A different Chiang Mai experience
Aug 14th, 2005, 09:00 AM
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A different Chiang Mai experience
For people who want something a bit different, check this out:
www.joyshouse.net
I'm going to spend a few days there my next trip. Have heard raves from a friend. Certainly not for everyone but it looks like it's right up my alley and others may be interested as well.
www.joyshouse.net
I'm going to spend a few days there my next trip. Have heard raves from a friend. Certainly not for everyone but it looks like it's right up my alley and others may be interested as well.
Aug 16th, 2005, 12:52 PM
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I can't quite figure out where this place is using their map on the website. I have my Nancy Chandler map out and while I know it is not posted on the map, I am confused what area this is in. Are their some land marks (other than the Lanna Hospital) on the NC map that might help me pinpoint this better. I will be in Chiang Mai in mid September and I thought I would go by and check it out. My main concern is cleaniless and bugs and critters in the rooms. Glorialf, any more information on this place that you know??
Aug 16th, 2005, 01:19 PM
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It's about a 10-15 minute drive from downtown CM-- a LOT closer than the 4 Seasons. 
Northern area if I recall.
Cleanliness should not be a problem. Mosquitoes are everywhere in CM -- including the 4 Seasons and the new Mandarin. I suspect this is no exception. But the person I know who stayed there was NOT young and was NOT someone who is a treker. She, like me, stays at the Oriental when in Bangkok and she loved this place. Here's a bit more information from an article had saved.
Joy's House, a guesthouse and model for culture sensitive tourism, was started in the Sanpeesrue Village, on the outskirts of Chiang Mai in September 2000.
The project is based on two desires:
The desire of experienced travelers who want to genuinely 'arrive' in a country, experience authenticity, and make friends instead of taking part in tourist events, tourist excursions, and tourist art.
As well as the wish of culturally open-minded local families who put hospitality first and want to combine cultural, ecological, and economic developments.
Under Neen "Joy" Worrawittayakun's management, Joy's House opens paths into the everyday-culture of Thailand; a culture that brings together guests and locals as trading partners and friends.
Nothing is being staged for tourist purposes because life in and around Joy's House is a wide river - as a guest, all you need to do is sit at the shore with your fishing rod and get involved with fun, exciting, and sometimes serious events.
Many of the guests then don't want to only watch but actively participate. You are more than welcome to do so. Some like to leave positive trails. That's why Joy's House combines explorations of reality with the chance to take part in the development of community; the chance to 'plant your little apple tree' even if the world will (not) end tomorrow. That is different from other places as well: Guests are not understood as tourists but as experienced professionals. You are in no way forced into accepting that role, however. You can also just use the time to relax your mind and body. But you will know that the invitation to actively participate - no matter if small- or large-scale - is valid. All those involved are aware that this is not about 'the' Thai culture, but about cultural heterodoxies.
Joy's House is a family business. And the fact that this can be very successful can be seen from the example of the Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, which, in terms of its staff, it is based on this very principle. A somewhat extended family - Joy's House also includes many chosen relatives from the surrounding neighborhoods and villages - is still a family: it exists with its strengths and weaknesses. Nobody is being laid off. Social security is guaranteed by the family structure; and this also applies to peripheral members. Joy's House is more that the entrance door or the invitation to combine tourism and sustainable development. Impulses are also sent to the outside and affect the guests' home countries.
Joy's House has had three and a half years to gain experiences with this concept before the first children of the School for Life arrived at Joy's Farm.
In March 2002, Joy's House was elected one of the world's seven best projects for socially responsible tourism at an international competition of the ITB. In November 2002, it was awarded the "Outstanding Travel and Service Award 2002" by the Thai government as one of the best travel destinations of the country.
With the development of the School for Life, new possibilities have been created for the guests to get involved and to learn from and with the children. The following are several examples of this:
The retired manager of a Swiss chocolate factory turned out to be a very helpful expert for composting (which is not all that easy at the farm because of all the teak leaves)
The owner of a travel agency in Manila had to admit that she would really rather be president of an association for the re-colonization of rare butterflies in Philippine gardens (this had the result that she discovered every rare butterfly in the whole area during her stay and thus special bushes were planted to get the butterflies to settle at the farm; further, it lead to the fact that now many rare butterflies are flying around there who, at some point in their lives are caterpillars, and thus feast on the farm's ecological vegetables as if they were dining at some three-star-restaurant).
A couple initiated dental treatment for the children, who had never been to the dentist and even though most of the kids agreed that they would never want to go there again, it was their first chance for treatment.
A German scholar who was visiting for a short time developed the theory of the 'natural swimming pool' including the advice of using small black fish living in the rice fields as pool cleaners (this resulted in crystal clear water and the fish grew in numbers until at some point three young water snakes came and started to feed on the fish; now the children's task at hand was to attract the snakes away from the pool to farther ponds)
One guest was helpful in two ways. Firstly, he gave important geological advice to prepare the easily drying farmland in a way that it would store humidity. Secondly, as a bicycle expert, he solved the children's' problem of racing the bikes until they become useless, by showing them how to professionally repair them so that they could be used again.
A teacher from the Bavarian Forest, who happened to carry large numbers of colored pencils in her luggage, initiated a drawing project with the title 'Life in Thailand' in two schools - the children of the farm were included. She displayed the works in her home town, motivated children there to draw pictures of 'Life in Germany', and thus created cultural connections between children who grew up with tales of knights and castles and children who grew up with tales of tigers and temples.
Northern area if I recall.Cleanliness should not be a problem. Mosquitoes are everywhere in CM -- including the 4 Seasons and the new Mandarin. I suspect this is no exception. But the person I know who stayed there was NOT young and was NOT someone who is a treker. She, like me, stays at the Oriental when in Bangkok and she loved this place. Here's a bit more information from an article had saved.
Joy's House, a guesthouse and model for culture sensitive tourism, was started in the Sanpeesrue Village, on the outskirts of Chiang Mai in September 2000.
The project is based on two desires:
The desire of experienced travelers who want to genuinely 'arrive' in a country, experience authenticity, and make friends instead of taking part in tourist events, tourist excursions, and tourist art.
As well as the wish of culturally open-minded local families who put hospitality first and want to combine cultural, ecological, and economic developments.
Under Neen "Joy" Worrawittayakun's management, Joy's House opens paths into the everyday-culture of Thailand; a culture that brings together guests and locals as trading partners and friends.
Nothing is being staged for tourist purposes because life in and around Joy's House is a wide river - as a guest, all you need to do is sit at the shore with your fishing rod and get involved with fun, exciting, and sometimes serious events.
Many of the guests then don't want to only watch but actively participate. You are more than welcome to do so. Some like to leave positive trails. That's why Joy's House combines explorations of reality with the chance to take part in the development of community; the chance to 'plant your little apple tree' even if the world will (not) end tomorrow. That is different from other places as well: Guests are not understood as tourists but as experienced professionals. You are in no way forced into accepting that role, however. You can also just use the time to relax your mind and body. But you will know that the invitation to actively participate - no matter if small- or large-scale - is valid. All those involved are aware that this is not about 'the' Thai culture, but about cultural heterodoxies.
Joy's House is a family business. And the fact that this can be very successful can be seen from the example of the Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, which, in terms of its staff, it is based on this very principle. A somewhat extended family - Joy's House also includes many chosen relatives from the surrounding neighborhoods and villages - is still a family: it exists with its strengths and weaknesses. Nobody is being laid off. Social security is guaranteed by the family structure; and this also applies to peripheral members. Joy's House is more that the entrance door or the invitation to combine tourism and sustainable development. Impulses are also sent to the outside and affect the guests' home countries.
Joy's House has had three and a half years to gain experiences with this concept before the first children of the School for Life arrived at Joy's Farm.
In March 2002, Joy's House was elected one of the world's seven best projects for socially responsible tourism at an international competition of the ITB. In November 2002, it was awarded the "Outstanding Travel and Service Award 2002" by the Thai government as one of the best travel destinations of the country.
With the development of the School for Life, new possibilities have been created for the guests to get involved and to learn from and with the children. The following are several examples of this:
The retired manager of a Swiss chocolate factory turned out to be a very helpful expert for composting (which is not all that easy at the farm because of all the teak leaves)
The owner of a travel agency in Manila had to admit that she would really rather be president of an association for the re-colonization of rare butterflies in Philippine gardens (this had the result that she discovered every rare butterfly in the whole area during her stay and thus special bushes were planted to get the butterflies to settle at the farm; further, it lead to the fact that now many rare butterflies are flying around there who, at some point in their lives are caterpillars, and thus feast on the farm's ecological vegetables as if they were dining at some three-star-restaurant).
A couple initiated dental treatment for the children, who had never been to the dentist and even though most of the kids agreed that they would never want to go there again, it was their first chance for treatment.
A German scholar who was visiting for a short time developed the theory of the 'natural swimming pool' including the advice of using small black fish living in the rice fields as pool cleaners (this resulted in crystal clear water and the fish grew in numbers until at some point three young water snakes came and started to feed on the fish; now the children's task at hand was to attract the snakes away from the pool to farther ponds)
One guest was helpful in two ways. Firstly, he gave important geological advice to prepare the easily drying farmland in a way that it would store humidity. Secondly, as a bicycle expert, he solved the children's' problem of racing the bikes until they become useless, by showing them how to professionally repair them so that they could be used again.
A teacher from the Bavarian Forest, who happened to carry large numbers of colored pencils in her luggage, initiated a drawing project with the title 'Life in Thailand' in two schools - the children of the farm were included. She displayed the works in her home town, motivated children there to draw pictures of 'Life in Germany', and thus created cultural connections between children who grew up with tales of knights and castles and children who grew up with tales of tigers and temples.
Aug 16th, 2005, 04:11 PM
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That really does sound awesome..I spent some time on their website last night and if we go to Chiang Mai next year, would really like to stay there..I have a foster child outside of Chiang Mai, that we would really like to visit again..Thanks for your info.
Tracy
Tracy
Aug 16th, 2005, 04:19 PM
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Tracy-- a lot of my interest in all of this began when I went to visit a foster child in 1986. She lived in a village in NE Thailand and visiting her village changed the way I travel and in many ways changed my life.
Aug 17th, 2005, 04:33 AM
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Tracy-- where else are you going on your next trip? I've been doing this kind of travel for 20 years and always seek out the "people" type experiences 1st-- temples, other sights and shopping a pretty distant third. It hasn't always been easy to travel like that since I also am not into treking or camping but I've managed. Anyway, I may have some suggestions for "people" experiences for some of the other places you are going.
Aug 17th, 2005, 05:53 PM
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Gloria, thanks for sharing the website. We're already booked into a B&B type called Baan Orapin in January that looks nice but the Joy's House website certainly offers a lot of interesting ideas.
Aug 17th, 2005, 07:52 PM
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Wow, small world. I'd seen it on the chaingmai-chaingrai.com site and it seemed up our alley. We'll be there just a short while (a bit of a scouting deviation to the north, but not as long as we probably should spend, but it's our first Asia trip). We're there from January 20-22. I do hope it's as well located as it seems to be.
Aug 18th, 2005, 04:14 AM
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Clifton-- we'll just miss each other. I have not stayed there before but I do know the area and it is well located. Not smack in the middle of the night market but on a nice street with great shops and good restaurants and a short walk or ride everywhere.
Aug 18th, 2005, 06:10 AM
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hi glorialf tx for all your info on joyshouse. We are going to be there hopefully Oct. 26 for a few days. There is so much info from these potngs and Fodor we have not settled on anything yet except we want to take an elephant ride. If you have any suggestion on what we should definitely not miss please let me know.
Aug 18th, 2005, 07:06 AM
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Jeremiah7, we must be thinking alot of the same things. When I go in September ( I will be staying at Swiss Lodge) we are also going to Chiang Mai. I already have reservations at Imperial Mae Ping, but plan to take a tour of Joy's House also. I will let you know more of my thought. One of the most fun things we did last year in CM is take a cooking class. We used www.thaicookeryschool.com/ and it was a blast. We scheduled a day when we went to the local market, and that was a great experience.
Aug 18th, 2005, 07:48 AM
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Jeremiah -- in terms of an elephant ride make sure you do it at the elephant conservation center about an hour and a half outside of Chiang Mai. Go to it rather than one of the closer, more touristy places. It's the one place where you know your money is being used well and the elephants are treated well. It's also worth spending a lot of time there -- it's fabulous.
Stitchintime-- If you want a big commercial hotel in CM at a low price you might be happier at the Chiang Mai Plaza. I have stayed at both and preferred the latter. For the same price you might also consider Baan Orapin which is a B and B getting great reviews -- I'll be staying there in January.
Stitchintime-- If you want a big commercial hotel in CM at a low price you might be happier at the Chiang Mai Plaza. I have stayed at both and preferred the latter. For the same price you might also consider Baan Orapin which is a B and B getting great reviews -- I'll be staying there in January.
Aug 18th, 2005, 09:58 AM
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gloriaf...On our next trip we are going to Kerala/the Maldives/and Dubai..in November 2005. But I pretty much have everything booked..
We are considering either BKK/Chiang Mai, Angkor Wat and maybe Vietnam or perhaps Peru for our trip next year..I change my mind frequently, so it could change..But any suggestions for any of those places or anywhere else, I am game!!
We are considering either BKK/Chiang Mai, Angkor Wat and maybe Vietnam or perhaps Peru for our trip next year..I change my mind frequently, so it could change..But any suggestions for any of those places or anywhere else, I am game!!
