Hello fellow travellers, readers, family, friends, and other intrepid souls: Did you miss me? Well, fear not: The blog is back, baby!

It's been a long two and a half years since COVID turned our world upside down. During that time, a lot has changed. This amazing world of ours has been revealed to be, in many ways, decidedly less than amazing. Closed borders predictably led to closed minds. The rise of neo-fascism, xenophobia, outright racist attacks, and the seeming end of belief in science or compassion or caring for the vulnerable has made me lose a lot of the faith I used to have in people as fundamentally good and decent. In the time we've been shielding and trying to avoid catching this virus, I've also admittedly lost something of my desire to go out into the world and explore it.

In this time, my life has changed significantly, too. I went from being single to married, from being an office 9-to-5er (actually usually longer hours than that) to a permanent work-from-homer, and from a night owl who was always on the go to, well, let's face it, a homebody who's usually in pyjamas watching Jeopardy by 7pm. During these past couple of years, I've gone from hitting the pause button to wait for life to resume, to finally acknowledging that life as we knew it isn't coming back.

So, what now? Do I stay locked down at home forever? Hell no. At the back of my mind I'm still fundamentally a traveller, curious about the world and, despite everything, convinced that behind the headlines and the haters who scream the loudest, there are still mostly good, kind people and fascinating places in the world. However, 2019 isn't coming back and the carefree freedom with which I used to buy a ticket and set out on an adventure isn't returning anytime soon, either. We've had to find new ways to see the world in a way that balances risk and reward. How can we, given all our pandemic restrictions, actually manage to get back out there?

Ryan and I tested the waters last fall with a road trip to Eastern Canada, and just this past spring with our long-postponed Scandinavia trip. We learned a lot about how to travel in as low-risk a manner as possible, and we're ready to put these learnings to the test in some more adventurous destinations. With some preparation, some self-imposed safety rules, a good supply of masks, and hopefully a whole lot of luck, we're ready to take on our next challenge: Southeast Asia.

This trip will be our first since our wedding two months ago. So I suppose that technically makes it our honeymoon. But what is, after all, a honeymoon, other than a trip that a couple takes after getting married? What exactly distinguishes it from, say, a trip taken before a wedding? Or one we'll take next year? I'm not exactly sure. 

From Hollywood's depiction of the honeymoon, I get the sense it's supposed to involve a fancy resort on a beach somewhere, drinks with little umbrellas in them, and a whole lot of doing nothing. But, well, you guys have met me, right? Did anyone really think that was going to happen? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Instead, Ryan and I will be strapping on our backpacks and heading halfway across the globe, to the backpacker epicentre of Southeast Asia, more specifically, Thailand, with side trips to Cambodia and Laos.

Despite having visited Vietnam in 2012 and Singapore briefly in 2006, I somehow, in all my years of travel, have yet to visit most of Southeast Asia. Thailand ranks up among the world's most visited tourism countries; in fact, in 2019 (the last year pre-pandemic), it received nearly 40 million tourists, ranking 8th in the world, just below Mexico and ahead of Germany and the UK. It's often the first destination that young, starry-eyed backpackers set out to explore, drawn by low prices, a relaxed atmosphere, and a bustling tourism scene. In fact, before the pandemic, Thailand's biggest problem was probably over-tourism, especially tourists behaving badly. Finding the right balance for sustainable travel in Thailand has been an enormous challenge.

Neighbouring Cambodia and Laos get far fewer tourists; Cambodia has Angkor Wat as a big draw and received 6.6 million tourists in 2019, but the pandemic took its toll and fewer than 200,000 people visited in 2021. Its tourist numbers are starting to rebound, reportedly up 860% from last year, but still nowhere near pre-COVID numbers. Laos, which received 4.7 million tourists in 2019, is often-overlooked by backpackers and is still one of the few remaining countries in the world where it's possible to get off the beaten track somewhat. It, too, was extremely hard-hit by both the pandemic, and by rising fuel costs and the Chinese border closure. It only reopened its doors to tourists in May, and much of its tourist infrastructure is still only starting to get back on its feet. But even so, Southeast Asia is and always has been a huge draw for travellers.

The fact that I've never been to what's considered a backpacker rite of passage destination is probably just a coincidence. When I was young enough for that scene, I was busy visiting other regions, and by the time I got around to it, my days of being interested in full moon parties or the dubious charms of Khao San Road were definitely behind me. I'm also notoriously heat- and humidity-averse, which probably contributed to my avoidance of the region until now.

So why choose it as our honeymoon destination? Well, why not? If a honeymoon is just the first trip a couple happens to take after marriage, this one was next on the list. More specifically, I can't wait to see cities, temples, beautiful islands, history, and eat all the amazing food. Angkor Wat has ranked up there among my must-see bucket list destinations for ages, and I'm incredibly excited to see it. The heat and humidity, while not my favourite things, will be far easier to bear now that I'm old enough to afford slightly more upscale accommodations with air conditioning. Given our pandemic concerns, a hot country in winter made sense, too; we can mostly eat meals and sightsee outdoors, and it doesn't hurt that there's been a culture of mask-wearing in that part of the world that far pre-dates COVID.

But mostly, I'm excited to go there for the same reason as I've been excited to see everywhere else I've ever been to: Because it's there. Just because I didn't make it there in my early 20s doesn't mean I can't travel there in my early 40s, right? Better late than never.

As for Ryan, this will be his first foray out of North America or Europe. He's looking forward to temples, noodle soups for breakfast, a reasonable amount of culture shock, and of course, elephants. He's very excited about the elephants. (Note: If you are planning to travel to Southeast Asia and visit elephants, there will be lots more content on this blog about the ethical implications; stay tuned.)

As with most Sari travel, you can expect to see us move at a fast pace to soak up everything we can possibly see in the short amount of time available to us. From the modern highrises and chaos of Bangkok, to monks and temples in Luang Prabang, to the epic ancient kingdom of Angkor Wat, we're planning a loop around the region via planes, trains, buses, taxis, tuk-tuks, songthaws, riverboats, and maybe even a motorbike if I can work up the nerve.

And we're even planning on wrapping up the trip with a few nights at a beach resort. Because apparently that's what you're supposed to do on a honeymoon. Or something.

With only a week and a half 'til departure date, this weekend was all about packing. 

I prefer to travel carry-on only at the best of times, and I've been slowly teaching Ryan all my tips and tricks. These days, with airport staff shortages and baggage handling chaos, checking a bag would be sheer madness, which is all the more reason to limit what we carry.

The good news is, travelling light in Southeast Asia is pretty easy. It's hot, it's humid, cheap laundry is easy to find, and most anything you forget can be easily purchased there. The more challenging part comes from the fact that we'll be not only leaving Canada in mid-December, but also stopping over for two days in Paris on our way home in January. That means that we'll need clothes to go from Bangkok's 35-degree heat to Paris's freezing cold temperatures, all in a carry-on sized bag. Layering is definitely going to be our friend.

Adding to the challenge is the fact that our itinerary in Southeast Asia includes several internal flights on budget ultra low-cost carriers, which have even more restrictive hand luggage policies than the mainline carriers. While Air France allows us 12kg of hand luggage each, Air Asia limits passengers to just 7kg. 

Ryan needs to travel with a fair amount of medication, and I typically bring this laptop for blogging purposes. So, right off the bat, the 7kg limit was always going to be a non-starter. We settled for keeping our bags under 12kg, paying an extra fee for additional hand luggage on the low-cost carriers, and conceding that we may have to check a bag somewhere along the way.

Now we just need to resist the temptation to shop too much in Bangkok. From what I hear about the shopping there, that could be a challenge.

So the blog is back, baby. We leave in ten days. Watch this space if you'd like to follow along.

As usual, I'll do my best to relate the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the trip, and to convey our experiences so you can share in the adventure.

And hey, if you don't hear from us for a couple of days, we might just be enjoying some alone time. It is, after all, our honeymoon.