starting the Story in Thailand