This villa was build for the late princess mother (mother to the present king of Thailand.). She spent a lot of time in Switzerland, thus her love for Swiss styled living.
The villa overlooks the majestic mountain ranges and the furthest range is Myanmar. Below is a valley which is landscaped into a beautiful garden with colourful flowers and nice rocks. It's opened to the public. Opium planters are encouraged to venture into plant nurseries instead of planting opium.
The villa has been opened to public after the death of the princess mother at the age of 93 in 1995. We are allowed into the hall where she received visitors. A big portrait is put in place of where she would sit and a large carpet for people who want to pay their respect. The Thais really respect their royalty; they remove their shoes, kneel and bow to the portrait.
Her kitchen, living room, bedroom etc... We could only have a peep. There is even a dental room as she was very particular about dental health.
Her marriage to a prince was a fairy tale. She was a commoner. Her father was a goatherd. The prince had to write a letter to his mother to explain why he wanted to marry this special commoner. The letter is kept in the Inspiration Hall today.
At her old age she still look very elegant and beautiful. From all that have been said about her she seemed to be well loved by her people. Building the villa in Doi Tung is an example of how she helped the people in Dai Tung to move out of poverty and find work in other fields instead of opium planting.
We enjoyed this visit very very much except for Albert who is not interested in history and anything of such kind.
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