Responsible Choice
We've hand-selected a range of tours and stays across the world that go above and beyond to be a force for good by supporting local businesses, educating staff, challenging local norms, or promoting conservation and biodiversity efforts. Your
Responsible Choice helps increase the positive impact of your trip.
Authentic regional cuisine, basket weaving, and swapping stories — spend the day with a local family in Thailand.
Welcomed into a family’s home near Chiang Mai, you’ll learn how to make local dishes with ingredients plucked from the garden. Not only that, but you’ll also get to spend plenty of time with your hosts, learning about their Lanna culture as you go.
A member of the Raunkaew-Yanon family will pick you up from your hotel and drive you 30 minutes south to their home in rural Hang Dong. On arrival, the family will lead you on a tour of their teak-built home, spirit house, and surrounding gardens. As you walk, they’ll tell you how their family — of Lanna descent — came to the area over a century and a half ago, and how they’ve preserved traditions and spiritual practices through the generations.
While you’re in the gardens, you’ll also pick produce to use in your cooking. You might share this tour with a small group of fellow visitors, though your cooking class will be private.
Unlike most commercial classes, you’ll focus on seasonal Northern Thai and Lanna cuisine here. You’ll be paired with a family member (or a few) to prepare several dishes, which might include khao soi (a coconut-infused noodle soup) and red and green curries (you’ll make the pastes from scratch). Under the careful guidance of your host, you’ll chop, grind, stir, and simmer to create a fragrant feast bursting with colour, which you’ll get to enjoy afterwards.
During the day, you might also try basket weaving and watch how cigars are hand-rolled using banana leaves.
The experience will last around two to three hours.
