Bamboo Nests

Bamboo Nests of Chiang Rai from their website

Our next couple of days were to be spent in a rural setting on a hilltop.   Nok skillfully navigating our 4x4 up a rough track only hesitating to tease us by asking if our suitcases were still in the back of the truck.  

And here we found ourselves at a peaceful lodge with 12 bamboo huts scattered down the hillside. ...   a beautiful, tranquil setting.

  Nok and Noi have named their idle, Bamboo Nests.  They are  business partners in this enterprise and although they seem close  opposites in temperament they seem to complement one other with their duties and roles. ... Noi the villager who knows the land well and Nok the city woman seeking the quietness of the hilltops.

Bamboo Nests of Chiang Rai from online

On arrival we were met by a peaceful dog, "Cookie", a lovely view  over pineapple fields and much cooler temperatures.  We had been warned to bring a jacket and we put on all the layers of our warmest clothes as the sun went down at 6pm.  

   This would be luxury camping, no wifi, no electrical plugs to charge up ( except in the eating pavilion) one light bulb in the large room, no heat, but a good hot shower and wonderful Thai home cooking.   

 And the huge beds in each hut took on a romantic aspect with their tight fitting mosquito nets draped from the ceiling and carefully tucked in.    Thankfully there were two huge polyester quilts that looked inviting and it was too cold for mosquitoes. 

  It was a tranquil paradise with absolute stillness..  broken only by strange bird calls or an engine noise from a far off village.  Here are a few photos.

The first two pictures above I found online. You can see the hills are much greener in those pictures.   I imagine they were taken just after Monsoon when everything was lush.    

Looking out over the hills, two bamboo huts are visible and Cookie crosses the grass.

The Dining Pavilion leading to the kitchen. Bamboo Nests 

Dave's feet in the hammock and Cookie resting on the first afternoon

We chose a cabin each since there were no other guests and carefully rolled our wheelie bags down the steep tracks to settle in and wait for dinner.  

Cookie, already putting her stamp on us, waited on Dave's terrace  (he had steps onto his) knowing she was not allowed in the rooms.

 I joined them so Dave could read some more of our story.
He was reading to me from.. "Call the Nurse" a well done memoire of an English nurse living with her family in the Hebrides islands in the 1970's.   He could even do a passable Scottish accent.    

 Tonight we would enjoy a fine meal of three dishes,  local pineapple and bananas for dessert  and a bonfire to warm up before bed.  We were off to a good start.