THE HONEYMOON RESORT

Kanlaya's Eyrie

CMS: "Philip and Kanlaya, tell us all about Kanlaya's Eyrie please."

P & K: "In Engand we own and manage one of the top ten Wedding Venues, nearly 200 weddings a year. And guess where they all want to go on Honeymoon the next day? Thailand of course, but not Pattaya, not Phuket, but the real, natural Thailand of the tribal mountain areas of Mae Hon Song Province. Kanlaya owns this fantastic site near Thum Lod caves, where she grew up in a Karen village. As we are partners it was an easy decision to build the house of our dreams, for our winter holidays and to share with our newly-wed customers."

CMS: "Why Kanlaya's Eyrie?"

P & K: "An Eyrie is where an eagles makes their nest. Always they pick the most beautiful mountain spot atop spectacular scenery, where they can survey there entire domain. Just like us gazing down at Kanlaya's tribal homeland below."

CMS: "So what else is special about your project?"

P & K: "Stunning scenery, incredible views, in the bosom of Nature, completely natural and wild, and a site where we can create a world class sub tropical rain forest garden. At 800 meters the climate is perfect."

CMS: "And what style have you adopted in your designs?"

P & K: "Traditional Lanna style combined with understated sophistication, luxury and a very light carbon footfall. We have used natural local materials, local craftsmen and collected lovely local artifacts like our Buffalo waggon, ploughs and tools. But we also introduced the last word in low energy design, especially solar absorbers for all our hot water, LED ultra low energy lighting throughout, under floor heating, revolutionary in Thailand, but a real luxury with night time temperatures dropping to as low as 8°C. As we build waterfalls and fountains we will be applying photovoltaic panels to drive solar pumps with zero electricity from the grid"

CMS: "Tell us more about your hot water system please"

P & K: "In England a Jacuzzi is everyone"s dream of luxury, and especially so on Honeymoon. So we have built a fabulous Jacuzzi Sala jutting out from the huge Bridal Suite. It just seems to float in mid air, with 180 degree views all around to the jungle on both sides of the valley and the distant Burmese border at the head of the pass. Problem with Jacuzzis, and the power showers we installed in all the bathrooms, is they need lots of hot water, 24/7, 12 months a year, on demand. The only answer and a very pleasing one, was to install an ultramodern heat pipe solar absorber system feeding into a large 1100 litre insulated hot water storage tank. We hold water in the tank at 80°C. Ambient cold water up here is about 20°C. So that means we can supply up to 3300 liters of hot water at 40°C, enough for several Jacuzzis, unlimited showers and to warm up the outdoor plunge pool we are working on now."

CMS: "So do you think your customers will buy it"

P & K: "In England we think of Thailand as beautiful, with a wonderful culture, a natural way of life and the best place in the world for a truly romantic Honeymoon. And as Kanlaya's Eyrie has so very much extra to offer we are sure we will be booked solid; just hope there is some time left for us to enjoy it as well!"

CMS: "Thanks Kanlaya and Philip, you have done a wonderful job up here in the wilds. Very best of luck with your venture"