As our host drove us back to the airport at the end of our month-long stay, my wife quite rightly told him that he is the best landlord we have ever had in fifty years of marriage. Not only did he take us out to lunch in one of his favourite local restaurants to acquaint us with the neighbourhood, but he also took us to the local supermarket to buy our groceries and then helped us to unload them.
His local knowledge, printed in his coffee table book of restaurants, favourite dishes, and various sites and contacts, is truly encyclopedic, as is his knowledge of movies and Netflix series, hundreds of which have been uploaded to the 60-inch Samsung Smart TV in the front room. He gave us at least a dozen suggestions for movies to watch, along with thoughtful advice about which places to visit, and which ones to avoid.
We regularly followed his advice, taking a temple tour with a former Buddhist monk who was enlightening in a very secular way, a full-day trip to Doi Inthanon, Thailand's highest mountain, and a full-day tour on the 100-km loop to Samoeng, with a host of attractions along the way. Our excursions were made in luxury vans at reasonable prices with a careful and considerate local driver. Because Charles had visited every elephant sanctuary, every wat, and every regional attraction, his advice was always authoritative and unfailingly helpful. In the process, he became a friend as well as a landlord, and he made our month-long stay one of the best in decades of traveling about Europe, Asia, and North America.
As for the condo itself, the leather couches and large beds were very comfortable, the Wifi and TV were hi-tech enough to allow me to watch the winter Olympics on a VPN network from Canada, and the kitchen was well-equipped for eating and drinking, though not always for cooking. (A single lidded pot and a small frying pan were the only stove implements available, although a rice-cooker was provided.) Yet an online account for home delivery from at least a hundred restaurants in Chiang Mai was available, and we used it often for a small delivery fee of $2.50.
Although the Chinese decorator was a little over the top in his choice of colours (mostly red and black) and of paintings and wooden furniture, we got used to it, even the open water closet and open shower (more like a car wash) in the gigantic master bedroom.
In sum, I can only say that this is truly a home away from home, particularly in Asia, and we would return in a heartbeat.