Baan Wasunthara

I arrived early this morning in Chiang Mai after a sleepless 13 hours on an overnight bus from Udon Thani. After hoping off the bus, I caught a sungtao (shared taxi) directly to Baan Wasunthara. Wilat was waiting at the gate to greet me, along with his two dogs Tony and Emmy. His home and land are amazing. Originally from Surat Thani, in southern Thailand, Wilat and his British wife, Lesley, decided to settle down in Northern Thailand after Bangkok got to be too crazy and land costs on the islands skyrocketed. They bought their property 2 years ago, at which point it was an old rice paddy field. No tree, no greenery, just mud surrounded by gorgeous mountain views. They designed a custom built home that epitomizes Asian simplicity and elegance and created a landscape of lilly ponds, an abundance of tropical flora, and Asian inspired sculptures. It's an oasis in the middle of a quiet, traditional farming village and right next door to a monestary. Wilat's current project is to transform 1 hectare of his land into an organic garden. So gar he's got rice, a few varieties of greens, mangoes, papaya, bananas, and chili peppers. And that's where I come in. Lesley and Wilat recently built a set of bungalows complete with kitchenette and bathroom to house WWOOF'ers until their garden is complete. In exchange for a full days work, you get a private room, access to the kitchenette and bath, as well as two home cooked meals, and all the ingredients you could ever possibly need for a do-it-yourself dinner. The work is hard and the sun is intense, but I am really thrilled about getting to learn as much as I can about organic farming. I'd love to have a huge organic garden when I finally go home, and I can't think of a better way to learn. Plus, Wilat is really into cooking and has promised to teach me how to prepare some of his favorite dishes, his homemade yogurt, and his famous sesame seed bread. Wilat and Lesley seem to have exactly what I want at home--so trust me, I'll be taking notes!