//Can you believe it, this was our private pool at Dhara Dhevi during our last stay in Chiang Mai…//
Hi lovlies.
I’m heading for a new mini adventure tomorrow. Jumping on a plane in the morning and straight to Chiang Mai. Hopefully the rain won’t be too bad. We were stuck between a beach holiday in the south or nature in the north and we both agreed that if the rain would start to pour, Chiang Mai was the place we wanted to be. We had an amazing trip to the North and Pai last year, but haven’t been in Chiang mai since our fantastic stay at Dhara Dhevi in 2014. Safe to say the city has developed a lot since our last trip. And to our pleasure I’ve heard that the café/bakery game is strong up in the north right now. Can’t wait to find spot some nice hidden gems and just enjoy the nature.
I planned for a little weekend getaway for Tom’s birthday and wanted to go somewhere we had never explored before. I’ve always had Saraburi in the back of my mind after finding the gem Baan Souchada Resort and Spa at the travel fair at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Saraburi is known for their abundance of sun flowers, so in my mind I was thinking a nice getaway in natural surroundings at their perfect rice field villa overlooking the sunflower fields… though, as I found out, sunflower season is over by the end of January, so for Tom’s birthday on the 9th, they would all have gone away.
Even if there was no sunflowers, I was very impressed with their premises. I love hotels that aren’t mainstream brands. And honestly the pictures of the pool villa upgrade was convincing enough. The villa is gorgeous, still overlooking the rice fields, but with a long pool and a smaller mini pool to relax. There is also an outside Jacuzzi in the back of the villa.
Workout of today could easily be done here!
Nothing more appealing than green surroundings. This is pretty much right in front of the pool villas!
What was equally as good was their food and wine. We did their set menu and Tom was particularly impressed with their salad, which is never Tom’s fave. So much that he had to find out where the chef had studied, which was, exactly as he guessed Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School. Oh and don’t forget to try the spa at least one day, great price, dreamy, and it has an authentic Thai vibe.
On cloud 9 after a Thai massage… 55
So peaceful to sit downstairs at the spa, there’s an area for yoga as well!
All the villas (at least in the area we were staying) were running on solar panels placed on the roof. They also plant their own crops, flowers and are farming animals on the property. You can also spot little birdies everywhere and there’s a bird watch tower for that purpose as well.
Many beautiful temple sites around Saraburi. Wat Phra Phutthabat is probably the one that stands out the most. If you only have time for one temple- this is it!
Pa Sak Jolasid Dam
What’s a dam if not for posing :p
Sooo jelly at Tom here, Monkey is my spirit animal!!! There are monkey’s EVERYWHERE IN LOPBURI. But they are very naughty!
These monkey’s are just living along the streets in Lopuri. How insane.
Around the property there’s the Jolasid dam, markets, honey farm (they might not be farming bees as this is seasonal, but they have some amazing beauty products), temples and with easy access to the vineyards in Muak Lek. We also drove by Lopburi on the way home, which is no more than 20 minutes away. Beware of the monkey’s tho, they stole my ice cream!
Conclusion: if you love nature, exploring, wine…, monkey’s and awesome (pool) villas, you have to go to Saraburi!
I fall deeper in love with my mothers home village every time I go there. Being there, surrounded by fresh air, nature, calmness and positive people just makes your brain go wild and think freely. It’s like a meditation for my brain and I end up somewhere else, but still complete connected to everyone around me. It’s hard to explain! The phone is also less used which honestly, I find to be the best feeling ever. I rarely come upon such easy going, simple and selfless people in my life. They posses a lot less items than us, yet they seem to have everything they need. They probably have fewer years of school than us Bangkokians, yet they seem 100 years wiser than us. It’s true happiness. I’m really glad I’ve had time to go there so often lately to see my grandparents!
Golden sunsets in Isaan!
Super zoom. But I had to show you the level of mutualism and happiness here!
So many doggies around the streets. Normally everyone let their gates open for the doggies to roam around. So cute. Puppies everywhere and they are all being fed and taken care of.
One happy Diego!
My neighbour got this from her tree and came to offer us some. So fresh, sweet and yummy. It wasn’t even refrigerated, but still super nice.
I brought along Diego this time, as the cold season is here and he can roam around in the garden freely and not in any risk of heat stroke. I think it’s the happiest I have ever seen him. He ran around for hours and got cuddles wherever he went. That being said, he was quite the rascal to other dogs, and there was no way he was letting them in to play on his property without ether playing with him or fighting with him… He also encountered his first meeting with a chicken and I have to say he seemed very surprised and curious to what this creature was.
The hostel scene in Bangkok has become quite on the uptrend. There’s hostels everywhere, but most are similar and lacking that vibe that should come with travelling solo and trying to meet new people. We had one night at the Yim Yam Hostel in Ratchatewi area before we headed of to Maya Festival last month and we were pleasantly surprised. English speaking staff, some that are there because they fell in love in Bangkok, deciding to make their stop a little more permanent than the one week originally planned for. These guys really makes the place! Décor that gives this perfect artsy setting. And pretty much every spot is perfect for Instragrammers wanting to get some pictures for their social media account.
You might not be able to see it in the picture, but this place is packed with tables and turns out to a cosy study place at night time. They also serve freshly brewed coffee and drinks exotic drinks. If this was closer to my home I would choose this before True anyday!
Set the whole nailing of the interior aside, the vibe at Yim Yam was very welcoming. I could assume anyone travelling from abroad or lacking knowledge about the best spots around Thailand would find this place very rewarding. Even me, who has lived here for 5 years actually got see a new area of Bangkok.
One of the many places to chill in the garden
Their large garden and nice seating areas is a major plus. You won’t find much of this here in Bangkok.
There’s events and outings for everyone to join! On Saturdays they have a BBQ night with an all-you-can eat for an extremely low price. Afterwards the crew will take you to Khao San road and you can experience Thailand as a real traveller, he-he. You can check their Facebook page for updates.
The rooms are neat, and the private rooms were nothing less than a nice hotel room but for an affordable price. We also loved the location, right next to the BTS (Skytrain) and the amazing drink and food place at night time called HEAT. Being a Thai local, you know those pieces are a steal!The hostel is also only minutes away from The Grand Palace, The Platinum Shopping Complex, Victory Monument, Wat Po, and Siam Paragon and other shopping centres. Quite convenient, especially if you’re only here for a short amount of time.
I would love to come back here again, even just brushing by and enjoying a nice cup of coffee, staring out at the traffic passing by. <3
I was lucky enough to get chosen as one out of twenty bloggers to take part of the TAT Newsroom Blogger Campaign launch. We were divided in two separate groups exploring 3 sites each, starting from the Oriental pier on Bangkok’s riverside. Our first stop was the stunning East Asiatic building. This Venetian style building is one of the many buildings with European heritage scattered around Thailand. We actually got to enter the building as well which made the experience quite unique. Later on we walked over to Assumption cathedral, another beautiful building with European influence. It’s quite a sight, you wouldn’t expect to see a church like this in Bangkok.
1st. stop East Asiatic building. It used to be the headquarters in Thailand for the Dutch East Asiatic company, founded in 1897 and after over a century, today, is still going. The building was built in the 1901 in grand Venetian style to impress visitors from all over the world who arrived in Bangkok by ship. It’s hard to miss this building while touristing around on the Bangkok riverside. We were so lucky to be able to enter the building and explore!
2nd stop, Assumption cathedral. This chruch feels very much like Europe. It’s a Romanesque building completed in 1919 and built for Bangkok’s Frebch catholic community. Unfortunately the original windows vere destroyed in World War ll, but have been replaced with new stained windows which has become quite famous.
3rd stop- O.P. Place. This is where the tradition of air-conditioned shoppping started. Thank you! The building is beautiful and boast of a charming vibe and wooden details. Definitely worth a little visit, just for a look or for some high-end shopping.
Hands down the best roti I’ve had in Thailand. Not too sweet and so easy to eat. Mine disappeared in 10 seconds. If you are ever around the Mandarin Oriental, take a stroll down to the muslim community and try these delicious treats!
East Asiatic building
You can imagine we were all drenched from walking around in the heat, so we were all excited to go to hang out at Bangkok’s first air-conditioned mall, O.P. Place. I rarely explore in this area and have never heard about this mall, but it was fun to see a mall with so much history. Curved wooden stairs leading you to a green elevator and a large chandelier in the center of the entrance, this Neo-classical style building was perfect for pictures. We also made a small visit to the muslim community and tried some amazing roti before walking over to Mango Tree restaurant for some talks and traditional Thai food. The main speaker, Luc Citrinot made quite a good presentation about the Bangkok’s culture and heritage and has also made a map where you can locate all the European heritage sites along Thailand. There’s also an app called EUNIC for those of you who can’t get your hands on a map. We are already planning a little tour to go check out the sites. There are so many buildings we have yet to seen!
One sentence. The food in Pai is sooo good. Let alone at this hotel! We stayed and dined here the whole day! Never left the hotel until check-out!
The lounge area is perfect for a bottle of wine!
THAT view…
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We stayed at so many cool places during our trip to Pai in February, but Puri Pai Villa was the one to put a mark on us. The decor, the feeling of modern luxury and all this combined with a panoramic view of the hills of Mae Hong Son.
Because of the location, you will only be able to catch the sunrise, but it is one of a kind. Make sure you don’t miss it… It gets quite chill in the morning, so you get that nice misty mountain vibe. A part of the charm is hiding under the blanket as you gaze into the endless nature as the magic golden sun start to rise. It’s so relaxing and it doesn’t even feel like you’re in Thailand anymore. Once the sun is up and the noon comes creeping in, it’s totally ok to get into your bikini and summer clothes again. But don’t try to be a hero and go for a mornings swim, it’s WAY TOO COLD.
Grab a bottle of wine at the pool bar and take a seat at the beautiful large balcony overlooking the stunning horizon of Mae Hong son and just relax to the sound of nature. The food there is AMAZING. You have to try their pastas, all of them were good! Then night comes and you can hang out at the bean bags in the sun deck, there’s even a fire-place, a draft beer place and on Fridays there’s a BBQ!
