I’m writing this near the end of two weeks in Bali, surrounded by Matt’s family. This fortnight, coupled with a week in Bangkok for Luke’s wedding and stag do have been almost entirely free of pedalling – a change of pace and even more importantly a big change in levels of social interaction. Having had three and a half months of just each other we have made the most of it…
To avoid an overly long post (again), this post is all about our time in Bangkok and there will be a separate Bali one coming soon.
Our week in Bangkok was fab – a one off experience we’ll probably never have again. If you were expecting juicy gossip on what went down at the stag do I’m afraid I will disappoint as I don’t actually know! But here are a few choice pics that Matt has shared which give a flavour of proceedings.
Suffice to say that everyone had a really good time, despite losing each other on occasion, fighting the Bangkok traffic in taxis, nearly everyone being beaten by Matt in golf (who knew?) and of course enjoying lots of drinks and banter. On his return after two nights he was just a teeny tiny bit tired – those of the group who had an extra night before the official ‘do’ followed by (many) more nights after need a medal for endurance drinking and sleep deprivation!
I enjoyed a lovely evening out with Celine and Jess on the Monday night including our first rooftop bar. This became a bit of a theme for the week as we managed to enjoy a few cocktails with stunning views. It was so so good to spend time with two other women – a lovely change. So much chatting in fact that I didn’t take a single photo (this is what happens when the official photographer isn’t in tow).
We had another night out on the Wednesday with Paul, Celine, Jess and Alex (also involving a rooftop) and a couple of speakeasy type bars which seem to be the current fad in Bangkok. Both couples were having a week away from their lovely children for the first time – an opportunity to make the most of late nights and time together (although I know both couples really missed their kids).
The wedding itself was like no wedding we’ve ever been to before! Luke and Jiji were an incredibly glamorous happy couple, and hosted us at a beautiful venue which doubles as a film and photography studio, about 30 minutes from the centre of Bangkok. We spent the day surrounded by beautiful flowers, admiring the pre-wedding photos of the happy couple (a Thai tradition), drinking copious amounts of champagne and posing in a few photos ourselves (we left most of these to the bride and groom) before enjoying a delicious five course Thai banquet.
Things really got going after dinner with a smoke machine and proper stage lighting accompanying the cake cutting and then to all of our amazement a choreographed (first) dance routine.
I say to our amazement as I don’t think any of Luke’s friends knew he had been learning how to dance – a wonderful gift to his new wife. We all jumped onto the dance floor soon after and apart from the throwing of the bouquet (caught by Gaz!) and a short mini bus ride accompanied by beers to our second venue, another rooftop bar, we enjoyed partying the night away!
Saying goodbye to everyone at 2am we both got a bit of a pang of sadness – we’d so loved seeing everyone.
It also felt like a significant week for another reason. Since coming to the end of our fertility journey we have been very open with friends about what has happened, and to an extent, how we feel about it (including via this blog). I had had a very slight apprehension about seeing a big group of friends, the vast majority of whom have young children (as we would have done) and how this would feel – both hearing about everyone’s offspring (which I really want to) and maybe being asked about how we are.
As it turned out it was fine – but also better than fine at the same time. Whilst we’re still feeling sad, when asked about how things are, I think I held it together. Whilst I felt the absence of our own children I really did enjoy hearing about everyone else’s, without feelings of jealousy creeping in. And whilst we felt a bit different (probably mainly because we were the ones on the mad cycling trip, which even got a mention in the groom’s speech!) – this didn’t feel like bad different. Just different.
Despite the busy-ness of the week we did manage some time to talk about this stuff through the hangovers and as we explored Bangkok a bit. Just wandering around (endless and numerous) shopping malls, galleries, Jim Thompson’s house, enjoying coffees and just being in an energy filled big city on the other side of the world together gave us both lots of energy.
This adventure is pretty flippin’ awesome and despite the copious amounts of moaning through the hangovers/tiredness – there’s no one I would rather be here with 🙂
P.S… If anyone is wondering about Matt’s suit, yes it’s pink and yes I think he looks fabulous! He is happy to receive further feedback below…
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