Nok & Noi

Flew north today to the mountains outside of Chiang Rai. We were picked up from the airport by Nok who is one half of the couple who run a small, seven hut hideaway called Bamboo Nest. We stopped several times on the way out of town to get eggs, ice, fresh veggies, and nails. We turned from a small, windy main road to a steep rough and muddy track that wound up through a Lhao village and onto a small clearing over looking rice paddies and jungle covered hillsides with small accommodation huts and a sweet communal dining room. We passed Noks other half, Noi, on the way up the hill in the car. They stopped for an quick exchange and when Nok drove off she shook her head and said "he's hyper". We thought we misheard and asked what she said and she said "he's hyperactive". We had no reason to doubt Nok but we soon saw for ourselves she was spot on with that diagnosis. Noi is a tiny, wiry, wild looking man who is on the go all the time. He was chasing cats out of the kitchen with great commotion. He leapt under tables and over rails trying to catch his dogs to tie them up. He sprang in and out of the kitchen with trays of curry for his guests, mixing up orders and scuttling back and forth. He rushes up enthusiastically to talk about something and then runs off mid sentence saying he has wood to collect or cement to mix or some other chore to do. He never stops and when he's not taking people on treks he's building, fixing, tearing up and down the mountain for something or making lunch for a dozen people, all the while apologizing for something or other.
Dinner was late (but yum) and there was a French couple on their honeymoon whose booking had been over looked and they ended up in a hut with two single beds. It seems to be the Fawlty Towers of the northern Thai hill tribe region but it's so authentic and down to earth and picturesque and warm and welcoming it just wouldn't be the same without the eccentric hosts.
LYTTMAB
Xx