עברית
Some 90 minutes away from the city of Sukhothai, there’s a small village surrounded by lovely gardens, lush flower beds, and green rice fields. The village is open to visitors – most of whom are locals.
If you’d like to experience a real Thai village rather than a fake tourist show (as many other places in Thailand offer) – this lovely, authentic village is highly recommended.
You can scroll down to the bottom of the article and watch a video I took in this lovely village, showing a glimpse of its unique attractions.
Sukhothai is usually mentioned in the historical context of its ancient relics but the province is also distinct for being far from a crowded tourist destination and thus – preserving the quiet rural lifestyle that prevailed in Thailand for many destinations.
While Sukhothai sits on the way leading from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, most of the standard tourist routes skip it and thus miss a rare experience of the authentic, beautiful, pleasant Thailand that is hard to find in heavily toured areas.
If you’d like to experience a real Thai village rather than a tourist show (as often found in various areas of Thailand) – I highly recommend this authentic village.
The small village is tucked in the natural, rural area of Sukhothai province – some 90 minutes of Sukhothai city and the historical park, not far from the historical city of Si Satchanalai – which was the second most important city back in the days of the Sukhothai Kingdom (1238-1438).
The people of this lovely little village have decided to open it for visitors – both Thai and tourists – allowing them to get a taste of the rural lifestyle without turning it into a tourist show, as often happens in other places.
The village is in a lovely natural area, crowned by trees, fruit gardens, flowers, and rice fields. The villagers practice agriculture (rice, fruit, etc.) as well as traditional arts and crafts that the locals have been practicing and teaching from one generation to the other.
There are men and women here who practice various traditional crafts: dye fabrics by boiling them in the mud with leaves providing different colors, create toothpicks and bamboo chopsticks, basket, bamboo, and fabric weaving, creating local dolls and toys, etc.
The visitors are welcomed by a local (not an English speaker) who takes them on a tour is a motorized cart. The visit usually includes the following attractions:
- A garden tour which includes tasting the seasonal fruits – we’ve tasted a lemon dish, from lemons picked fresh from the tree and homemade honey.
- A visit to the green, spacious rice fields of the village, on a lifted road of wood and reeds which takes you straight into the field.
- Visiting a local house
- Demonstrating the local arts of traditional weaving and fabric coloring
- Watching locals preparing (and possibly joining them in tasting) a special local dish – a spring roll of some sort which isn’t fried – a homemade rice mixture containing various vegetables.
Touring the village with a local provides a unique and fascinating experience of the authentic, beautiful, and quiet Thailand with its welcoming locals. You won’t be seeing this side of Thailand in the crowded tourist centers such as Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
Conclusion: If you’d like to experience a true, authentic experience rather than a tourist show like “The Long Neck Tribe” or “Damnoen Saduak Floating Market” – this is the place for the best experience.
