Day 6 - Chaing Mai

Wake up in bamboo honeymoon suite hut in the mountains of Chaing Mai. 

We lazily make our way up to the communal cooking and dining area and enjoy a home style breakfast before helping with a little light gardening while exploring the grounds a little. 

There are pigs and chicken on site, along with gardens abundant with lemon grass, basil, sugarcane and medicinal herbs. There is also a sun baking area a chill out hut and even a pool table.

There is a very communal and laid back atmosphere up hee in the mountains. Guests are invited to help with cooking.  The cleaning and gardening are optional. But Thee is also a volunteer programme where you are expected to help with simple maintenance and chores and looking after the guest rooms. They also welcome those who can help teach the locals more about medicine and the English language.   

Around midday everyone starts to make their way back to the kitchen/dining hut to cook and eat lunch. Yummy banana fritters and pad thai  on the menu today. 

After lunch we go visit the site for Spicy Villa #2. This is situated about a 15 min drive from the original site and overlooks a field of rice paddys. There are a team of guys working away constructing 10 new bungalows. So we help plant some cuttings from SV #1 garden I to the new site. We start off in our thai work boots aka havianas before taking Joe's lead and ditch them for bare feet. There are 2 little kids under 5 running around in bare feet and diving all over the mountain 'helping' as much as kids this age can.  It makes you realize how ridiculous all the safety rules and regulations have become in western society. At first my western brain freaks out a little about the hygiene and safety of the environment these children were in, but they do it every day, this is their home and their playground and they learn very quickly how not to get hurt. 

Anyway we work work work in the sun getting hot and sticky and dirty. This makes the trip to the waterfall all the better. A short walk into the valley and we are in a little oasis with fresh waterfall which doubles as local bath and water park with slide, spa and pool.

We play, we wash and we cool down before heading  back for dinner and to meet 2 new guests from NYC. W all cook dinner together (spicy catfish from the pond, red curry chicken, stir fried pumpkin, chilli basil chicken and bananas in coconut milk for dessert)

More beer , more conversation, new friends and a lovely sleep in the bungalow.