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10 Day Vipassana Silent Meditation Retreat in Chiang Mai, Thailand – My Experience (Pictures & Video)

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I recently completed a 10-day silent meditation retreat here in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In this video I talk about the experience, what I went through and what it was like to spend 10 days not talking, fasting for ~19 hours a day with only 2 meals, and meditating 6-7 hours a day.

This is a fairly long video – if you go over to BitTube you can see time stamps in the video description.

I made this video the same day the retreat finished and am a bit worn out/spacey, but I wanted to record it while the experience was fresh.

Photos from the Vipassana Meditation Retreat

This meditation retreat was at Doi Suthep, a Buddhist temple at the top of the biggest mountain in Chiang Mai.

Doi Suthep is a popular tourist attraction in Chiang Mai, but it’s also where many of the locals go to fulfil their religious duties.

Here’s the entrance to the temple

Entrance to Doi Suthep Temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The conditions at the retreat centre were very basic. This was my room for 10 days –

A silent meditation retreat room at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Participants followed this daily schedule and rules

Meditation retreat guidelines for vipassana silent retreats at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

We meditated, ate meals, chanted and listened to Dhamma talks in this building

Main meditation building at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Walking meditation in the main practice room

A group practicing walking meditation at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This is the golden pagoda in the inner temple area – the main tourist attraction

Golden pagoda at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Some temple gardens

Gardens at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Bells at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Exploring the grounds one day I found this other small temple and meditated in here…

Smaller temple at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

I walked in the forest and found this stone staircase with statues lining the steps

Stone staircase with statues lining the stairs at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The food was quite awful. Not because it tasted bad or there wasn’t enough – it was just 100% carbs. I felt bad eating this for 10 days straight – physically and mentally.

A bowl of noodles for breakfast at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Breakfast was literally a bowl of carbs every day

Soup for breakfast at a vipassana silent mediation retreat at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Pasta for breakfast at a vipassana silent meditation retreat at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Lunch at 11AM was the last meal of the day. It consisted of rice and cooked vegetables.

Rice and vegetables for lunch at a vipassana silent meditation retreat at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Rice and vegetables for lunch vipassana at a silent meditation retreat at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand
No protein or fat, just carbs

Rice and vegetables meal at the vipassana silent meditation retreat at Doi Suthep Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

I lost muscle mass and may have gained some fat on the retreat. I felt weak and tired for much of the time.

What was the actual meditation like? I talk about that in the video – but I had some breakthroughs in terms of understanding my psyche and the development of my personality. I also had instances of powerful emotional release.

It’s amazing what happens when you clear away the stimulus – both external and internal – and just sit there.

I hope you enjoyed this post – thanks for reading and let me know what you think.

Aaron