Wat Arun glowing across Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River at sunset

TANA & MARVIN’S TRAVEL JOURNAL

Miles
Together

Places fade into photographs. The meals, the laughter, and the people become the story.

Begin in Bangkok
01THAILAND
JULY 2026

JOURNAL NO. 01

Thailand
& Japan

JULY 2026BANGKOK → TOKYO

Our first big journey together: two countries, Tana’s family, unforgettable food, sacred places, crowded streets, and a world that felt both new and strangely like home.

JUL 03

Bangkok

The city begins

Arrival at Tana’s home in Silom—the first page of a long-awaited journey.

JUL 04

Yaowarat · Talat Noi

Family, clocks & Chinatown

A joyful first meeting inside Grandmother’s clock shop, with street food arriving faster than we could finish it.

JUL 05

Old Bangkok

Temples by local bus

The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, steep steps at Wat Arun, and green curry across the river with Tana’s parents.

JUL 05

Victory Monument

Bangkok after dark

An infinity-pool pause, then jazz and friends at Saxophone Pub.

BANGKOK IN DETAILS

The city
between plans

The small scenes that made Bangkok feel alive: neighborhood streets, river traffic, market stops, temple gold, and flashes of green in the middle of the city.

Cruise boats moored along the Chao Phraya River
Along the Chao Phraya
A colorful Bangkok street beneath a web of utility lines
Everyday Bangkok
Sunflowers growing beside a Bangkok neighborhood wall
Sunflowers in the city
Golden seated Buddha inside an ornate Bangkok temple
Temple light
Orange long-tail passenger boat crossing the river
River rhythm
Street vendor opening fresh coconuts in Bangkok
A cool stop in the heat
Airy Bangkok café with fabric draped overhead
A pause from the streets
Narrow Bangkok lane with a food cart and motorcycles
Down the side streets
Bangkok skyline viewed across the Chao Phraya River
Across the water

JULY 4 · YAOWARAT

Tana leads
the way.

Temples, new tastes, a little shopping, and Chinatown growing brighter and louder as evening arrived.

Visitors seated before a golden Buddha inside the temple
Quiet moments inside the temple
Tana holding a quilted black bag while shopping in Bangkok
A find for Tana
Crowds and colorful signs along Yaowarat Road at night
Yaowarat comes alive
Crisp roti pieces drizzled with condensed milk
Sweet roti to share
Fresh custard apple opened by hand at the table
What Tana made me try
Bowl of wide rice noodles with pork beside coffee and a strawberry pastry
A Bangkok breakfast
A packed sidewalk beside food stalls in Yaowarat
Crazy, vibrant, energetic—and exciting
Night traffic and glowing signs filling Yaowarat Road
Neon, traffic & the pulse of Chinatown

THREE MOVING MEMORIES

Press play.

Temple details
A first taste
Shopping with Tana

JULY 5 · THE GRAND PALACE

Gold beneath
stormy skies.

With Tana’s parents, we crossed old Bangkok by local bus and stepped into the extraordinary courtyards of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew.

Ornate palace roofs and a tall spire beneath a cloudy Bangkok sky
First look inside the palace grounds
Gilded columns and layered roofs at the Grand Palace
Every surface tells a story
A small ornate pavilion in a busy Grand Palace courtyard
Between the temple halls
Visitors walking toward a decorated gate in the Grand Palace complex
A grand path through the complex
Colorful giant guardian statues standing in the Grand Palace complex
Guardians of Wat Phra Kaew
Gold-trimmed temple architecture inside the Grand Palace
Gold, mosaic & impossible detail

THE PALACE IN MOTION

Walk with us.

Arriving along the palace walls
Gardens, roofs & spires
Through the courtyard

THE ROUTE · JULY 3–29

01

Bangkok

Silom · Yaowarat · the river · family

02

Beyond the city

Ayutthaya · Chonburi coast · ancient places

03

Tokyo

Asakusa · Ueno · Tsukiji · evening walks

04

Day journeys

Hakone · Yokohama · Kamakura · Fuji

MEETING THE FAMILY

Finding a place inside the conversation.

In Chinatown, the shop filled with family, food, quick Thai conversation, and affection. Even when Marvin could not follow every word, the welcome was unmistakable. Tana had planned for hours; everyone kept feeding him. Yaowarat felt vibrant, energetic, exciting—and safe.

WHAT WE TASTED

Food is part
of the map.

“The green curry overlooking Wat Arun became one of those meals we will always be able to return to.”

01 Green curry by the river

02 Yaowarat street-food feast

03 Family favorites, chosen by Tana

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

Tokyo & Yokohama

Coming next in Journal No. 01