A monk friend of mine just moved in to a formerly abandoned wat located just 50k from Chiang Mai at an elevation of 1,000mtrs. It is in a small moo baan called Ban Pang Hai and the air is cool and clean, well above the heat and polution of Chiang Mai.

The wat has several bungalows and a couple of other buildings as well as the old style wat and a new modern wat is under construction.

The Monk speaks quite good English and could use some help in maintenance and he teaches English on the weekend to the local kids.

In exchange, he is offering to teach Thai and Buddhism to anyone who might want to volunteer and can offer food and shelter. Good place for a retreat.

The area has lots of natural beauty....clean streams, good hiking, waterfalls and is densly forested. The village is supported by coffee and tea and the people are simple and friendly and eager to learn English.

Anyone interested, please contact me via PM and I'll put you in contact with my monk friend. This may be a good opportunity for some travelers or expats that may want to take a break from the heat and traffic of the lowlands and to help a remote local village and Wat.

Absolutely good idea. Your monk friend must be one of the lineage of Development monks. Ask him if he knows Phra Phaisan Visalo. (I'm sure he knows him).

I know your area very well. Give me an answer and I can look for some good farang volunteers.

You can contact my student in a former life. He has students at Chiangmai University for thai language and Thai Buddhism. They can learn more in a village with a development monk than with the good music in Chiang Mai.

http://leeds.wreac.org/staff/martin-seeger

Don't be shy. My friend married in Chiang Dao