Thai food commonly known outside of the kingdom is often a limited litany of accessible (but nevertheless tasty) dishes. Yet each region in Thailand has its indigenous favourites, and one of Isan's specialties is "Mam", or beef blood sausage. The central Thais refer to this as Sai Krok Luat, yet these sausages are nigh on impossible to find out of Northeast Thailand.

They are made with beef  liver and blood, mixed with a variety of herbs and spices such as lemongrass and garlic, stuffed in beef intestine. They are air dried and stay soft for approximately seven days before hardening, and may be eaten raw or fried. Not only does this process ensure a symphony of flavours - but the addition of salt or fish sauce and garlic allows the meat to be preserved. They are usually served with a spicy dipping sauce - the recipe for which you will find lurking on our Thai Isan blog.

If you travel to Thailand and are a foodie who enjoys salami or andouillette at home, keep an eye peeled for roadside stalls with a small tarpaulin roof covering strings of these tasty morsels hanging up to dry - then stop and buy a couple! Alternatively, ask us to purchase some for you and to prepare them as one of your authentic Northeastern Thai dishes at Gecko Villa.

Pepperleaf or wild betel leaves (Piper sarmentosum, as opposed to the narcotic betelnut leaf) grow all around Gecko Villa. There is no English name for these leaves,  called cha plu (ช้าพลู) in Thai, phak i lert in Isan & Lao, and la lot in Vietnamese. Whilst most villagers in Isan will use them in soups to add flavour, we like to use them in what is traditionally a Vietnamese dish. The wofting aroma of the perfumed leaves, when grilled, is unmistakably seductive.

12 oz ground beef
1  thinly sliced shallot 
1 larg garlic clove - peeled and minced
2 tbls minced lemongrass (the white part)
2 tsps sugar
1 tbl fish sauce
24  large cha plu leaves (In the West, you can substitute grape (vine) leaves)
Bamboo skewers or toothpicks soaked in water for 20 minutes and drained

Mix the beef, shallot, garlic, lemongrass, sugar and fish sauce in a bowl. 
Wash and dry the cha plu leaves.

Put about 2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each leaf, towards the stem end. Fold the stem end over the filling, fold in the sides and roll up carefully.  Ensure the filling is wholly and tightly enclosed. Stuff and roll the remaining leaves.
Skewer the rolls, brush with oil and grill over a barbecue or on a medium-high, well-oiled grill pan for around 2 minutes per side until lightly charred. Alternatively, steam the rolls briefly and then grill.

Serve with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce made with fish sauce, sugar, lime and chilies.

This dish is a favourite with children and adults alike at our Thai holiday villa

 The film "Kru Bannok", or "The Village Teacher", was a blockbuster back in the late Seventies. In it, teacher Piya, imbued with idealstic notions of change and equality, uncovers high level corruption and is assasinated when he tries to counter it.

The film’s director, Surasee Patham (himself a son of Isan) had been swept up in the tsunami of political activism countering the military dictatorship at the time, and fled at nineteen into the jungles of Isan, emerging only seven months later to craft a film depicting the struggle of Northeastern Thai villagers against unruly capitalists and a failed justice system.

Now he has remade the film, and its imminent release is causing some consternation, coming as it does at a time of political turmoil, and unleashed as it will be upon a generation deemed by some to be  less interested by the ideals it espouses.

Surasee is nothing if not bold, and with the spirit of the jungle fighter of the Seventies declares: ''The audience may not want to see socially conscious movies, but to me, the problems faced by the rural people haven't changed in the past 31 years. It's actually getting worse. Now the exploitation of the poor has been systematized and integrated. Before, we fought capitalists, middle-men, politicians and corrupt civil servants. Now, they all work together, or worse, they're from the same family. Business and politics become the same, and their goal is to totally deprive villagers of power. Capitalism forces people to leave their homes to come and serve it in the city, while the government - any government - doesn't seem to be interested in empowering rural people, besides giving hand-outs. I think it's scarier than when I made my first film 31 years ago. Things haven't changed for the better at all.''

Interestingly, the Thai Ministry of Culture supports the new film and has stated that it's message is a good one. 

The moral high ground has lost none of its appeal, although we may be led to question who occupies it.

"Tung men khoi si tuek lai, khoi koh bo yorm jon"

This old Lao and Isan maxim literally means "Though I may be poverty-stricken, I refuse to be a pauper."

It underlines the spirit of the region, where villagers have traditionally fought drought and floods in an agricultural society, yet retained a positive outlook on life and a spirit of conviviality and optimism in tightly-knit, fun-loving communities. Whilst the pauper accepts his or her destitute lot and turns to charity, the spirit of Isan is one of struggle and hope.

The resilience that resonates in the maxim is reminiscent of, yet in counterpoint to, another more traditionally Thai saying, describing how the speaker has become a scapegoat, angry yet almost resigned to the fact that he has been exploited: "I did not eat the meat, I do not wear the skin; yet I carry the bones around my neck".

At  Gecko Villa, we believe that encouraging responsible tourism is a fitting tribute to a land where the pauper's oath remains unsworn.

We cultivate many organic  papaya trees around the grounds of both Gecko Villa and Green Gecko. In Isan, we tend to regard the fruit as a vegetable - using it as a main ingredient whilst hard and green rather than as a fruit when its flesh has sweetened and softened into reds or yellows.

The papaya plant grows rapidly. Whilst the bark and stem may be used to produce rope, the fruit is best known for its wide range of uses and inherent health benefits.

Both the green fruit and the latex in the papaya tree are rich in papain, an enzyme useful in tenderizing meat (and often used in manufactured meat tenderizers.) Papain (often produced by fermenting the flesh of the papaya) is also used as a topical application to treat cuts, rashes, stings and burns. The fruit also has a relatively high amount of pectin, which can be used to make jams.

Papayas contain high levels of folates and antioxidants, including vitamins C, E and A. These help prevent the oxidation of cholesterol, and are thus believed to be valuable in preventing atherosclerosis, stokes and heart attacks. Diets high in papaya have been proven to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 82%, as a result of their richness in lycopenes. Juice form the leaves of the tree can increase platelet counts.

Black seeds nestle in the centre of the fruit in a hollow chamber, and are generally discarded, although they are in fact edible, with a sharp, spicy taste. They may be dried and ground and then be deployed as a substitute for black pepper.

The spicy Green Papaya Salad known as Som Tam is considered the flagship dish of the Northeast - even if it has been hijacked, sweetened and dulled down in scovilles by the central Thais in their "Som Tam Thai".  The wafting aromas of Som Tam are distinctive and seductive, marrying sour, bitter, sweet and salty notes to a dish that weds crunch with softness. The "pok-pok" sound of pestle and mortar, and the aroma concocted by the rhythmic pounding and scraping of the ingredients, creates a symphony of taste that far exceeds  its individual notes - principally shredded green papaya, cherry tomatoes, long beans, chilies, garlic  and lime juice palm sugar and fish sauce (or, specifically in Isan, fermented fish or rice paddy crab.)

So venture up the Northeast of Thailand and enjoy a freshly prepared Som Tam with some sticky rice. Juicy, spicy, healthy, fresh and crunchy, it makes a perfect summer dish beside the gurgling pool.

We are delighted to announce that we have now secured our own traditional wooden boat for excusions on the local listed wetlands. The boat was hand made by local villagers from three large planks of indigenous wood with simple wooden seats, and was finally blessed by the addition of a green gecko painted on the front of the craft.

Local villagers can now take visitors out onto the hidden lake to watch fishermen at work, to spot rare birds darting down over the clear waters or to get up close and personal with wallowing water buffalo. The shallow wooden boat glides effortlessly through the swamp-like waters which are covered by patches of bright green grasses and waterplants, and, in the cooler months, the boat offers a breathtaking experience as it proceeds through the calm waters covered in a thick, magical carpet of stunning pink lotus blooms.

The BBC film crew stayed at Gecko Villa during the filming of the "Rice" episode of the Channel 4 series "Blood, Sweat and Takeaways."

Gecko Villa became part catering facility, part translation house and fixer, and accommodation provider to a rotating crew, who were either working or relaxing at the villa or out in the field filming.

The house rented by the British particpants in this reality TV documentary was located in a nearby village, and the rice paddies in which they were set to work were also in close proximity to  the villa.

Whilst viewers were entertained by the sight of a somewhat fractious group of young UK visitors trying to eke out a living in the rice paddies of Isaan, the local villagers found it a hoot to watch the tears and tantrums of large foreigners unable to work in the paddies, terrified of unseen spiders, complaining about the hot sun under which "farang" would normally sunbathe (whilst the Thais will cover up to avoid darkening the skin), or to keep up with their Thai counterparts. Only one of the participants earned their respect, throwing himself wholeheartedly into ensuring that the work required of them was completed whilst facing any hardship with a "stiff upper lip" attitude that the programme would seem to suggest has disappeared from English culture.

Yet the local villagers were also impressed that a reputed overseas news channel should deem their small rice farming village of interest to their international viewers, and thoroughly enjoyed watching themsleves in the programme on a DVD kindly sent to Gecko Villa by the production house, Ricochet.