Discussion Thread:

A holiday house in Thailand
Public Discussion
A holiday house in ThailandBy shantly on 2007-05-08 21:22
New Page 1 We have just returned from a three week stay in Thailand, where we wanted to head off the beaten tourist path as far as possible (with the exception of some excellent shopping in Bangkok!).

We particularly enjoyed our stay at “Gecko Villa” (http://www.geckovilla.com) a three bedroom house with a superb private pool, located in the middle of rice paddies in the Northeast of the country. We booked via their site from London and used Nok Air (www.nokair.com) to fly up to Udon Thani from Bangkok – at half the price of Thai Airways.

The smiling owners met us at the airport and drove us to the large house that was set in the middle of the countryside, near three rural villages. The house sat on extensive private grounds with rice fields, rubber trees, sugar cane plantations and woodlands around.

When we said we loved Thai food, we were delighted to be taken off around the grounds to pick our own herbs and spices before being shown how to make genuine Thai and Northeaster dishes. We definitely recommend the Laab and Nam Tok dishes: specialities of the Northeast and deceptively simple to rustle up! The owners seemed genuinely pleased to be able to share their knowledge and love of food – and we were equally happy to have the cooking lesson provided at no cost!

The cost of the stay was much lower than we would have paid in a hotel, as the price we paid covered all our meals and even generous quantities of cool beer and fresh fruit juices. And as we were there in the mango season, we simply helped ourselves to the fresh fruit straight from the trees (with the owners’ blessing!)

The fact that we had our own house and stayed in comfort, yet at the same time got to interact with the locals, made this trip for us, and we should not forget to mention that we were looked after like old friends. The Visitors’ Book was full of very positive comments and the many repeat guests bore testimony to the visitors’ enjoyment of their stays, not only because of the property itself but because of the genuine welcome they received.

Recommended:
Baan Chiang museum
The Nong Harn lake & wetlands
Learning to cook delicious Thai food
Chilling by the pool
Mixing with the villagers
Nong Khai

Avoid:
Udon Thani itself – a commercial town
Thai Airways (when Nok Air is much cheaper)