My Thailand Budget Travel part 2

My Thailand Budget Travel

Thailand Trip Day 11 

 

Day 11 : After settle down, today early morning I start to explore this beautiful old town city Chiang Mai. Take Tha Pae Gate as base direction, I headed to north and south direction until I see another moat gate of Chiang Mai old city at each direction.

If you walk slowly, each direction to another moat gate takes you about 30 minutes. On the way there are few small lane on the left and right of the main road flourishing with coffee shops, guesthouses, tour packages agencies, massage shops, local residence houses, stalls selling foods and drinks, and Wat (temple).

To mentioned too, local food here are ranging from 25 baht to 50 baht and the drinks are ranging from 15 baht to 35 baht. For the coffee shops that built along the central Chiang Mai targeted to tourists, the food prices range from 60 baht to 250 baht and above and the coffee drinks prices range from 45 baht and above. In addition, cross the road of Tha Pae Gate do have international fast food chain shop – Mc Donald and Starbucks. Local foods here are quite small portion per dishes.

Day 12 : Wake up early morning, I start to explore towards east and west direction of Tha Pae Gate. Walk eastward takes me to famous market, Warorot Market and Ton Lam Yai Market. These 2 market is combination of wet market and dry market and do have stalls selling clothes, handicraft, and foods. The chestnuts (500 gram for 180 baht) here is very fragrance and crunchy, highly recommended. Both markets occupy quite large scale of spaces. There are a lot of other shops and goldsmith shops in this area.

When I arrive here at 7 am, Warorot Market and Ton Lam Yai Market are just open, but some stalls selling clothes and handicraft are not opened yet, and the besides shophouses are not open shops yet. The rest of the shops and stalls here opened at 9 am.

Opposite road of these 2 markets is Chiang Mai old city famous Night Bazaar. It starts operate every night from 7 pm until 1 am midnight. Night Bazaar gathers many western and Asian tourists especially those who are stay at star hotels. Few with stars big hotels are operated here. It has a lot of stalls open stretch along the shops and Anusarn Market (night market). Anusarn market does have stage performing Thailand traditional dance and besides of it is eateries food court. The journey to Warorot Market, Ton Lam Yai Market, Night Bazaar take around 20 minutes from Tha Pae Gate.

Afternoon I walk westward to Wat Phra Singh. Wat Phra Singh is a famous and big temple inside Chiang Mai old city precinct, together with Wat Chedi Luang. Both Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang attract tourist buses bring in tourist to visit these over few hundreds years historical temple. Wat Phra Singh do have 700 years of history. 

On Sunday, Sunday Market is operated here stretching along the road from Wat Phra Singh to Tha Pae Gate. It takes 20 minutes to walk from Tha Pae Gate to Wat Phra Singh. If you like to stroll night market and buying, it might take you more than 3 hours to walk along the Sunday Market. Always bargain before you buy, normally around 20% of selling price. However, some minor stalls don’t let you bargain. Sunday Market is the most famous market in Chiang Mai and has the most local people coming here.

Thailand Trip Day 15 

Day 15 – Day 16 : Today is a great day. I get acquaintance to 2 pretty tourists came from Chong Qing province of China whom have become teacher in exchange to Bangkok and Sukhodai  to teach Chinese for 1 year in Thailand local school. Taking chance of school holiday now, they are travel around to Chiang Mai, Pai, Koh Samui, Phuket, and then Singapore. It is most precious moment and memory for a backpacker knowing other backpacker in the journey, sharing same interest and difference experiences.

We go to famous Night Bazaar and Sunday Market together. These large scale night markets are really suitable for travelers to walk around and see this country culture based on the foods, local people, traditional clothes, handicraft, souvenirs, arts, wooden carving arts, and music dance performing. I think lady will definitely like here for all the clothes, bags, scarf, and souvenir stuffs. 3 hours is really too short for us to hang around at Sunday Market (start to close after 11pm).

Before going to Sunday Market, we are having our dinner at Chiang Mai largest hot pot venue at Sukhontha Buffet. It is the largest hot pot venue I ever seen, which occupies large space of area. It contains more than hundred of tables. In Chinese word, it is called thousand people buffet.

If you want to try different kinds of Thailand foods, come to Sukhontha Buffet. Sukhontha Buffet have every types of Thailand foods you look for, ranging from raw hot pot dishes, cooked Thailand foods ready to served, dim sum, drinks, fruits, cookies, salad, donut, and cakes. Their hot pot is a round dome hot pot with middle round dome shape used for grill and surrounded by narrow round hot water filled area used to boil dishes.

Sukhontha Buffet is really worth to try. It only charges 210 baht per person. Besides that, it has stage that performs the local music and some funny shows. It is really funny, really.

Chen Jun, Jian Li and Xiao Kui are the friend that I met and known in the journey of 3 months meditation and chanting. Although the time together is short, these are really precious friendship and will remain in my memory for long lasting. I wishes all the best to them and followed by peace, happiness, stay health and blessed in their life.

Thailand Trip Day 17 

Day 17 – Day 30 : Entering meditation mode again. Now I am able to meditate for 1 hour for each walking meditation and sitting meditation. Of course there still have distraction thinking flow through my mind. Applying mindfulness of the thinking, and let it go.

For my daily meals, I eat vegetable powder brought from Singapore, a glass of milk, and some chestnut and dry longan for my breakfast. For lunch I eat beef noodle soup (35 baht), and a glass of milk, some chestnut and dry longan, banana, apple, tomato and small portion of carrot for my dinner. Rice and meat will lead to yawning and feel sleepy when doing sitting meditation.

For the 20 days of stay at Chiang Mai old city, I observed and realized that there are 70% of tourists are westerner and 30% of tourists are Asian. 98% of Asian tourists are China people. I observe that 70% of China tourists are pure female group like single 1 person, 2 people, 3 people and 4 people. It look like China people more willing to travel to more rural and less develop countryside for its nature scenery views, historical sites and local tribes culture and lifestyles than any other Asian country. Also, China female is more independence and more willing to embrace to these kinds of travel sites.

Tips : Laundry (wash and dry using machine, 7 kg) – 80 baht,

Bicycle rental : 50 baht per day, Motorbike rental : 250 baht per day

7 Eleven / Bank / Money exchange / Pharmacy / Guesthouses / Coffee shops / Songthaew can be found at everywhere of Chiang Mai Old City.

Update of Wat Rampoeng :

At Wat Rampoeng, I wake up at 3.40 am and 4 am start to meditate. 6 am the bell ring for breakfast. 

After breakfast, meditator go back to own room take a short break, and sweeping the courtyard leaves then continue meditation. 10.30am will ring bell for lunch. After lunch, meditator will go back to sweep own room, bath and then continue meditate. For the meals, there are vegetarian meals and meat meals for meditator to choose. The meals are prepared by central kitchen. Before we eat, we will chant first with meaning of consciousness of the purpose we having the meals. After that we will eat slowly and mindfully. We wash our own plate after eat. No foods are allowed after midday. However, liquid drinks like milk are allowed whole day. You can buy milk at temple shop. At 5pm to 6pm, Wat Rampoeng does prepare high sugar drinks for meditator. In monastery, all eating and drinking must be in sitting position, absolutely no stand / walk while eat or drinks.

Every 7am to 7.30am, there will have Buddha devotees bring the foods and drinks to Wat Rampoeng and queue up in a row to offer to monks. The monks will queue up and attend to each of the devotees to accept the alms foods.

For the first day in Wat Rampoeng, I meditate for 8 hours, started with 15 minutes for each walking meditation and sitting meditation in rotation. For the second days meditate up to 9 hours with 20 minutes walking meditation and sitting meditation in rotation. The consequences 3 days I meditate for 10 hours per day with 25 minutes and 30 minutes for each walking meditation and sitting meditation until my leaving.

The goal of Wat Rampoeng Insight Meditation is to gain a clear, complete understanding of the three obvious characteristics: Impermanence, Suffering and Non-Self. Having gained an insight into the three characteristics, the meditator realized that everything in this world is transient, subject to suffering and uncontrollable. Thus the mind abandons the desire to acquire, to have and to be.