A cultural experience is to sample the lives of the indigenous people, removing yourself from your own comfort zone and exposing your senses to something completely new.
If you’re looking for a cultural experience in Thailand, then make a bee-line for the mountainous north and spend some time in rural Chiang Rai. About two hours outside central Chiang Rai, you will find the ideal destination to fulfill all your cultural desires, at Baansuan Auykham Homestay. Here you will find yourself in a paradise of nature, simplicity and heart-rendering hospitality.
What makes this place such a glorious getaway? Firstly, it’s the people. You will stay with a warm, welcoming family, who own the vast, green grounds, which has a family house and a guest house, which can accommodate up to 14 people.
The separate houses allow you a degree of privacy and ensure that you aren’t spending the entire time sharing facilities with the family, the space is healthy and gives you the opportunity to retreat and reflect after a day of activities.
The activities are beautifully simple and feel very natural. It’s not like you are one of many foreign visitors and they are going through the motions; you will experience the daily lives of local, village people as they carve, cook, and create things which are absolutely necessary to their livelihood.
You will be met with the adorable coyness of local people who aren’t used to seeing foreigners and are excited, curious and friendly. During your stay you will have the opportunity to watch a mesmerizing live show, where three or four of the local village girls perform a traditional dance, while you sample the irresistible local cuisine. This dance is an impressive routine, which has been practiced since childhood, not for the purpose of performing to foreigners, but because it’s a way of life.
Speaking of cuisine, you can attempt to re-create the remarkable dish which is famously from the North of Thailand, Kaow Soi. If you taste a bowl, which has been cooked by a local chef, you may never have tasted anything better. It’s a dish bursting with flavours and gives your mouth an experience it will never forget.
Another activity is a delightful trip to the Golden Triangle, which allows you to visit an historical location – the point of trade between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. To get there is a jaw dropping, spiritual journey through the countryside, and how you get there depends on your fitness levels. You may opt to ride a motorbike, which is easy, fun and will be provided for you. However, if you believe in yourself and your body is built for it, you can take a high-spec mountain bike (also provided) and cycle the 30km journey. If your legs are weary after the first leg, you can be sure that the family will send a truck to drag your weary carcass back to the ranch!
Either way the journey is a blissful, spiritual experience which is both safe and extremely fulfilling. The roads are quiet, the scenery is spectacular and the air is clean and crisp. What more could you want?
Do you like watching sunsets over the horizon? In this place, you can cycle through the corn fields to the perfect spot to watch the sun descend slowly behind the mountains. This is a place where you can experience absolute peace and quiet, allowing you to reflect, reminisce and recover those feelings of inspiration which so often get lost in the monotony of daily life.
Other activities on this magical homestay include visiting a local clothes market, where you can buy everything for local prices (insanely cheap!), making paper, carving steel knives, making jade stones and even keeping crickets! These are all activities which humble, motivate and leave you feeling overwhelmingly satisfied, like you’ve done something worthwhile. You will feel like you’ve actually penetrated the heart of Thailand, and peeled away all the layers covering its true identity, which you often see in heavily saturated tourist areas. This is refreshingly real, and you will love it.
Author credit: Max Rapkin
Bangkok, Thailand
Photo credit: Penny, Tim
Auykham 