The creative mind for over three decades
behind many palaces, restaurants, hotels, resorts, and pubs in Thailand
as well as Thai embassies overseas, noted interior designer ML Sudavadee
Kriangkrai found Phu Chaisai a home for solace and peace of mind. Once a
bamboo forested hill, it was gradually and inventively transformed into
a cozy residence and later a resort, all within five years.“My mum
(Mrs. Chaisai) wanted to use this piece of land as a place for
meditation. So I fulfilled her dream,” she recalled with her trademark
smile.
Phu Chaisai is now an oasis of spirituality
for city dwellers that seek refuge from the wear and tear of the city.
One can’t help but be impressed by the beauty of the tranquility and the
natural setting. Thirty-four rooms were made of bamboo and are void of
television sets and electronic alarm clocks. In the warm embrace of
Mother Nature, many can make peace with their inner selves.
Simplicity
is always the key to ML Sudavadee’s designs. In the East-meets-West
fashion show, she defined her design as integrated for relaxation of
body and mind with high-quality hospitality and professional
performance.
Soaked in dew, the fresh green leaves of trees glisten as day breaks.
The entire mountain range and forest is a thick canopy of green humming
with the singing of birds and insects. Open your eyes and from the
confines of your bed watch the sun moving up the horizon.
From the
outside, this small and romantic resort is just a cluster of ordinary
bamboo huts with thatched rooms, but once you step inside you realize
that these huts are special. Devoid of brand name decorative items and
expensive furniture, Phu Chaisai chose to build with decorative items.
The air is just one of the many attractions of Phu Chaisai (Mountain
of Clear Hearts), an enchanting little “boutique” resort located in the
hills outside of Mae Chan, in Chiang Rai. The relative silence is
another. The breathtaking views afforded from the generous terraces and
the bright and airy rooms, as well as most of the common areas, is yet
another.
The resort is ideally for the traveller who wants to get away from it
all without leaving the comforts of home, to get off the beaten track
but without going to far. The rooms call “cottages”, are stacked three
high in seven hillside clusters and constructed in traditional hill
tribe style with mud floors, bamboo walls, and leaf roofs.
All of the furnishings are, of course, ingeniously made of bamboo,
from the tables and chairs to the door handles and light fixtures, even
clothes hangers and soap dishes.
