Our friend Ben owns a property in the area of Ubon Ratchathani in eastern Thailand. His farm is so remote that he doesn’t have electricity there – the perfect Bush Camp! Let’s take a look at this excellent place!
Before I show you the site itself, let me address some questions I’ve been asked by interested people. Yes, I am available to take guests to these places and be their guide. The costs are reasonable but it does depend upon where you want to go. If you can arrange your own airfare, I will take care of the rest for you. The daily fees range from about US$300 to US$800, everything included. Those prices are very reasonable for a remote village camp vacation. If you don’t believe me, do some checking online in places like Tanzania (like Klein’s Camp).
Now, on to the photos!
Overview shot showing the beautiful natural buildings on the site. The setting sun is low on the horizon and casts some interesting shadows.
A lovely shot of Hui-Chen standing in the kitchen. Her shirt says “Natural Beauty” in white letters. Everyone agrees.
This is the side entrance to the main building.
And this is what the main deck looks like when standing in front of the entrance previously shown. (These shots were taken over several days which explains the various lighting) We take all our meals on this deck and spent a good deal of time enjoying the open roof.
Immediately to the right of the previous shot is the bed, where I slept on the deck under the netting. Definitely Bush.
Right off the front porch is the kitchen. Actually the front porch is the kitchen, where many delicious meals were prepared for us from local ingredients.
Here we see one of the local gentlemen preparing a fish for soup. Every single herb used in the dishes were hand picked on this property. Wonderful.
Charcoal is used for cooking, and here is the stove. Everything we ate was cooked right here.
This is how glutinous rice is cooked. The metal vessel contains water for making steam to cook the rice in the bamboo steaming basket on top.
Here we are getting ready to settle down to some serious eating, Thai style! Of course, I’ve already settled down to some serious drinking, Bushman style! The gentleman on the right is one of Ben’s relatives (Ben is on the left).
We kept a bush fire going the entire time we were there. This slow smoldering fire helps to keep the mosquitoes away from the camp.
The property itself is quite large and makes for a nice stroll in the morning, or after dinner. Except for the people who live in the adjacent property (and are caretakers) the next dwelling is in the village at the end of the road (that girl just looks prettier and prettier every time I see her).
After dinner Hui-Chen checked out my instant tent (that I bought for US$17). You just toss it in the place you want to set up and it pops into shape. Its not really a tent as much as a mosquito net. Great for light weight trips such as bicycle camping.
After dinner its time to relax and do more drinking! I’m enjoying Sang Som (an excellent local rum) and coke.
In many places in the world, this is how you turn on the tap water. Each night we would take turns washing up at the pump because there is no actual shower. Washing by candlelight with a bucket is a pleasant Bush experience that everyone should have at least once.