The bungalows at the farm were fabulous. The buildings were beautiful and were surrounded by large rubber trees and flowering plants. Each bungalow had a small deck with cushions to sit on to read or relax. The family had also built a gazebo area that was great.

After we settled in, our host took us on a nice walk before dinner. He showed us his farm – goats, sugar cane, pineapple, and palm oil. He picked some pineapple for dinner. Then we walked through the village. About five years ago, they had grown a lot of rice in the village. But they decided it was too much work and the area did not have the correct amount of rainfall – there was always too much or too little. So it was easier to buy rice and put there efforts into more productive ventures. The walk ended with a spectacular sunset.

Our dinner was an amazing assortment of Thai dishes that were incredibly delicious and also in huge quantities. After dinner a few of us learned how to wrap up sticky rice packets. Myself and another woman stayed longer than the others, so our host grandma put us to work! She gave us each a stack of banana leaves and we each made about 20 packets… I hoped they would stay together when steamed!

In the morning we had a breakfast feast of fresh fruit and sticky rice in the gazebo. Then our hosts gave us an introduction to the world of rubber. Their rubber plantation is their main income, but apparently the price is really down right now. We got to see how the rubber is tapped and then processed for sale. They even let us help a little. Our host told us that the night before ended up being the end of Ramadan. We had heard some loud voices that sounded like a celebration during the night, so we had suspected it. Well, he confirmed that at about 10pm the moon was visible, so the villagers slaughtered a cow during the night for their celebration. He had been up most of the night, as the rubber trees need to be tapped at about 3am too. Crazy guy. He was super nice, and ended up being our guide for sea kayaking later in the week.