There's a Tesco in Ko Samui, that palm-fringed isle in the Gulf of Thailand.
In fact, there are over 200 Tescos in Thailand. In my book that's paradise
lost, but scratch the surface and the supermarket giant hasn't completely
swamped the slender south east Asian country. In fact just a few miles from
Thailand's most touristy resorts, sunburn, sarongs and supermarkets subside,
makeshift cafes line the road and rural Thailand still flourishes.
The coastline of Ao Nang, 30 minutes south of Krabi on Thailand's west coast,
is picture-perfect Thailand - clear azure water, powdery beaches and a
backdrop of limestone towers draped in rich green vegetation. It is home to
resorts, bars, souvenir shops and massage houses and the beach is more
bustling than barefoot bliss; but just ten minutes inland is rural idyll,
Ban Na Thai.
This fragmented village is little more than a collection of houses amid the
rubber plantations and fruit trees that grow prolifically in the region.
It's less inviting to tourists because there are no resorts or English
signage but this is bona fide Thailand: the food is better (and cheaper),
the welcome less weary and the colour magnified a thousand times. Orange and
red bird of paradise flowers line citrus orchards and scooters buzz along
quiet roads.
The best place to stay (possibly the only place to stay) in Ban Na Thai is
with Eh, who treated me like an old friend when my boyfriend and I stayed
with him for a few nights in November. Eh lives on a rubber plantation and
offers homestays in a couple of bungalows that he's built amid the rubber
trees. I say homestay because although you're sleeping in his back garden,
and not his back room, Eh is your host, and during your stay you're part of
his family.
The day starts in the breakfast café run by Eh's sister and mother, whose
speciality is the regional dish, khao yam. This concoction of cold rice,
chilli, fish paste, raw vegetables and coconut takes some getting used to
for westerners brought up on Weetabix, but it's surprisingly good, and is
served with steaming black sugary tea and sticky rice topped wrapped in
banana leaf. There's a backdrop of Thai chatter between Eh and his
neighbours, who can't speak English as well as Eh, but let us know with
smiles that we're welcome. Accompanying the banter is the twitter of
songbirds.
The birds are regarded in parts of southern Thailand as good luck and are kept
as pets by men who carry them in cages to friends' houses, a sort of avian
iPod. The more birds, the more volume. Birds with the most tuneful song are
highly prized and can fetch hundreds of pounds in the local market. As Eh's
customers are his friends, there's a five or six cages hanging outside the
café and the melody is commanding.
This breakfast is a gentle introduction to Thai life and the hospitality of
Thai families. During our stay Eh took us to his son's Muslim school, gave
us a cooking lesson with his sister, Pah, and invited us to his home, where
we sat on a bamboo terrace drinking milk from a young coconut picked from
his garden.
Eh's wasn't our only host in Thailand. When we planned the trip, we decided to
go "green", avoiding international hotel chains and conversing with Thai
people beyond ordering a pad Thai and a couple of Chang beers. It's easy to
stumble on back-of-beyond guesthouses when you're spending months in a
country, but with just ten days in Thailand I wanted to book ahead.
I found TellTale Travel, a British company that specialises in Thailand
offering tailor-made holidays focussing on authentic experiences and
interaction with hosts. They suggested homestays, which sounded demanding to
me, your time and activities dictated by your host. As it turned out, the
holiday was one of the most relaxing and rewarding I've had.
We started our trip on an island off Krabi called Ko Klang, where there are no
cars, no massage houses and no bars. Electricity arrived five years ago.
Between the island villages - collections of flimsy bamboo and brick houses
- rich green vegetation is peppered with lurid hibiscus, iris and lotus
flowers, with stretches of bright green paddy fields and wandering water
buffalo.
It was instant immersion into Thai life. Suchart, our beaming host met us at
Krabi airport clutching a TellTale poster. In pidgin English he gave a brief
tour of Krabi then strapped our bags to his moped after crossing the water
to Ko Klang island in a longtail boat, the elegant wooden vessels that are a
symbol of southern Thailand.
Our luggage dwarfed Suchart's moped en route to his house and I soon realised
I'd brought too many clothes. On this tiny island, the Muslim faith and
mosquitoes at dusk dictate a simple dress requirement of long Thai fishing
trousers and a cotton shirt. There are no pretences here.
We ate evening meals with Suchart and his family, who eschew table and chairs
to sit on matting on the floor, a great leveller and enjoyably informal. His
wife, Su, was a fantastic cook, who's probably never been into a Tesco, and
gathered ingredients locally - plucking from the trees she passed on her
moped cashew nut leaves, berries and long, lean bananas. The staple is rice,
grown in collectively-farmed paddy fields on the island. As fishing
preoccupies most of the island's men, fresh fish is plentiful.
As well as for collecting dinner, Su and Suchart's moped tour was for
sightseeing. At a neighbouring village women were painting batik tablecloths
to sell in Krabi. They encouraged us to have a go, dabbing the vivid paint
between the wax drawings of fish and flowers. There was never any hint of
pushing for a purchase.
When Su's moped broke down, we left it in the village and borrowed another,
such is the friendship between islanders. After a trip to the petrol
"station" - where petrol is sold in old whisky bottles - we continued on,
stopping to watch hundreds of tiny bright orange crabs with oversized claws
scrabbling into the mud. On the narrow paths we perilously passed kids, who
can drive mopeds on the island from any age, but do so courteously.
We crossed a concrete bridge, which replaced a wooden structure damaged during
the tsunami. Bar the tsunami evacuation signs, pointing islanders to higher
ground, it's the only evidence of the destructive wave, which mercifully
spared all but one of the island's fishermen, although it destroyed some
nearby communities. It's hard to imagine anything but peace as I tore along
a strip of deserted beach on the back of Su's moped, giggling with her
husband, like teenagers, and stopping to collect shells to decorate their
house.
Humour peppered our stay with Su and Suchart, who were perfect hosts. They
appreciated when to leave us to relax in our diminutive bungalow, decorated
with shells and fresh flowers, and when to scoop us up for an adventure.
During our short stay we took a longtail boat trip around the mangroves,
exploring the limestone caves that puncture the dramatic karst scenery of
the region, and snorkelled in warm turquoise water.
Every day started with breakfast in a ramshackle café, and finished with
joining in the volleyball game, played every evening until the light
allowed, by the young people in the village. Despite the language barrier,
we were invited to join in, and not derided when our inferior skills let the
side down.
The few days passed blissfully slowly, cocooned in the hospitality of the
island, and then with Eh and his family, who were an hour's boat trip away.
You can forget fresh white towels, this is 'cold showers, rice for
breakfast, check your flip-flops for toads' territory, where the only reason
to lock your door is to stop inquisitive goats and chickens getting in, and
where Tesco and its trappings feel like another world.
Need to know
A typical TellTale
Travel tour would be 10 days costing from £850, or 14 days from £1,200,
for a private tour including international flights, accommodation,
activities, transport and most meals.
Once booked, TellTale customers are provided with a colourful, detailed
itinerary, including information about your hosts, activities and transport
arrangements. The company also provides background information on the areas
being visited, such as things to see, restaurants and a guide to getting
around. In addition there's a cultural guide, which offers advice language
and etiquette tips, plus advice of tipping and gift-giving.
For more information about Thailand, read Insight Guides' Thailand's Beaches
and Islands (£14.99). And for Bangkok get the latest on where to stay, eat
and shop with the Luxe City Guides Bangkok edition (£5), which like all Luxe
guides, is updated twice a year.
