“This is my first time in Thailand and my companion and I have been planning this long trip since the beginning of this year. The main reason for the trip is the Yi Peng sky lantern festival in Chiang Mai city. Because we have a lot of time for the trip, I also planned a trip to Northwest Thailand,” Minh Duc said.
Going abroad for the first time, Hoang Minh Duc (currently living and working in Da Lat) chose the land of golden temples, Thailand, as the destination to experience a new culture from a country other than Vietnam.
11 days "anniversary is journey"
Minh Duc carefully prepared for the 11-day trip, considering the places he would stop in advance, so he did not encounter many difficulties. He spent 5 days leisurely exploring Chiang Mai, with the most prominent activity being the Yi Peng sky lantern festival. The remaining 6 days were spent touring the northwestern provinces of Thailand.
On the first day, the 9x guy departed from Saigon to Chiang Mai. That evening, he visited Lamphun - another province south of Chiang Mai, about 45 km away. Here, he had the opportunity to admire Wat Phra That Haripunchai, a colorful temple made of wishing lamps, a part of the culture of the ancient Lanna country.
Wat Phra That Haripunchai, a part of ancient Lanna culture.
Wishing lanterns
The White Temple, the Blue Temple and Chiang Rai Night Market are the next destinations on the journey. The two temples with impressive architecture are considered the destinations chosen by many international tourists when coming to Chiang Rai. “I was impressed with the night market, no trash, no noise pollution. Chiang Rai Night Market or other night markets that I experienced in Thailand all have in common that they are 'very clean'. From tourists to locals, everyone is conscious of protecting the environment: there is no trash on the street, trash cans are placed in many places in the market area and there is no noise pollution even though there are many people…”, Minh Duc said.
White Temple
Blue Temple
Chiang Rai Night Bazaar
On the third day, Minh Duc traveled from Chiang Rai to Mae Kampong - an ancient village nearly 100 years old near Chiang Mai city. The village was built in the middle of a valley, surrounded by mountains. The houses were built next to a stream and the climate here has a much lower temperature than Chiang Mai city.
Mae Kampong - an ancient village nearly 100 years old near Chiang Mai city.
One of the events that Minh Duc looked forward to the most during the trip was Yi Peng, a festival with thousands of paper lanterns released into the sky. In particular, the lanterns were decorated with text messages, which were prayers and blessings. “A note for those who intend to attend the festival next year is to book tickets early. The big festival attracts many tourists from all over the world, so festival tickets will also be sold out very early. I booked tickets in March and at that time there was information that the tickets were almost sold out,” Minh Duc confided.
Yi Peng Festival with thousands of paper lanterns released into the sky
The next stop after Yi Peng festival, Minh Duc chose Mae U Kho, a commune in Mae Hong Son province. November is also a good time to enjoy Thung Bua Tong wild sunflower hill. According to him, there are only tourist services during the blooming season so the quality and activities are not much, the cost is also quite high compared to the Thai tourism market in general.
Ban Rak Thai is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Thailand. It is famous for its Chinese-style houses nestled among green tea hills. On foggy and cloudy days, this place is as beautiful as a fairyland that makes visitors' hearts flutter. Minh Duc suggests that you can enjoy tea on a boat, eat hot pot and grilled food with a strong Yunnan flavor on the banks of Khuean Nai Mok Lake.
Thung Bua Tong Wild Sunflower Hill
Ban Rak Thai is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Thailand.
The 9x guy stopped at Ban Jabo before traveling to the tourist-developed city of Pai. This is a small land in Mae Hong Son, home to a few La Hu ethnic households. Enjoying a "50 baht bowl of noodles but with a million dollar view" is considered an experience not to be missed in this peaceful land.
Talking to Travellive, Minh Duc said: “For me, Pai doesn’t have much to explore, besides cafes, a few famous places and a ‘Pai Canyon’. Yet Pai impressed me with its atmosphere. A gentle, friendly town. Pai is very attractive because of the vibe of this town itself. For a ‘lazy traveler’ like me, a morning sitting in a corner of a cafe enjoying the gentle atmosphere is enough. Perhaps that’s why Pai is popular with international tourists, especially those from the West.”
Ban Jabo Rest Stop
Pai attracts tourists by its strangely peaceful beauty.
During his 11 days traveling to the land of golden temples, Minh Duc was particularly impressed with Thailand's traffic culture. He was surprised by the lack of car horns. Thai people do not change lanes suddenly, stop at intersections with priority lanes, stop before the stop line, and do not honk at red lights. "Here, people drive very slowly, giving way to others in any situation," he recounted.
Irresistible Thai cuisine
Besides enjoying the scenery, cuisine is also considered a way to attract tourists when traveling to Thailand. During 11 leisurely days in the Northwest region, Minh Duc had the opportunity to enjoy some local specialties such as mango sticky rice, khao soi, kaeng hang lei (braised pork curry), sai oua (Chiang Mai sausage) and pad thai...
Enjoy Thai cuisine
“Khao soi is a very popular dish for tourists in Northern Thailand. The bright yellow noodles combined with the fragrant coconut curry, the sourness of lime and the spiciness of chili will attract tourists from the first bite. Kaeng hang lei is probably one of the spiciest curries in Thailand. Pork curry in Northern Thailand has a mild sweetness of tomatoes and a few spices such as chili, ginger, turmeric, tamarind, garlic. The flavor of this dish is very suitable for tourists who like spicy food,” Minh Duc expressed.
All experiences of traveling to Thailand
Although it was his first trip abroad, Minh Duc did not encounter any difficulties or obstacles in a strange land. According to him, it is necessary to research carefully and plan an itinerary, such as booking plane tickets, hotels, and a relatively planned itinerary...
The cost of traveling to Thailand is quite cheap.
The cost of traveling to Thailand is quite cheap, even a little cheaper than traveling domestically in terms of food and hotels. "This trip I spent quite comfortably with the food spending of about 1000 baht/day, but still had some left over. Hotels are about 600 - 1800 baht depending on the place. For example, Mae Kampong and Ban Rak Thai are two places with slightly higher room rates than the rest, about 1200 - 1800 baht/night", Minh Duc said.
Tourists can absolutely use English to communicate in Thailand. If you do not know English, you can use body language or google translate to communicate relatively.
Tourists can communicate in English in Thailand.
Minh Duc chose a motorbike to leisurely travel on the roads during his time traveling to Thailand. He shared that when arriving in Chiang Mai city, you can easily find a motorbike to rent, through the google maps application or Chiang Mai travel groups on Facebook. The rental price is about 200-250 baht/day for small 115cc motorbikes, but this type of motorbike should only be used in the city. For 150-160cc motorbikes like Click or PCX, the price will be from 400-500 baht/day. On this trip, he used a 150cc Click with a rental price of 400 baht/day, depending on the place, a deposit of 2000 - 4000 baht will be required.
