Last weekend we took a trip to Chiang Rai, in northern Thailand. Alaric’s work colleague, Cherry, and her husband, made the arrangements. They came too, along with two of their friends. So the eight of us started our journey by overnight bus, a double-decker with bright flowery upholstery and lace-edged neck cushions. We pulled out of the bus station on Friday night, and arrived in Chiang Rai early on Saturday morning.

The ride was not uneventful, unfortunately; I was sick for the first half of the trip, and Becca was sick for the second half. Obviously it doesn’t pay to wait and see if motion sickness kicks in before popping anti-nausea meds. Alaric was our hero, and looked after us the entire time, with minimal “empathy retching” too! Keeran slept all the way through, and woke up a half-hour before our arrival with the question “Did I sleep?” Of course, on the return trip, we made sure to chomp down that Gravol as soon as we boarded the bus!

Once we arrived in Chiang Rai, and collected our bags, we jumped into the pre-arranged song-taow rental, a smallish vehicle that is a hybrid of pick-up truck and van, with an open back. The driver took us to the White Temple, a beautiful ornate all-white temple, with white secondary buildings, bridges, sculptures, and arbours. Except for the bathroom building, which was gold, and almost as ornate as the temple. Go figure. But talk about the figurative porcelain throne being, quite literally, literal!

After the temple, breakfast, and another temple, we hopped back into the song-taow, and headed for Semok Farm. It was set outside of town, beyond a dirt road flanked by corn and rice fields, and a small river, which we crossed using the rusty bridge that looked like it would collapse at any second. There was no sign, neither the house nor the stables can be seen from the road. But people find this farm, and spend weekends there, to ride and enjoy the surrounding nature.

The family who owns and runs the farm greeted us warmly. The husband was dynamic, intelligent, and easily led many of the conversations. With his long grey ponytail, wisping chin beard, and tattooed arms, he reminded me of a modern-day Mr Miyagi. He reminded Alaric of his uncle David. He was charismatic and jovial all at the same time. His wife was tall with long black hair and smooth skin. She looked quite young (but then, many Thai women look younger than their age), and she was quieter, and had this lovely big smile that opened vertically, instead of horizontally. Their eleven-year-old daughter looked fifteen: tall for her age, and had a quiet maturity. She works on the farm when not in school, we watched her pull her weight pretty good, yet enjoyed colouring and making origami with Becca.

The house was mostly wood and thatch. The second floor was entirely open, like a covered wraparound deck or balcony, no windows up there. The angle of the house and roof must be just right, because I’m sure rain doesn’t wet their stuff. At first glance, you could say that the house was simply built and furnished. But really and truly, it probably took a lot of thought and planning, to find the right logs and lumber to make the tables and benches, the branched hooks to hang towels on in the bathroom, even the weight-lifting bench. You could see they paid careful and deliberate attention to living naturally and coexisting with their lush green environment.

Coming up in Part II: riding the ponies.