Free Travel in Thailand - Encountering the Roses of Northern Thailand Again

This trip to Thailand is my third time. The first time I went there in 2016 was a semi-independent tour with a group tour. I left Thailand, crossed to Laos and returned to Thailand, so counting the number of entries, it was already my fourth time. Entered the country. I didn’t originally plan to go to Thailand this time, and I just went there once in March this year, so the time between my next trip after half a year was too short. Initially I just wanted to go to Indonesia. I looked at the price of a direct flight from China to Jakarta. It seemed to be about the same price as a flight from Bangkok with a layover and then to Jakarta. Rather than doing this, it is better to go to Thailand again and visit all the places I didn’t go to last time. It just so happened that many people in my family had never been to Thailand, so I decided to lead a group on a free trip to Thailand.

I remember the first time I went to Thailand on a semi-independent tour with an outdoor tour group in 2016. The tour guide was an alumnus of the same class as me at Zhengzhou University. After graduating from the School of Economics and Management, my buddy switched careers and became a tour guide in a travel agency. After this guy translated the Thai word "The Big Palace" into "The Big Palace", I felt that the level of this guy who was Level 6 in English was not much different from my senior who just passed Level 4. It seemed like I could travel freely. It's not as difficult as imagined. I went to Thailand in March this year and found that although my current English level is still very poor, it is enough for independent travel. Furthermore, Thailand’s tourism environment is also the most suitable place for practicing independent travel. Educated people can basically speak some English. Shop assistants in shopping malls and street vendors can even communicate in Chinese proficiently. Independent travel not only costs less, but also gives the travel a sense of integration. You can go to places that many travel agencies and semi-independent tour groups will not go.

This time I took Lion Air SL965 from Zhengzhou to Bangkok. The free carry-on baggage allowance for low-cost airlines is only 7kg. I didn't bring much with me, even though I brought a laptop, I still managed to keep the weight of all my luggage under 7kg. luggage I really need one piece at a time. Overweight.

Because the visa on arrival is still in the free period, everyone chooses the visa on arrival with a stay period of 14 days. If you want to stay longer, you can apply for a sticker visa with a 60-day stay period . There are many stores on Taobao that go to the consulate to apply for sticker visas. Send your passport and they will do it. It won’t be too much trouble to send it back to you when it’s done . The main destination this time is not Thailand, and a visa on arrival with a 14-day stay is enough. You need to prepare some information for a visa on arrival, including a visa on arrival application form, round-trip air tickets, accommodation reservation form, cash. Of course, a sample entry and exit card is also required.

You can download the visa on arrival application form online and print it. I have seen two versions of this application form, one is a pure English version, and the other is a Chinese-English bilingual version. The former is a general version, and the source of the latter seems to be the Thai Consulate in China. The Chinese-English bilingual version is as follows.

There is an error in the above filling template. In the Nationality field, you should fill in Chinese instead of China, because the item on the passport is Chinese. The application form is very simple to fill out. You can write the domestic address in Pinyin or English, and the nationality can be China or Chinese. He is too lazy to read it and even bother to let you change it. It doesn’t matter if you sign in the wrong place, the visa officer will make a mark and ask you to sign again. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t prepared the application form in advance. The Immigration Department will give you a new form to fill out on the spot, and there will be a place where you can take photos. All versions of the printed form seem to be usable as long as there are no missing items. I have never heard of anyone being denied entry because of problems with filling out the application form. However, it is still recommended to fill it out in advance, which can save a lot of time in customs clearance.

For round-trip air tickets, you need to print a ticket confirmation in this format with IATA to be valid. After booking online, the ticket agent will send you a PDF attachment in this format, and you can just print it directly.

This is also easy. There are many software for booking overseas accommodation, such as Booking and Agoda. I have always used Booking. I think Booking is more versatile. Many accommodations can be paid in-store, and some can be canceled for free within a limited time. Just book directly and print the booking confirmation page from Booking. When I entered the country this time, I read the required information written in Chinese at the visa-on-arrival window, which required accommodation reservations for each day of my stay. This was unrealistic, so in the end I only gave him accommodation for the first day. There was no problem with the order, but no one looked at it carefully when going through customs. It is said that electronic screenshots are also acceptable, which shows that it is not very strict. There is no need to book all hotel accommodation in advance.

Thailand visa on arrival also requires cash. Individuals need to carry the equivalent of 10,000 Thai baht in foreign currency, which is about more than 2,000 yuan. This is a must. In the past, there were cases of people being deported because they didn’t bring enough cash. Although I haven’t heard of it for a long time, don’t leave it to chance.

The entry-exit card is issued by the flight attendant on the plane. You cannot print it personally. It is just a very simple form. Just fill it out according to your passport. Bring a pen and fill it out on the plane. One form will be taken away when you enter the country, and the other form will be handed over to the immigration office when you leave the country.

There is only one entry-exit card per person. What should I do if I fill it out incorrectly? Just use a pen to make corrections. This time I filled in something wrong, and it was no problem to rewrite it with a pen. I also filled in the wrong item about whether it was my first time to Thailand. I was too lazy to correct it, and no one looked at it carefully.

Except for the entry and exit card, which can only be filled in on the spot, it is best to prepare the other information in advance to help you pass the customs quickly. If you don’t mind the trouble, you can also take photos on the spot and fill out the visa on arrival application form. This time I met a girl at the immigration window. She said that she was in transit in Bangkok and didn’t prepare anything. I told her how to fill out the application form, but she couldn’t understand a single sentence and asked the Immigration Bureau to help her fill it out. In the end, it seemed that the staff from the Thai Immigration Bureau really helped her fill out the form. Therefore, it is not that easy to be refused a visa on arrival even if you really want to.

Before traveling independently, you must purchase a local mobile phone card. Thai mobile phone cards are available on Taobao, and the price seems to be cheaper than in Thailand. Various mobile apps are definitely indispensable, such as Mafengwo and Qyer.com for planning itineraries, Taobao and Fliggy for booking various itineraries and air tickets, Google Maps for navigation, Booking for booking accommodation, and taxi-hailing software Grab, etc. As for bank cards, there are ATMs all over Thailand that support UnionPay. Just choose one with low handling fees for overseas cash withdrawals.

There are two airports in Bangkok, namely Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang Airport. Suvarnabhumi Airport is mainly used for the takeoff and landing of some large airlines. Domestic airlines flying to Bangkok basically take off and land at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The airport has an MRT subway that can directly connect to the city. The main airlines that take off and land at Don Mueang Airport are low-cost airlines, such as Lion Air, AirAsia, Smile Air, etc. The only public transportation to and from the city is the airport bus. This time I booked a flight with Thai Lion Air. The direct fare from Zhengzhou to Bangkok is only more than 500 yuan, so I arrived in Bangkok at Don Mueang Airport. Because this trip includes the Chatuchak Weekend Market, the trip to Bangkok must be arranged on the weekend, so I planned to stay near the airport after arriving in Bangkok and fly from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in the morning. Domestic flights in Thailand are also very cheap. The air tickets from Bangkok to Chiang Mai or Bangkok to Phuket are not expensive. When the air tickets are cheap, they only cost tens of yuan, and when they are expensive, they only cost more than 100 yuan. I want to buy them. Tickets can be purchased at any time, and there are countless flights to and from different cities in Thailand on countless airlines every day.

There are many ATMs that support UnionPay at the airport where you can withdraw cash. The cash withdrawal fee is generally divided into two parts: domestic handling fee and overseas handling fee. Domestic handling fees vary among domestic banks. Many domestic regional banks have waived inter-bank handling fees for domestic and overseas ATM cash withdrawals to a certain extent ( For example, Pingdingshan Bank’s domestic and overseas ATM cash withdrawals do not exceed a daily limit of The handling fee is waived for 3 times). Overseas handling fees are unavoidable. Local banks in Thailand charge them based on the number of times, about 100-150 baht per time. The ATM has a Chinese interface. You can directly enter the amount of Thai baht you want to withdraw, and the background will automatically settle the amount in RMB and deduct it from the bank card.

After leaving the airport, I smelled the unique fragrance of Thailand, and a familiar feeling came over me.

Since I had already booked the accommodation on Booking in advance, I used Google Maps to check the location and went directly there. Accommodation in Thailand is not expensive. Even in places like Bangkok and Phuket, you can easily find a standard room for less than 100 yuan. Although many rooms are cheap, the accommodation conditions are not bad. The accommodation booked this time is not far from the airport, just a few minutes' walk away.

The next morning I woke up and checked out and set off for Chiang Mai. I found a fresh market next to Don Mueang Airport and went to have a look. There was no one selling breakfast in the morning. I found a stall selling nudity strips and had some snack before returning to the airport.

When I was traveling independently and with tour groups in the past two and a half years, every time I took a low-cost airline like AirAsia, I had to print out my tickets in advance before boarding. This way, I always had the misconception that I had to print and prepare things like tickets in advance. After a free trip to Thailand in March, I found that these are completely unnecessary. Whether it is a domestic flight in Thailand or an international flight, you can book your ticket online and go directly to the check-in window with your passport. You don’t need to prepare anything. .

When I left Chiang Mai Airport, I originally planned to take a Grab taxi. I happened to encounter a driver going to the city at the door looking for customers. I asked if the price was okay, and took the taxi directly to the accommodation. Chiang Mai is a very small city, and the airport is not too far from the city. I chose to stay on the east side of Chiang Mai city, that is, the area east of Tha Pae Gate, so it is not far away from the city. The Chiang Mai Night Market on Changkang Road is relatively close, and it is convenient to go out to eat and visit the night market at night.

Since there are 5 people traveling this time, three-person rooms are required for accommodation, which limits many accommodation options. This time in Chiang Mai, I stayed at a Chinese-style Dawanyuan Hotel. It is more appropriate to call it a hostel than a hotel. Breakfast included averaged 70 to 80 yuan per person per day.

After exchanging money, we set off to Waroro Market. Follow the map and walk north along the river, eating on the other side of the river along the way. Mango sticky rice is a must when visiting Thailand. If you haven’t eaten this, you really haven’t been to Thailand.

Not long after walking along the river, we arrived at Waroro Market. The market was not as big as expected, and the items sold were similar to those of the night market. I think the difference between the two is that the night market sells at night, while here they sell during the day. The fruit vendors are also scattered and there are not many varieties.

Sweet sugar apple

This is a coconut that has been peeled. Use a straw to suck the coconut juice inside, and then eat the coconut pulp outside.

After visiting the fruit market, it was still early, so we walked to Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Sing in the ancient city of Chiang Mai. Of course, we also had to visit the Mae Ping Hotel where Teresa Teng died on the way.

Mei Ping Hotel

Chedi Luang Temple

Wat Phra Sing

In addition to the daily Chiang Mai Night Market, Chiang Mai also has Saturday Night Market and Sunday Night Market. The Saturday Night Market is outside Chiang Mai Gate, and the Sunday Night Market is in the area from Tha Pae Gate to Chedi Luang Temple in the ancient city. In March, I deliberately arranged my arrival in Chiang Mai on the weekend just to see the Saturday night market and Sunday night market in Chiang Mai. It turned out that only the vendors selling goods had changed places. Therefore, when time is limited, it is not necessary to arrange a weekend in Chiang Mai. It is enough to visit the daily Chiang Mai night market. There are not many places to eat in the Chiang Mai night market. Anushan Market is one of them. I remember eating grilled river shrimp here in 2016.

The portions of Thai food are not large, and there is rarely a chance to be full...

Tom Yum Goong soup is also one of the must-try dishes in Thailand

After dinner, visit Chiang Mai Night Market. Chiang Mai Night Market is also called Changkang Road Night Market, selling a variety of small commodities.

There are many ancient temples in Chiang Mai, most of which are located in the ancient city. Any inconspicuous temple may have a history of five or six hundred years. When I came to Chiang Mai in March, I went to a few famous temples. This time, no one was interested in the temples, so I didn’t arrange any more temple itineraries. After visiting the night market, the first day in Chiang Mai ended.