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Last Saturday, over Easter, we went to our local orphanage to take all the wonderful clothes that our farm stay guests had so generously donated. The kids at the orphanage were thrilled and excited which could be seen on their faces as they discovered such brilliant new outfits! Thank you so much to all those guests who have so kindly supported our project and which has brought so much happiness to the kids at The Youth Charity Foundation!  The idea of our ‘Stay & Leave’ project is that when guests stay with us we suggest that you wear all your old clothes which you are ready to throw away and then leave them with us when you depart and we will wash and repair as necessary and when we have enough we will donate to an orphanage and to Hill Tribe folks in the mountains. (…and think of all the extra shopping you can do in town without exceeding your airline baggage allowance!!)
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 A quick snap of Hattie and one of her babies. No longer the Ranbutans they once were but the cutest bundle of quills you ever have seen!
A friend of the farm who helps take care of the smaller animals at weekends but who studies in town during the week found a bundle of fur huddled in a gutter outside Wat Jet Lod (an ancient Brahmin-style temple to the west of the city) when he was leaving university about 15 days ago. On closer inspection he found it was a very young puppy abandoned and distressed! So he took him home, gave him a shower and some healthy food and painstakingly removed the discarded chewing gum which had become entangled in the pups’ fur. After a few days and a lot of tlc both of them headed to the farm where we readily adopted this newest member of our animal family! We have called him ‘Jet’ after the temple where he was found. Jet is already proving to be a very intelligent fellow and learns so quickly! We think he is quite a high proportion of Alsatian but we’ll get a better idea as he gets older. He is being very, very spoilt and we have just fallen for him, he is so lovable! Now that’s what you call ‘Jet’ power!! It’s that time of year when we have to prune the trees around the farm not only to make it look neat but to allow more sunlight into the undergrowth and gardens. This year it was quite a mammoth task as you can see form the snap below but after a hard day’s work by our devoted team we were nice, neat and tidy again! Pruning comes but once a year!...and for that we are very thankful!!  Hattie gave birth to 2 babies this morning! They bear a remarkable likeness to a couple of Rambutans! Congratulations to Hattie and Harry, the proud parents, and apologies for comparing your kids to a delicious fruit!   I am reporting from the beautiful Thung Dong Farm in the north of Thailand and show you one of my first self-made videos. Of course, it takes practice and I'm far from being as experienced as when taking pictures, but it just makes a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy! :) Ich melde mich von der wunderschönen Thung Dong Farm im Norden von Thailand und zeige euch eines meiner ersten selbtgedrehten Videos. Natürlich braucht es noch Übung und ich bin längst nicht so routiniert wie beim fotografieren, aber es macht mir einfach wahnsinnig viel Spass. Ich hoffe, das sieht man! :)
Our sincere thanks go to Khun Sherry who has shown her artistic skills by drawing plans for our guest accommodation on the farm! These are now featured together with our room descriptions on our web-site and will allow potential farm stay guests a much more detailed idea of the accommodation options that we are able to offer when staying with us on the farm! A big thanks again Khun Sherry for this brilliant addition to our web-site!   
Young Aden and his family came to stay with us again recently and he celebrated his birthday on the farm with us!
His brother Dean helped make this a birthday to remember! Happy birthday Aden from all of us on Thung Dong! We celebrated Loi Kathrong this year in Ban Pong Kum a 15 minute drive drive from the farm. Folks from all the surrounding villages seem to be there and it was a wonderful evening. Guests staying with us on the farm at the time, Khun Jessica and family and Khun Damien, joined us and it was spectacular but without the traffic and crowds in town! A brilliant way to celebrate this festival of peace and reflection!
 Harry and Hattie are a couple of the cutest Pigmy Hedgehogs you could ever wish to hug…with the greatest of care, of course! Hedgehogs sleep a lot but become a little more active, like to get-up to nibble on an apple, at night-time.
Hattie is still very shy and difficult to photograph but Harry is quite the lad! These two 7 week old Hedgies have made Thung Dong their home and we welcome them with open arms, so long as you are wearing protective clothing, if you get the point!! "We contacted the farm via their web page and communication with the farm owner Khun Ae was reliable, detailed and effective. Khun Ae speaks and writes good English, a major plus for any Non-Thai speaker considering a stay in a fairly remote area on a farm.
He organised a smooth and very friendly transfer with a Thai driver, Khun James. We were welcomed at the airport by an English speaker, who took us to the driver and answered any questions we had before leaving for the farm. The last kilometres of the drive over the winding road are beautiful, leading through lush, hilly and varying landscape. Finally you drive off the main road down a simple road to a small stream. Khun Ae will pick you up here with a four-wheel drive to cross this little stream situated about 100 meters down from the farm. However, you might simply want to walk over the great little bamboo bridge and approach the farm on foot as part of your starting holiday adventure. The landscape is exceptionally beautiful. The farmhouse is sitting atop gently sloping pastures, whereas the extensive farm area itself stretches out in front and past the farm house on a kind of open hollow, partly landscaped with gravel paths, small lakes and natural pastures towards the rows of green banana trees in the back. The farm area is partly surrounded by hills with jungle-like vegetation, set against the background of higher mountain of the region. In October, everything was lush and green. After many years in Bangkok and after losing the illusion that a stay in the Thai countryside is a guarantee for quiet, we are on the run from noise (and other) -pollution: music, phone ringing, people shouting, villagers or religious institutions waking up their fellow neighbours before sunrise, a disco bass in a distance since the early evening, noisy pumps, electric devices etc. None of this here. Here, for the first time in years, we heard the gentle falling of rain on leaves. Khun Ae is in charge of the farm, helped by several people. Work on the farm is demanding and time consuming, yet Khun Ae is very personable, will answer your questions, and he and his colleagues will make you feel very welcome. Time allowing, he will join in activities himself. You will be greeted by animals co-existing with each other, the smaller ones roaming freely over the farm: ducks, geese, Silkie chickens, fantail pigeons, rabbits. There are two adorable dogs, Izzy and Sam, and an equally charming cat, Oscar. Further away, on the pastures, a herd of cows and buffalos, (at present also a baby buffalo), will be grazing, and there are two pigs. The farm grounds closer to the farm buildings are almost park-like, with small lakes and huts to relax. Accomodation: The “Sunset Room”, where we stayed is really an apartment that feels as private as a house, as it is attached to one end of the farm but faces away from it, and has its own little garden. It is a double bedroom, nicely furnished, cosy, with windows the length of two sides of the room. It has a modern TV set (which we didn’t use once) and internet access. There is a separate kitchen and very large veranda with sofa and table, from where you have a far view down the gently sloping pasture, where sometimes the cattle and buffalo will be grazing, towards the entrance and village in the surrounding green hills. The garden has both a beautiful loggia, (raised balcony with a view) and a big wooden pavilion. On the other side of the farm house is a beautiful Thai wooden house on stilts. If you have never seen or even spent time on a Thai wooden house, don’t miss this chance. It has its own kitchen, several balconies / seating areas. Finally, beyond the Thai house, there is one additional single guestroom with an adjacent bathroom, beautifully decorated and with easy access (no staircase). The price included the meals on the farm. In the sunset room kitchen, you find coffee and tea making facilities, but also a microwave/oven, fridge. (If you need anything beyond the meals served, ask the driver to stop at a supermarket on your way to the farm). We ate delicious Thai meals prepared by Khun Bpoo and Khun Mai who work at the farm, usually in the big eating pavilion in the farm yard with beautiful views onto the farm. Tom is vegetarian, I eat very little meat, and they seemed to effortlessly come up with a variety of vegetarian dishes, (and meaty dishes anyway). Ask for the farm shoot salad: “Yam Phak Goot”. They provide an American breakfast if you wish. We spent our times walking on the farm area, sitting, watching and feeding animals, taking pictures, reading, napping, walking to the main road and looking at the little village stores, feeding the birds, admiring the beautiful buffalo, flirting with Oscar, Sam and Izzy, talking to Khun Ae. I had a very good Thai massage from Khun Pani (from the village), the first good one in years since I gave up visiting the cold air-conditioned massage places in Bangkok with their varying quality of service years ago. We had a great walk in the surrounding National park area with Khun Ae and Khun Bpoo, collecting fern shoots and other plants for a delicious dinner, during which Khun Ae told us many details about the area. As you will see from the detailed information that he will send, there are many more things to do. Next time, we are planning to visit one of the waterfalls and exploring a walking path leading further past the farm. The return transfer was organised just as smoothly by the farm, and the driver Khun Montri drove us back nicely to the airport."  Susi & Tom, recent guests on the farm, took this stunning snap of our Sam! I think it's just brilliant and too good not to share! I have even taken an enlargment to have framed and put on my study wall!
Thanks Susi, thanks Tom! |
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