Let me explain the review title first.
‘ Two Thousand Baht Bills ‘ refers to the necessary expenses for this trip, which include:
1,063 Baht for a private van roundtrip from Bangkok to Ban Na Ton Chan
( We rented it for about 8,500 Baht including fuel and expressway tolls, divided by 8 people )
1,100 Baht for a 3-day 2-night homestay + activities, including breakfast and dinner
200 Baht for 3 lunches and 30 Baht for bicycle rental
Apart from this, snacks and souvenirs are up to you.


Next is ‘ Ban Na Ton Chan, Sukhothai Province ‘
Ban Na Ton Chan is not the name of a specific homestay.
It is the name of a village in Si Satchanalai district.
This group of villagers has come together to organize various activities.
and open their homes to tourists to stay
and learn about the way of life in the village.
Since there are many rice fields and 'ton chan' trees in this area,
it is called ‘ Ban Na Ton Chan ‘.

Finally, ‘ With Strangers ‘
This trip came from Ping's idea of wanting to try organizing a trip with her followers.
So she announced on her page looking for people to join the trip!
And then a number of people sent in their applications, haha.
In the end, we selected 7 people to join the trip: Dream,
Kwan, Jan, Top, Yoo, Eye, and Mai.
How will Ping's journey with 7 strangers go?
Follow the review to find out!

From Bangkok, my friends and I (7 people in total) took a long van ride (approximately 6 hours) to reach 'Ban Na Ton Chan, Si Satchanalai District, Sukhothai Province'. After driving into the village, we arrived at our homestay, 'Two Siblings Homestay'. The owners are siblings, Pi Mina and Pi Sao, and their daughter, Nong Donut. We arrived around 4 pm, so Pi Mina let us settle in and rest for a bit. At 5 pm, Pi Sao took us on a tractor ride to see the beautiful rice fields. : )

The name "Two Siblings Homestay" comes from the fact that they have two houses that can accommodate tourists. Our group of 8 people rented one of the houses. It has two bedrooms, each of which can sleep 3 people. You could even squeeze in 4 people if needed. If you don't like feeling crowded, you can also sleep in the common area. There are plenty of futons, pillows, and blankets available.

This is a pavilion for dining.

At 5 pm, Brother Sao took us on a tractor ride to see the rice fields. The evening air was very pleasant. Along the way, the eight of us started talking and getting to know each other better. Donut, our little guide, made us laugh. :D

After about 15 minutes, we arrived at the rice field. The sun wasn't setting today, but the atmosphere was still relaxing. Brother Sat let us walk around and take pictures while he went to lie down in a hammock, as you can see.

Seven followers entered the frame. The admin asked to take a picture to keep as a good memory.

Upon arriving at our accommodation, local cuisine awaited us.
Honestly, we had no idea what each dish was, but nobody cared.
We were starving! We devoured everything! 55555555555
Mina requested the most authentic local food for this meal.
This served as an icebreaker; tomorrow, things will be more relaxed. :D

After dinner, we went back to the guesthouse to shower and make our beds.

On the first day, the 8 strangers were still feeling shy.

I tried my best to make conversation, starting with topics like travel and our pages.

However, we couldn't talk for too long because we had to wake up at 4 am the next day to go to the 'Huai Ton Hai Viewpoint'.

Plus, Mina told us that there would be a lot of activities the next day.

So we didn't chat too much and saved our energy for the next day.

Good night <3

We were exhausted, feeling like lifeless bodies after 4:30 AM.
We dragged ourselves into the back of Brother Saen's pickup truck and drove into the darkness.
After a while, we started seeing other cars following us.
Since it wasn't raining this morning, everyone wanted to go up to the viewpoint.
We arrived at the trailhead before 5:00 AM and had to walk another 850 meters.
At first, we thought 850 meters wasn't far, so we could walk it easily.
But we were wrong… We were so tired and sweaty.
The path was steep, and the forest was dense with trees, so there was no wind.
We had to reach the viewpoint to get some fresh air.

We arrived before dawn and waited with anticipation. In the end, we didn't see the sunrise, only a bit of fog. However, we witnessed the kindness of our fellow travelers and had plenty to talk about. :D

This is a paragraph with no text.

Everyone received a snack set with Ovaltine prepared by Brother Sao.
After resting and enjoying the view, we refilled our bamboo cylinders with hot water and Ovaltine powder. Drinking it in this atmosphere, I can only say one word: amazing! <3

Around 7:30 AM, people started to gradually descend from the viewpoint.
Everyone must be hungry and eager to return to their accommodations,
knowing that a delicious meal awaits them. *O*

This morning's meal consisted of stir-fried minced pork salad, omelet, stir-fried curry paste, fried rice, tom yum soup, and boiled vegetables. Everything was delicious, as usual. I feel so lucky to be living in this house. 555555555

Before we continue, let me tell you that
There are many things to do at Baan Na Ton Chan.
The activities will be adjusted to the time period
We stayed and depended on the homestay owner we stayed with.
But the main activities that everyone should not miss are
– Take a tractor ride to watch the sunset over the rice fields.
– Wake up to see the sea of mist at Huai Ton Hai viewpoint.
– Learn how to make mud-fermented cloth + weaving.
– Try Khao Pib, a local dish.
( I will explain what it is later : p )
We have a 3-day 2-night program, so there will be a lot of activities.
The next activity is ‘How to make mud-fermented cloth‘.

Mud-fermented fabric wisdom originated from the observation that the edges of villagers' loincloths and sarongs, which were stained with mud while working in the rice fields, became softer than the unstained parts. To achieve this softness, the fabric is fermented for one day. However, over-fermentation can cause the fabric to rot. Our guide and instructor for this process was Mina, the owner of our guesthouse. She explained the ingredients, methods, and transformation of the fabric into exportable products. This was a completely new and fascinating experience for us. : )

This is a blank paragraph.

The sentence is already in English and does not require translation.

In front of the temple, there are small shops selling clothes, pants, sarongs, bags, etc. made from mud-fermented fabric. If you're interested in buying some as souvenirs for your parents, you can get one or two. The fabric is really soft, I can confirm!

This is a blank paragraph.

The next activity is eating. (I haven't done anything yet, but I'm eating again.)
In the same area where we watched the mud-fermented cloth making process,
There is a local restaurant called 'Giant-Slaying Khao Phet Restaurant'.

This is a blank paragraph.

I'm not sure what "khao phib" is either. I just heard about it today. My friend told me it's a type of rice noodle that's similar to "khanom jeen" but thinner. You can wrap it around vegetables and meat, and then put it in a bowl of soup. You can also eat it with eggs, pork blood, etc. You can actually make "khao phib" yourself, but when we went there it was a long weekend and it was lunchtime, so there were a lot of people. We just watched my friend make it for us.

This is a blank paragraph.

The girls ordered the regular-sized khao piak, but our lone young man
ordered the giant khao piak, which lives up to its name. It's truly made to topple giants! 55555
It's served with khao phan prik, khao phan khai, khao phan nam gaeng, and other dishes
available in the same area, such as som tam and khai hia. Everything you see here is only 290 baht.
That's incredibly cheap!

This is a blank paragraph.

This is a blank paragraph.

Feeling guilty after eating so much, we decided to burn off some calories by renting bicycles and exploring the village. The bike rental shop is located opposite the Khao Phet Lom Yak restaurant. The rental fee is 30 baht per bike. Our first destination was "Auntie Oratai's house," where Auntie Oratai gave us a demonstration on how to weave fabric. She even let us try our hand at weaving, despite our concerns about ruining her work. (Auntie Oratai looked familiar, as we had seen her helping to make Khao Phet Lom Yak at the restaurant earlier.)

This is a blank paragraph.

Next, we visited the 'Longkong Orchard'. I'm not sure if it has a specific name, but Ms. Mina called it the Longkong Orchard, so we'll call it that too. Haha!
This village actually has a lot of fruit trees, depending on which fruits are in season when you visit.
They'll take you to pick and eat the fruits fresh from the trees, as much as you want.
But you can't take any home or put them in bags. Let's respect the orchard owner, okay?

It seems like we visited many places and went cycling for exercise. But in the end, we ended up eating fruit. No, we won't give up! We have to find something else to do! Our next activity is to visit 'Baan Tawong', which produces a toy called a 'bar-hanging doll'. It's a toy made almost entirely of wood. The way to play is to squeeze the two wooden sides at the bottom, and the doll will change its position continuously. It's quite fun. Anyone who comes here will also be able to see how this doll is made. Although Tawong has passed away, the toys he invented are still popular with villagers and tourists.

This is a paragraph with no text.

Successfully completing a difficult task can bring a sense of accomplishment and pride.

We're all tired after a long day, so we're going to relax at the 'Baan Rao' coffee shop.
It's conveniently located on our way back to our accommodation.
Mina told us to wait here while she prepares dinner.
She'll call us when it's ready and come pick us up.

The small shop has a hipster vibe.
The owner, an elderly lady, kept hinting to us that there was accommodation available inside.
She said, "There's a guesthouse inside, you know." She said it casually, but she also meant it as an invitation to stay.
We laughed and replied, "Oh, we already have accommodation.".
The lady said, "Next time, then. Next time!"
It was another moment where the eight strangers got to talk to each other.
Come to think of it, we're not strangers anymore.
Around 5 pm, Mina, Sao, and Donut picked us up and took us to the Huai Truang Reservoir.

The evening atmosphere at the reservoir was fantastic.
What made it even more special was that, apart from our family,
only one other family brought their dog. They came to take photos and then left.
But our family brought food, spread out a mat, and enjoyed the cool breeze.
To top it off, a rainbow appeared, making us all smile. :’)

Mina's voice said, 'Guys, the food is ready.'
It was like the sound of heaven. 5555555555 This meal was so good for my heart.
Because today we all went out together, the weather was hot, and it made us even more tired.
I really needed this moment. Thank you to my 7 friends and siblings who went all out with me.
This picture will be in Ping's memory forever.
'The first generation of followers who went on a trip with us.' Yay <3

A unique aspect of this meal was that we ate from bamboo tubes.
This was Ping's first time eating from a bamboo tube, and
it was also her first time eating with her followers. 55555
We have to thank Mee Na and Sao again because
normally they would have us eat at the viewpoint in the morning.
But we chose to eat at the reservoir, and Mee Na made it happen. <3
There was fried pork, local dishes similar to fried cassava, mushroom curry,
boiled vegetables, and "sork khai" chili dip, which I had only heard of and
never tried before today! It was delicious! We ate it with sticky rice, and it was amazing.

As dusk settled, we packed our belongings and sped back home.
With our newfound closeness, sleep was the last thing on our minds that night.
We exchanged Facebook profiles, scrolling through each other's pages and offering candid commentary.
The laughter was infectious. Soon, we divided into two teams for a game of charades.
The noise level was off the charts, but thankfully, our neighbors were forgiving.
We ended the night watching the Miss Universe Thailand 2017 pageant.
It's amazing that we managed to wake up at 6 am the next morning for alms giving.

This is a blank paragraph.

After offering food to the monks, Brother Sar prepared the dough for us to make our own fried dough sticks and steamed buns for breakfast. Brother Min normally has a shop selling fried dough sticks in the village, but he closes it when he has guests staying over. We all pitched in to help, and the results were as adorable as you see here.

This is a paragraph with no text.

This is a blank paragraph.

This is a huge amount of food, and we thought it was breakfast.
But no, it's just the dipping sauce. Mina made breakfast for us again.
It's rice porridge with side dishes in bamboo tubes, as usual.
So cute until the last meal. Thank you!

After a delicious meal, we showered and got dressed.
At around 10 am, we had to say goodbye to our homestay hosts.
The three days and two nights flew by so quickly.
We loved everything about Ban Na Ton Chan,
from the people and food to the way of life and the strong community spirit.
Thank you again to Mee Na, Sao, and Donut for taking such good care of us.
If you have the chance, don't miss out on visiting Ban Na Ton Chan.
You won't be disappointed. <3

To book a stay, please contact us through our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/HomeStayBannaTonChan/
or call 0884957738.
Please specify your desired arrival date and the number of guests.
For a 2-day, 1-night stay, the price is 600 baht per person.
For a 3-day, 2-night stay, the price is 1,100 baht per person.
Prices include breakfast and dinner but exclude lunch.

A big thank you to all 7 participants of this trip.
Whether it was fate or coincidence,
we are now friends.
I must confess that on the way there, I was thinking,
"Did I make the right decision to organize this trip?"
But on the way back, I can say with confidence that it was the right decision.
If I have the chance, I would love to organize another trip with my followers.
If you're interested in joining us, follow our page for updates.
https://www.facebook.com/BlissOutThere/
Read our other reviews at http://blissoutthere.com/
Thank you for following and supporting us. See you on the next trip! :D