Returning to Chiang Dao in Northern Thailand, I once again stayed at Malee’s, one of my favorite guesthouses in all of Thailand. I was really pleased at the improvements that Ms. Malee has made to her small guesthouse-cum- nature resort. She has added a massage pavilion, a rooftop lounge-dining area for special occasions and has expanded her garden dining area. When I arrived, she had just finished hosting a wedding party for a younger sister who married a gentleman form Europe and the lavish decorations were still up. In addition, she has improved the landscaping around the property, adding more colorful flowers and the like and has added several new deluxe bungalows with linoleum floors and wrap around terraces. Also I am happy to report that all the ceilings in the bathrooms of the older bungalows have been raised to a height of about 76 inches, so most people, unless they are NBA size, won’t have to stoop anymore.

One thing that has not changed is the warm hospitality and the delightful personality of Ms. Malee. Now that Som , her brother from Bangkok, has joined her for the high season, Malee has some much-needed help around the place. Then there is Peter, her adorable little 4-year-old boy. He took a really liking to Hanumann - Ling Yai (the big monkey). I renamed him Ling Lek (the small monkey) When I called out to Peter “Ling Yai”, pointing to myself, he would respond and say “Ling Lek”. Nothing like showing respect to Hanumann! Rates are 500 Baht for standard bungalow and 900 Baht for the deluxe bungalow.

If you’re looking for some peace and quiet in the Thailand’s’ rural countryside, Malee’s should be at the very top of your list. Definitely one of the best small nature resorts in all Thailand!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 13th, 2006 at 9:03 am and is filed under Thailand, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.