The wedding was a road trip
1,540 kilometres, north to south, in 12 days
We drove a 2012 Honda Jazz the colour of weak tea, called Nong Cha, from Chiang Mai to a beach in Krabi you can’t reach by road. Six stops. One honest story at each — not the highlight reel. Here’s the whole way down.
Chiang Mai เชียงใหม่
Day 0 · The start · home
The last morning at the studio. The string went on both wrists. They loaded Nong Cha — the tea-coloured Honda that would carry them 1,540 kilometres — stalled it once at the old-city moat, and left before the heat came up.
Jey would not fully translate what her grandmother said. Alex has decided he is fine with that.
“Drive slowly. Feed her properly. That was the whole blessing.”
Sukhothai สุโขทัย
Day 2 · ~300 km south
They reached the old capital at dusk, rented two rattling bicycles, and rode through 700-year-old ruins as the light went orange. A back tyre went flat by the seated Buddha; a monk sweeping the path pointed them, without a word, to a repair stand somehow still open. Fixed for twenty baht.
They stayed an extra hour just to watch it get properly dark.
“We got married to a country older than either of us could imagine.”
Ayutthaya อยุธยา
Day 4 · Riverside
A guesthouse on the river, boat noodles for dinner, temple bells at six whether you wanted them or not. Alex tried to say chan rak thoe — I love you — and produced something much closer to chan rak rot: I love the car.
Jey kept it. Rak rot is now what they call each other. The car has not objected.
“You love the car. You love me.”
Bangkok กรุงเทพฯ
Day 6 · The loud middle
The only city that argued back. Two hours to cross town, a real fight about whether to take the toll road, and a silence that lasted until a rooftop above Chinatown. The truce was made over grilled squid at a street cart at one in the morning.
Every marriage needs one city that fights you. Theirs got it out of the way early.
“We made it up over squid at one in the morning. We always will.”
Khao Sok เขาสก
Day 9 · The quietest night
A floating bungalow on Cheow Lan lake — no road, no wifi, a longtail out and a longtail back. The lake was so still the limestone stood in it twice. Gibbons at 5:40 in the morning, close and completely invisible.
They wrote their vows here, on the deck, back to back, and swore not to show each other until the beach. It is the only night of the trip neither of them has a photograph of the other. They were both writing.
“The only night we have no photo of each other. We were both writing.”
Railay ไร่เลย์
Day 12 · Krabi · the wedding
A longtail to a beach you cannot reach by road, limestone cliffs going straight up out of the sea, low tide at golden hour. Barefoot, the Chiang Mai string still on their wrists, they read the letters they had written on the lake — out loud, for the first time.
Meaw held the camera. A stray beach dog attended the entire ceremony and is in most of the pictures. There was no officiant, no aisle, no guests — and, they will tell you, no part of it they would trade.
“No officiant, no aisle, no guests — and nothing we’d trade.”
And then
On the beach, we read what we’d written on the lake
We wrote them at Khao Sok, back to back, and didn’t show each other until Railay. If there’s one part of the day we wish you’d seen, it’s this one.
Read the vows