 Lotus lake from the villa's boat |
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Away From It All Among the Lotus Flowers & Rice Paddies at Gecko Villa, Thailand |
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We planned our second trip to Thailand this December upon the recommendation of friends who had stayed the previous year at Gecko Villa - a Thai holiday rental with a private swimming pool in the rural northeast of the country. We flew in from Heathrow to Bangkok and then connected on Air Asia up to Udon Thani (UTH), where Ten, the villa owner, was there to meet us and drive us to the property. The trip took about 30 minutes, rapidly leaving the main roads around Udon Thani until we ended up driving along bumpy, unsurfaced tracks, through a bamboo driveway, into the grounds of the villa. It was like being transported to an oasis of calm! The villa is fronted by a tropical garden with travellers palms and colourful orchids, and its big swimming pool and wooden deck, that formed the centrepoint of the property, enjoyed views over the family's rice paddies and plantations. Enormous, colourful butterflies flitted from flower to flower, and bright green birds darted by. The Thai villa has 3 air-conditioned bedrooms and was perfect for us and our children, sleeping all 6 of us comfortably. The large living room was well equipped, but frankly we spent most of the time outside on the deck by the pool. One of the highlights for me was that the villa was fully catered - Ten and his wife and helpers prepared really scrummy meals for us throughout - and did the washing up! - so we had all the more time to relax and enjoy our vacation.
The highlights of our trip were:
- Getting off the beaten path and being able to experience a part of Thailand not generally visited by tourists It was an eye-opener for my children when they visited the local school, and it was good to see how the villa owners have espoused the idea of sustainable or responsible travel, helping out wherevere they can with assisting the local primary school in the village nearby. We would definitley recommend this place to friends, and know we will return. At last we feel we have discovered the real Thailand - and can now even order Isan dishes from our local Thai restaurant and get the waieters to raise their eyebrows as we do so! |
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