Panaeng curry paste marries extremely well with pork, beef, and prawns. It can equally be used with chicken or fish. Panaeng curries are served in the most expensive Thai restaurants, as well as at roadside stalls, and is a favourite at our Thai holiday villa. The consistency of the sauce varies equally - from an almost dry curry to much thinner versions. Our personal favourite is a slightly dry version when served with pork or large fresh tiger prawns, or a slightly thinner curry with finely sliced beef.

Typically, a Panaeng curry will be finished with coconut milk, chilies and pea eggplant, or any variety of additional vegetables. A crucial ingredient at this stage is fresh kaffir lime leaves. Whilst a widely recognized Thai curry, the dish oozes flavours and perfumes redolent of shores further afield - from Malaysia to India.

Panaeng curry paste is best when homemade or purchased from a Thai wet market, but can equally be bought ready made. In Thailand, locals will know at which wet market the best pastes are sold. Overseas, curry pastes are sold in packets or jars, although the flavour is never as deep or complex, so if you do choose this option make sure you reinvigorate the sauce with the addition of fresh ingredients - especially basil and kaffir lime leaves.  Details on substitutes can be found at Gecko Villa's Thai Food page.

To make a curry, heat around 60ml of coconut milk (preferably in a wok) over medium heat. Stir in approx. one large tablespoon of the Panaeng curry paste and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring constantly until fragrant. Add thin slices of pork, beef or fresh large prawns (in the shell), together with a handful of pea eggplants, and around 3 or 4 fresh kaffir lime leaves (whole) and simmer briefly until cooked. Add additional coconut milk to taste, fish sauce and a teaspoon of palm sugar (optional), mix well and bring to a boil.

To obtain a thicker curry, render the sauce down over a high heat. Some may like to add a small squeeze of fresh lime juice. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with fresh basil leaves and thin shreds of fresh red chili - and perhaps a drizzle of fresh coconut milk - before serving with steamed jasmine rice.

The local wetlands near Gecko Villa are almost completely hidden from view by the dense vegetation that grows around their peripheries, where tall elephant grass sprouts whispy white flowers.

Venturing out into the vast expanse of lake on a traditional wooden boat, you are rapidly transported into another world: the absolute tranquility is broken only by the lapping of the water, the daring darting of birds and flitting of waterfowl - and a magical pink carpet of lotus flowers unfurls before you.

The best time to visit this extraordinary spectacle is in December to March, with early risers the most rewarded. Book Gecko Villa early in these months and do set aside time for this boat trip!

Visit Gecko Villa for more details on Thai birding in Northeast Thailand.

Traditionally, Thais use fish sauce ("nam pla") to season dishes. This brown, pungent, vibrant liquid has the consistency of water and is made from fermented fish. Just as olive oil in the West is produced in a wide spectrum of qualities, many differing classes of fish sauce are available, graded according to the ingredients used (fresh or dried fish, the type of fish etc) and the duration of fermentation. Rapidly fermented fish sauce retains a fishy flavour, whilst longer periods of fermentation can lend the sauce a nutty aroma with only a very delicate evocation of fish.  A small dish, pot or jar of this, usually infused with  finely sliced, fresh bird pepper chillies is a uniquitous sight throughout Thailand.

It is believed that fish sauce first appeared in China, gradually evolving with the addition of soy beans to become the fermented bean sauce that we now call soy sauce.  For those unfamiliar with fish sauce, and who clam up at the very thought of seasoning their dishes with this liquour, it may come as a surprise to learn that Worcestershire sauce is part of the same family, made with  fermented anchovies! Indeed, this seasoning has a long history in the west, dating back to the Romans who used anchovies, tuna, mackerel or eel mixed with vinegar or honey to form a perfumed condiment.

Both for variety and to better enhance certain dishes, salt may be used instead of fish sauce to season Thai and Isaan cooking. At Gecko Villa, we find that industrially produced,iodized salt lacks any depth when used in Thai food, and we consistently prefer to use our "home grown" rock salt, ingeniously distilled from the earth in certain special locations near the Thai villa. The salt rich areas are known to the local villagers, who dig deep into the soil, then wash this through wooden channels with fresh water into a large metal pot set over a fire. After a considerable period of time, the finished prodcut emerges: large, crunchy white flakes of rich salt that add zest to any dish they are sprinkled upon, be this Thai or western.

At our sister property, Green Gecko, we have - after arduous experimentation and diligent attention throughout quantitative tastings - perfected our own in-house cocktail.

 Based on freshly squeezed organic limes from our own gardens, the lethal "Gecko Bite" is a fresh, strong, cool and refreshingly invigorating drink!  It was of course designed as an agreeable way to ensure that vitamin C levels are maintained in the tropical heat, although some opine that the alcohol content comprises the most beneficial part of this unique cocktail.

 Visit Green Gecko and take a photo tour of this Thai style country pool villa...it's much easier online than after a few Gecko Bites!

Holidaymakers who choose a villa over a resort or hotel are, according to one survey, "well-off, well-educated, and they travel – a lot. Nine in 10 take at least four leisure trips a year". Over the years, guests at Gecko Villa have given us a variety of reasons as to why they  prefer a holiday villa over a hotel vacation:

• Authenticity. We want to experience Thailand as and with the locals, not from behind a screen. One of Thailand's major charms for us is the Thais themselves; we could  never have  got to know them  by following the herd. Gecko Villa hits the "authentic button" square on!
• You offer something unique. Previously, we have always stayed in hotels as I want my husband to give me a break from washing and cooking. But at Gecko Villa you do all this for us at no additional cost, so we get the best of both worlds...
• We like the concept of responsible travel. We'd rather the money we spend go directly to help the local community, rather than into a multinational. Visiting the school and being able to help the children directly was one of the highlights of our trip.
• Luxury is -  space.  Holiday villas offer ample space even when compared to the largest of hotel suites, and we want room to relax.
• Three is not a crowd at a vacation villa. With several bedrooms and bathrooms, we get to spread out and relax when traveling with friends and family. At the same time these holidays allow us a rare opportunity to reconnect.
•  We're foodies. As traveling gourmets, we want access to our own fully equipped kitchen so we can experiment with unusual fresh ingredients from the local markets. And when we saw fresh coffee, fresh fruit, and a host of other goodies in the refrigerator, we immediately felt at home!
•  We hate packing. Having access to our own washing machine (or in Gecko Villa's case enjoying your free laundry service) means we can pack less and do not get charged extortionately to stay clean. Hotels often charge more to launder a shirt than it cost in the first place!
•  We come and go as we please. Vacation rentals used to insist on a week long stay, but not any more.  We can travel as we please and perhaps stay only two or three nights, even over festive periods, and we hate the idea of hotels'  "compulsory" festive dinners!
•  Value for money is important. Your villa is spacious, has a private pool, full kitchens, three bedrooms, and you offer  free transfers and all meals and drinks. We just did the maths!
•  We value privacy. We don't want to risk noisy neighbours and wanted somewhere quiet we could call our own.
•  Travel should be an experience. Villas embrace the local culture, whereas hotels offer homogeneity. We want to meet the locals, not tourists!
•  We can bring our pet!

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.

A party of Swiss guests who stayed at Gecko Villa in August kindly offered to employ their teaching skills for a day at the local primary school.

As the school was celebrating a special occasion at the time, and is proud of recording and documenting traditional Isan (Northeast Thai) farming methods over the years, the guests had the opportunity of encouraging good English conversation amongst a delighted and surprised group of schoolchildren in the rice paddies, who then promptly decided that, as part of this cultural interchange, the guests should learn to plough the waterlogged rice paddies with the time-honoured water buffalo.

The guests kindly wrote: "We've been home for a week now and I really wanted to take a few minutes to tell you that we had a great time at Gecko villa. Ten and his family have been wonderful hosts. We 've spent 4 days in paradise, enjoying the house, having fun in the pool, and walking around in the different villages. Ten, his wife and his sister in law have been wonderful cooks and we couldn't wait to see what amazing dishes that had prepared for us. Ten took us to see the local pupils who were working in the rice fields. It was so much fun, we felt like part of them. Please tell Ten and his family how much pleasure we had staying at Gecko villa. We'll come back one day."

It is still unclear who gained the most knowledge: the guests, the students or the  water buffalo...

We were delighted to be selected by Thai Airways' inflight magazine as one of the Top 10 Green Destinations in the world, in the July 09 edition of Sawasdee magazine.

Gecko Villa, near Udon Thani in northeast Thailand, was praised for being a "perfect antidote to hotel holidays" and for the distribution of revenues amongst the local villagers participating in the villa project.

Other winners included The Serena Serengeti Lodge in Tanzania, the Hotel Budir in Iceland, and La Residence Phou Vao in Luang Prabang in Laos. This last property is now accessible from Gecko Villa via three weekly flights connecting Luang Prabang and Udon Thani on Lao Airlines.

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.