Gecko Villa - Villa Living in the Thai Countryside

On our last recent visit to Thailand, we were determined to get off the beaten path to discover more of the country.

We started with a simple plan: identifying the most commonly visited locations on a map, and highlighting them in yellow: Bangkok, Pattaya, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui et al.

It rapidly became apparent that the whole of the Northeast of the country seemed almost devoid of markers, so our search started from here. We finally decided to book a week at a place called Gecko Villa, between Udon Thani and the UNESCO World heritage site of Ban Chiang.

Gecko Villas' comprehensive website was a plus, and all our emails were rapidly and comprehensively answered, and we were attracted to the fact that this was a standalone villa with a private pool deep in the countryside, rather than just another hotel.

We flew into Bangkok and then took a 50 minute budget flight up to Udon Thani on Nok Air. At Udon Thani, we were greeted by the villa owner ("Khun Ten") who drove us out to the property.

The journey took about 35 minutes, starting on a major highway, then turning off onto a lesser road that wound its way through small villages, before finally dissolving into an unsurfaced "red-top" road that meandered through rice paddies and woodlands, before eventually parading us through a long bamboo arch way into the grounds of Gecko Villa.

Upon arriving at Gecko Villas, the first things that struck us were the expanse of grounds and the tranquility of the location. All around we could see rice paddies, woodlands, and plantations; mango trees heavy with fruit, lime bushes, passion fruit climbers and chili plants provided a foreground to the sugar cane beyond, and a floppy-eared ox looked as quizzically at us as we did at him.

The resort's location is very much rural and off the beaten path: Gecko Villas' 35-minute driving distance to the nearest city means that those looking predominantly for nightlife or shopping will want to look elsewhere. I'd advise any potential guests to stock up on any personal necessities they might need (sun lotion, medicine, books, magazines) before setting off.

During our stay, we combined time at the villa to enjoy the private pool and grounds in complete privacy, with trips to local places of interest with our friendly and informative hosts.

Highlights included:

• a boat trip out onto a nearby lake to slip through pink lotus plants as lively birds dive-bombed us;
• cycling through the surrounding villages and stopping off to communicate with the locals in improvised sign language and smiles;
• trying our hands in the rice paddies with the local villagers who found our miserable efforts an utter hoot;
• and a trip to a nearby forest waterfall and to the archeological site at Ban Chiang with its unique pottery and cotton weavers.

The food during our stay was a delight: always freshly prepared, and tweaked to our tastes when the children found some of the chilies a little too ferocious.

We learned how to make a number of dishes; Ten's wife took us into the grounds to pick herbs and vegetables (and enormous pandanus leaves) before we headed back to the kitchens to follow her instructions in making some remarkably complex dishes. Complex, that is, in flavor; once we had mastered the basics, we could hardly believe how such simple preparations could result in such flavorful local specialties!

The beef salad with herbs, green papaya and green mango salads, and lemongrass barbecued chicken were amongst our favorites, as was the traditional Thai soup for breakfast - along with freshly brewed coffee and freshly-squeezed orange juice.

The local villagers always seemed ready with a broad smile and seemed delighted that foreigners had chosen to visit this part of the country, where it was very clear that few tourists venture.

On a visit to a school we spotted photographs of previous guests donating funds for the restoration of the buildings, and then saw the work that had been executed, and it was clear that the owners were keen to give back to the local community.

Still, communication with the locals was a hit-or-miss proposition: outside the villa, there were very few people conversant in English. There would always be smiling, waving children running along beside us shouting "Hello! Hello!" and giggling to each other, but if we stopped to speak, in children the giggling took the place of any communication, whilst in adults it was smiles and sign language.

Once though, we had stopped to admire the orchids being grown by a villager, and were then approached by his neighbor who had the most perfect English I think we encountered in Thailand. It tuned out he had worked overseas with UK companies in Egypt, Kuwait - and Iraq!

So to make things easier, we advise visitors to bring a phrase book (Thai is fine, but Lao even better, as the local dialect is almost identical with Lao!) with phrases not only in Roman script, but also in Thai.

Next year, we intend to try the same approach that brought us to Northern Thailand on our trip to Laos: out with the marker pens, try to find somewhere away from the frequented spots such as Van Vieng and Luang Prabang, and hope the results will be just as fruitful.

Location: Near Udon Thani, northeast Thailand
Accommodations: The villa sleeps 1-6 guests in 3 bedrooms, is air-conditioned, fully catered, and has a private swimming pool. Daily maid service & free laundry.
Website: www.geckovilla.com
Rates: from US$184 (THB6,500) / night (all-inclusive).
Nearest airport: Udon Thani (UTH) via Nok Air, Air Asia or Thai Airways from Bangkok, or Lao Airlines from Luang Prabang