Bamboo Nest

23-25 February

Pineapple plantations - produce the best fruit!

On Lonely Planet's recommendation, I decided a couple of nights outside the city of Chiang Rai, at Bamboo Nest, would be a welcome change from temples and markets that would dominate my time in the city.  I was absolutely correct.

Transfers were provided for stays of 2 nights or more, and pick up (around 4:30) happened a bit after 5 and the twin cab utility vehicle was rearranged to provide seating space in the back, which 2 of my younger co-passengers happily occupied. The journey of about 1 hour moved us into rural areas, with plantations of pineapple, rubber and areas of rice paddies, then into forested areas.

The road deteriorated, especially as it approached the village

As we climbed higher into the hills, the road deteriorated, in a way that made me feel quite at home (Bhutan home). Steep slopes and rough surface about which Mr Pun, my driver from a couple of days ago, would have been horrified.....  Our driver and hostess, Nok, negotiated these safely and competently while the young man in the front passenger seat, at my request, happily snapped away with my camera. We passed through an Akha village then rounded the corner for our first view of bamboo nest... it looked really beautiful, nestled on the hillside.



The billing system was explained ... an honour system on a notepad. We were requested to order dinner in advance. The range of choices on the menu did match the description "local and international cuisine" but the choice was not extensive; however it was sufficient and the stir fried chicken with cashew and vegetables was lovely, as was the company of a couple of Canadian guests.

peaceful views of the surrounding hills

The bungalows are rather cute, bamboo of course, but with a layer of metal roofing between the thatch and the bamboo ceiling. The bathrooms are adequate, with a gas on-demand hot water system and the usual bin beside the toilet for toilet paper. I guess, from the notices in many places requesting use of these bins, that the majority of the plumbing systems in Thailand do not cope well with flushing toilet paper. 

 The floors in the bedroom and on the verandah are also bamboo and ok enough to walk on at night but in daylight, when one can see the irregular supporting bamboo that supports the split bamboo, one tended to step with more uncertainty. I was reminded of a Vietnamese home stay in the BaBe national park some 10 years ago, and I was even more tentative about stepping on the floors back then.

Forested hills being cleared for farmland

The setting is very peaceful. As I sat on the swing with a gin, lime and soda (have only found two shops so far that sell tonic) I could hear only the sounds of the cicadas. I debated what I would like to do the following day: join a guided walk, sit and contemplate, read and write, walk on my own, learn to weave.....

I had thought that sleeping might be difficult - it was still very warm and a notice advised that if windows were left open, animals might join me. However, tucked into a king size bed, under the mosquito net, I went out like a light for 9 hours.

By morning I had decided I would try to learn to weave, and it was confirmed that I could do this at short notice. I chose to weave a scarf, and chose 2 colours.  The start was slow, as bamboo sticks were selected and sharpened and hammered into the rock-hard dry ground, but eventually I was settled to the backbreaking work of winding the weft threads around bamboo rods hammered into the dry and dusty ground. Backbreaking because of the posture required to do this.

the view from my window

A young girl took over from my older teacher as my supervisor and threaded of the string that would perform some important function in separating the threads once the actual weaving started. After some time she said "ok", indicating that I should cease my winding, but she did not understand my query about whether I should wind a few more strands of one particular colour so that the sides would match.

She disappeared into the kitchen and when I went to find out what was next, she gave me the universal symbol for eating but was unable to interpret any of my requests for something from the lunch menu. I took her into the kitchen and pointed at bananas and the bread I found in the fridge but that was too difficult. I requested banana to eat, using universal sign language, and was successful with this, then the older lady appeared and waved a loaf of bread and tin of tuna in front of me. I declined the tuna and pointed to some eggs I had spotted.... Heaven help me if I had tried to order one of the other dishes from the menu.  Egg sandwich it was.

the inside of my bungalow

Sandwich finished, my tutor was starting to do things with the wound thread, including winding a little more blue to achieve the symmetry that had concerned me earlier. With my assistance the sticks were removed from the ground and carefully wound then transferred, in some cases, to larger lengths of bamboo, and tying one end to a fence rail she strapped herself to the other end with what looked like the remains of an ancient t-shirt. A slightly more primitive version of a blackstrap loom than I had seen in Bhutan.

verandah, complete with bamboo hammock

My tutor started the weaving and I was pleased to see that the pattern was following my request of shorter lengths of unwoven threads - I am concerned about how easily these will catch and generally spoil the look of the scarf. After a few cm of weaving, she handed over to me. I was intrigued that her width was none too constant, the scarf was getting wider and wider. It took me ages to get the hang of using the rod with the threaded string and the big rod to change the weft threads but I finally got it. I was concerned when she took over to adjust the wound rod and move it further along the threads. The result was a very wavy stripe which she attempted to straighten but it only compressed one edge a bit.

I would eventually understand how this rod, with its
threads would alternately around it, would function

Each subsequent time she adjusted this rod, it changed the regularity of the pattern I had been so careful to keep even. It was going to be interesting to see how it impacted on the overall effect.

Eventually, after a few delays when I had to find my tutor or wait for her to finish some of her own work, my weaving was about finished and she she came back and indicated she should take over. She did a few more passes with the shuttle and then started the process of removing the rods, together we held the scarf so the short edges were even and she cut the threads to make the fringe. There was no suggestion of any little finesses such as finishing the ends by twisting them as had been done with my Bhutanese scarves. I might have to try this subsequently to improve the look and reduce the chance of my weaving coming unravelled.

The wound threads

I felt rather pleased with my efforts. But a hot bath and a massage to follow would have been good. A shower and change into fresh clothes and a gin, lime and soda was an ok substitute, followed by dinner of yellow Thai curry which had a nice flavour, albeit not very hot (chilli hot) but with a tad too much potato for my liking. After this, and at a ridiculously early hour, my back was ready to be horizontal.

I woke around midnight to a rip-roaring thunderstorm, which kept me awake for a while, but the rain really cleared the smoke haze and morning views were much clearer, although clouds obscured some of the hilltops.

my finished product

I could see, much more clearly, where the local villagers had cleared large areas of bamboo forest and some areas that had already been burned ready for agriculture. I have been told this activity is illegal, however it does not stop them. I can only hope, unlike many areas of recent planting I have seen on the hills, that they will terrace before planting otherwise a lot of topsoil will be lost when the monsoon season starts.

Breakfast was lemon pancakes - the best lemon pancakes I have had in over a year.  Not quite thin enough to be crepes, but lovely and lemony.

I could easy spend at least one more night at this place, it is so peaceful. I don't think anywhere else in Thailand could be more opposite to Bangkok.