Chiangdao Mini-Nest Resort
This was our absolute most favourite part of our whole 11-day trip. The resort is owned by Stuart & Wicha (Stuart is Brit & Wicha is Thai) and was set up a few years ago when they were holidaying in Chiangdao & loved it so much, they decided to uproot their family and build their home there.
We
arrived bright and early at the Chiangmai train station. Stuart had arranged
for a songtao (a covered pick-up van of sorts, see pic on left) to drive
us straight out to Chiangdao, about an hour-an-half's journey. Chiangdao
is about halfway between Chiangmai & Chiangrai. The resort itself
is 1,000m above sea level, so it did seem a bit chilly when we arrived.
But, by 10am, the weather turned breezy and warm and stayed that way the
whole day. Then, at night, it gets cold again. This was typical for all
the days we were there.
The resort was quaint & beautiful. Stuart & Wicha have six huts in the resort, without any fences or barriers between them. Instead, the entire layout resembles one of a close community, rather than a stodgy or big holiday resort. Gorgeous plants & flowers litter the entire compound. Here are some pics:
The
landscaping strongly reminded me of a quaint British garden. We spotted
poinsettias & picturesque lily ponds. But there were tropical features
too, like the pineapple, pumpkin & papaya trees we saw. There was
also an edgy looking house cat, and the neighbour had 3 very hairy dogs.
An altogether fertile and rich place!
We
really fell in love with the landscape. Just imagine yourself in these
pictures. And the best part is, when you look up and around you, you are
surrounded by towering mountains. It's very inspiring & relaxing.
The
huts were, thankfully, in very good condition. Spartan, clean, elegant.
Plus, each came with two windows with beautiful views outside. The only
issue was that it did get rather cold in the evenings. When we
were there, it went down to 15, or even 13 degrees celsius at night!.
This was when Stuart would build a huge fire (see pic left) in the common
area and we'd all sit around it, huddling for warmth. Quite a bonding
experience! The huts, however, did not have any heaters. But, after a
lovely dinner meal, and after asking for 2 extra blankets, we found we
actually slept very soundly, no compaints at all, so it wasn't too bad
at all. Here's a pic of our elegant hut & the views from the two windows.
It also had an attached bathroom with heated water! Very important!
Anyway, I mentioned "lovely dinner meal" just now. Wicha is the head chef of the establishment and she is a gourmet chef by profession. What this means is that all our meals were MIND-BLOWINGLY DELICIOUS. Here's a sample of what we ate: home-made pate (85 baht/$4 SGD), grilled pork tenderloin with stuffed aubergine & sweet potato (245 baht/$10+ SGD), slow-cooked duck with mashed potato and passionfruit sauce (295 baht/$13+ SGD) and the ever-popular buffalo fillet with garlic & italian-basil sauce, hand-cut chips & salad (275 baht, $12 SGD). Pics below:
WOW. We really stuffed ourselves silly the both nights we were there. ^__^
Chiangdao
may seem like a sleepy place, with all its laid-back beauty and charm,
but it actually has quite a bit to offer. On day one, Stuart set us off
on the Chiangdao Nature Trail, a good 1 hour trail that sent us up, around
& down Doi Chiangdao (Chiangdao Mountain). Not for the weak-hearted.
We also visited the famous Chiangdao caves - with, get this, 13 km
of inter-connected cave trails! The caves were the largest, highest and
longest I've ever seen in my life. You don't get to see 
all
13 km, but a guide will take you round and show you parts of it, for a
small fee.
On day two, Stuart took us on a 1-day trip to visit two Lisu villages & visit another cave & a waterfall. There was a lot of walking, climbing, bending and stretching. Very good exercise for two bureacrats who usually exercise their brains & fingers more than their limbs! Like I mentioned earlier, the weather gets warm & breezy after 10am, and the great thing is, it didn't rain at all when we were there! So, we had a great time walking, prancing, exploring the nature around us. Here's a pic of the Lisu villages we visited:
The
other Lisu village we visited was strategically located directly facing
a huge mountain wall, about 1,200 m high. The view was absolutely stunning.
We also got to chat with the Lisu people, who were very friendly. We noticed,
to our amusement, that they ate a lot of junk food - while we were there,
they were munching on chips and other salty snacks. Ha.
The 1-day trip was enjoyable particularly because it consisted of just husband, myself & Stuart. Stuart acted as our personal tour guide, and his knowledge & love for Chiangdao and the Lisu people was quite evident. We quizzed him on everything, from Chiangdao's flora & fauna to the ways of the Lisu, to Thai politics and so on. Stuart seemed to know a little about everything. He's also fluent enough in Thai to get us around and communicate with the Thai and Lisu people. All in all, he added a very personal & informal touch to the whole trip, which was very nice. Here's some of our favourite pictures from the 1-day trip:
This
picture is not touched up. I promise! It's the view from the second Lisu
village we visited.
We
stopped at the first Lisu village to have lunch at their beautiful Sky
coffee shop. Beautiful Sky is the English translation of the Lisu name
for their village.
Man,
don't we look shack? This is after our caving 'expedition' with Stuart
& another Lisu guide. At points, we were crawling on our knees and
at other points, squeezing through crack holes, all in a bid to explore
a relatively unknown but beautiful cave!
Look
at the gorgeous scenery!
All in all, our Chiangdao experience
(only 3 days, 2 nights) was well-worth the effort to travel there &
back. We're really grateful that Chiangdao Mini-Nest Resort had space
for us, it having only 6 huts and all. We were also happy to note that
the Resort has opened a sister resort, er... Chiangdao Mini-Nest Resort
2 (!), just down the road. But Wicha does not cook at that resort, though
you can certainly walk up the road and eat her food anyways!
Check out the website for more details here.
Thanks Stuart and Wicha! (And say hi to your little boy for us!)
Our
trip to Thailand, Dec 04:
main page
5 things Singaporeans will like about
Bangkok, Chatuchak vs. Suan Lum,
Thai massage in Bangkok, Cabbages
& Condoms restaurant
Train travel to Chiangmai, Chiangdao
Mini-Nest Resort
5 things Singaporeans will like about Chiangmai,
Chiangmai
Thai Cookery School