it is a little paradise with very friendly people, in the village as well at the homestay.
They do'nt know any problems, they solve them.....
Lamai is a very good landlady and Jimmy is a walking encyclopedia....
So in a few days you learn a lot....

While researching a rural travel experience in Thailand I happened to discover Lamai Homestay. Based on many references via the internet to awards it has received I soon decided to book a Rural Village Tour with Jimmy and Lamai through his sister, Ann, in Wales.
Finding the correct bus route from Bangkok and not able to reach Jimmy on the phone made the first day a little stressful but after that the experience was far and away better then I imagined.
The garden is beautiful and your meals are served in different eating areas around the guesthouse amidst twinkling lights and traditional music. Lamai cooks to any taste but we loved the Thai food she prepared for us.
Our room was comfortable and the bathroom was clean and handy..right across the hall. We loved the Thai bedspreads they used and changed every day.
Jimmy was a wealth of information about the Thai culture and Lamai introduced us to the village with a walk around town to visit the neighbors. We enjoyed their daughter, Lizzie, who knocked on our door one day to show us a new dress her dad had brought home from town.
Our tours included traditional silk making, local school, the Bua Yai market and the Prasat Hin Phimai ruins. We were able to view the silk process from the silkworm to the finished fabric which we were able to purchase at a center that markets for the local women.
Since my friend and I are both from rural upbringing we loved watching the hay making, rice fields, cows and chickens. We took a long walk down a country road one day and people were friendly and willing for us to take their photo(after we asked of course).

If you are expecting luxurious accomodations, telephone and TV then this is probably not for you but if you want to see the real Thailand then I recommend Lamai Homestay. The people are poor here and by visiting you play a part in helping the community.

People ask me if I was going to live in Thailand where would I go. I tell them I would probably go near Jimmy and Lamai at the Lamai Homestay and live a simple life like the people do there.

We loved our stay at Lamais! This was the start of our SEA adventure, and a wonderful way to wind down and gain knowledge. Staying here was a great way for all of us to learn about how life is lived in this part of the world. We - a family of five: mom, dad and 3 kids (10, 8 and 3) felt very welcome here. What will we remember the most? hunting at night in the closeby and very dark field for frogs (and spotting a snake!), buying fish and birds at the old tree and setting them free again, eating Lamais wonderfull food in the tropical garden by candlelight,... the list is endles!

Lamai's Guesthouse is located in the province of Isan (also spelled Isaan or Esarn), about 7 hours by train from Bangkok, in a rural village. The guesthouse is run by Lamai, who was born and raised in that village, and her Welsh husband Jimmy with their little daughter Lizzy. They wanted to make a difference in this poor area and build this guesthouse which can accomodate up to 6 people. Like this, tourists have the opportunity to see some "real" Thailand, without having too much of a negative impact on the cultural and environment. We stayed in a large room, which was cleaned every day, with air-conditioning and toilet and shower next door. In the mornings and evenings we dined outside at various pretty places in the garden.

JImmy and Lamai offer various tours: You can participate in rural life and go Scorpion hunting, cook ants and plant rice, you can see how silk worms are grown and how silk is made, or visit some of the Khmer temples in the area.

We chose the temple tour and saw various very impressive (Angkor Vat like) Khmer temples, museums and excavation sites. JImmy would always talk plans for the next day over with us and then he and Lamai would drive us there, we would have time to explore, then we all had lunch, went to see some more or went home and had some of Lamai's fantastic food. However, we also got a walking tour of the village, met some of Lamai's family, saw silk worms in various stages and tried our hand at silk weaving. Jimmy and Lamai were very flexible and accomodated us in every possible way. Jimmy told us lots of things about Thai culture and life in Thailand, which were very interesting and so we learned many things we otherwise would not have seen or heard of. This was truly alternative travel! Everything had a very personal touch about it. We are extremely happy about how this holiday went and will certainly go back to hunt some scorpions.