First bedroom
A proper double bed with the window facing the fields. Wake before the sun and you get the mist before anyone else in the house.
Double bed · air-con · window onto the fields
Tama Field · Food · Stay · Ban Tam Phra Lae, Phayao
Around the house, working rice fields. Further out they run in every direction, with Doi Luang for a backdrop. Clear air all day — booked whole, no other guests, nothing shared.
From ฿2,000 a night
Placeholder · The house in evening lightWhere this is
Phayao is the province people pass through on the way to Chiang Rai. They catch the lake from the road and keep going. But there is enough here to stop for days — the lake, waterfalls, temples, festivals, and a base for Chiang Rai or Phu Langka.
Ban Tam sits west of town, where the flat land starts climbing toward Doi Luang. It has rice fields, watershed forest, and a six-tier waterfall inside its own boundary. The fields here are farmed for a living, not kept for photographs.
Our house is in Ban Tam Phra Lae, under half an hour from town. On the way in the road narrows, the buildings thin out one by one, and you are left with fields and a ridge. Then you cut the engine and open the door, and the first thing you notice is the air — before you have even looked at the view.
A day here
If you are wondering what actually happens here, an ordinary day looks something like this.
06:30
In the cool season a thin mist sits over the fields for an hour before it burns off. Make coffee in the kitchen and take it out front. Two or three motorbikes will pass on their way to the fields. That is the whole of the morning traffic.
08:30
Vegetables picked that morning, fish from the lake still moving, eggs, pork, dried goods — all at provincial prices. Whoever is selling will ask what you are making and put a few kaffir lime leaves in for nothing. One trip is enough for the whole stay.
10:00
Champa Thong falls sit inside Doi Luang National Park, in Ban Tam, the same subdistrict as the house. Six tiers, water year-round, pools to get into, and a 2.2 km nature trail if you want a proper walk.
14:00
Come back, turn on the air-conditioning, shower, lie down. Put a film on the 55-inch TV through Netflix, or leave music running on the speakers. Afternoons here are quiet enough that most people fall asleep without meaning to.
17:30
The western fields go gold for about forty minutes. If you want the full sunset, drive to the lake — behind Wat Si Khom Kham there is a viewpoint that takes in the whole of Kwan Phayao with the Phi Pan Nam range behind it.
19:30
The round tub sits on the concrete deck behind the house. Start the hot water at dusk and get in once the air has cooled. In the cool season: cold air, warm water. In the hot season: a proper soak after the heat. In the rains: you can stay in even through a light shower — there is no roof over the tub.
21:00
On a clear night you will see more stars than you expect. The lane into the village is lit the whole way, so coming home after dark feels safe. Sit out front with a drink as long as you like — just bring the volume down after ten. Everyone here is up at five.
Placeholder · Morning out front, mist on the fieldsThe house
A house in the village, at the point where the houses begin to spread out. Neighbours nearby, far enough apart to be quiet. At night there are people around — enough to feel easy about it, not close enough to hear.
However many bedrooms you book, you get the whole house. Kitchen, bathroom, tub, garden and parking are yours alone. No lobby, no guests next door, nobody walking past your front step in the morning. Close the door and the time is properly yours.
The joinery is real timber, so it creaks a little at night as the wood cools, and in the cold season the floors are warmer underfoot than tile. Insects come and go with the seasons — more in the rains and early hot months than in winter — and we keep mosquito repellent in the house.
The rest is simply what a lived-in house ought to have: air-conditioning in every room, hot water, fast Wi-Fi. All of it there from the first day, without having to ask.
Placeholder · The house seen from the front gardenRoom by room
The house is not large, but nothing in it is there for decoration. This is everything you will have the run of.
A proper double bed with the window facing the fields. Wake before the sun and you get the mist before anyone else in the house.
Double bed · air-con · window onto the fields
Same size, same bed. Opened when there are four of you, or left shut when there are two.
Double bed · air-con
A 55-inch TV with Netflix and YouTube ready to go, and real speakers rather than the ones built into the television — the difference shows after an afternoon of music.
55-inch TV · Netflix · YouTube · speakers · air-con
Placeholder · The kitchen and gas stoveOpen a cupboard and there are pots, pans, plates, bowls and cutlery, stocked like a kitchen someone cooks in every day rather than one equipped only to boil water.
Gas stove · fridge · coffee machine · pots and pans · full crockery
One bathroom, indoors. The hot water arrives quickly, and towels, soap and shampoo are already set out.
Hot water · towels, soap and shampoo provided
A concrete deck with the round soaking tub set out in the open. It is enclosed and part of the house, with no path running past — get in at whatever hour you like.
Round tub · open air · private
Seating that works from the first coffee of the morning to the last drink of the night. Park at the door; it is a few steps to the house.
Outdoor seating · parking
The fields
Placeholder · The western field at duskBeyond the fence the paddies are still worked. Further out, the fields run in every direction, with Doi Luang as the backdrop.
Morning light arrives from one side, evening light from another, and the house changes colour all day while you do nothing but watch. In the rains the green is almost hard to look at; at harvest it turns gold; once cut, the ridge stands clear.
Along the neighbour's edge we planted a wall of ficus for privacy and wind. That is the one line we closed on purpose. The fields and the mountain are still close enough to feel every day.
The rice year
These are working rice fields, so the view changes with the farming year. If you want a particular picture, pick your month from here. Timings shift a few weeks with the rains.
May – June
The first rains arrive and the fields turn brown and water-logged. Tractors are out all day, and wet earth is the smell of the month.
July – August
The rice is still short and the paddies are full of standing water. Morning and evening, the whole field becomes a mirror for the sky — one of the best times of year to photograph it.
September – October
Green so strong it is almost hard to look at. The rice stands waist-high, and a gust of wind sends a wave right across the field.
November
The whole field turns gold, and the air has already started to cool. This is the best month at the house. If you can choose, choose this one.
December
Harvesters in the paddies, straw stacked at intervals, and the smell of straw and new rice. In the evening a thin smoke hangs over the fields.
January – April
Once cut, the fields lie open and the Doi Luang ridge stands out clearly. Some plots go to a second crop. This is when the view reaches furthest.
Out back
Behind the house is a concrete deck with a round soaking tub set out in the open, jets and all. There is no roof over it, which means at night you lie in warm water and look straight up.
The best way to do it is to start the water at dusk and get in after dinner, once the air has turned. The gap between the air outside and the hot water is the whole point.
It works in every season. Cool-season nights make the contrast sharp; hot days make a warm soak feel earned; and light rain is no reason to get out — rain and hot water go together better than you think.
This deck belongs to the house. It is not a shared facility. Nothing to reserve, no time slot, nobody else's turn.
The kitchen
Gas stove, fridge, coffee machine, pots, pans, plates — stocked like a house someone lives in, not a room with a microwave and a kettle.
Ingredients are no trouble either. The market in town is within a half-hour drive, with vegetables in season, fish from the lake, and local things you will not find in a supermarket. One trip buys enough for the whole stay.
Cook your own breakfast if you like — or tell us ahead and we will arrange breakfast for you.
Placeholder · The kitchen and gas stoveEating
Cook at the house as much as you like, drive into town in half an hour for restaurants — and if you want breakfast, tell us ahead and we will arrange it.
What most people choose. Stock the fridge on your first day and you need not start the car again. Food you cook yourself, somewhere this quiet, always tastes better than it has any right to.
Use the kitchen yourself, or tell us before you arrive and we will arrange breakfast — no need to hunt for it on your first morning.
Seasonal local vegetables, freshwater fish from the lake, pork, chicken, eggs, dried goods, and northern breakfast eaten at the stalls. Arrive before eight for the best of it.
A row of them along the shore of Kwan Phayao, trading on fresh freshwater fish and the sunset. For dinner, arrive before six so you still have the light.
Pla som — soured fermented fish from the lake, preserved the way families here have done for generations — is the thing Phayao is known for. Have it fried with herbs or stirred through rice. Beyond that: tilapia, northern larb, sai ua sausage, young chilli relish, and catfish curry. Pla som also travels home well.
There are several by the lake and in town, most open early and fine to work from — useful if you want half a day somewhere other than the house.
Places open and close constantly. Email us and we will tell you what is good the week you are here. We live here; we know.
Inside
Working from here
The weekly rate exists for people who are not only here on holiday.
During the day the village is close to silent — everyone is out in the fields or at work. It is the kind of quiet you can work through for hours without being interrupted.
Fast Wi-Fi throughout the house — fine for video calls, streaming and uploading files. You will not be nursing a weak connection through a meeting.
Use the table indoors, or move out front for the morning and evening when the air is at its best. You can change desks all day without leaving the property.
Under ฿1,500 a night — close to thirty per cent off the standard rate — and you are not packing up and moving on every few days. Your things stay put, and so does the kitchen.
Seasons
Each season has its own reason to come. None of them is a compromise.
Cool season
Mist over the fields in the morning, and nights that are properly cold — some below fifteen degrees. An open-air tub of hot water against cool air is at its sharpest. If you want these months, message us well ahead.
Hot season
Daytime brings wind and the warmth of summer; by five the air opens up and sitting outside feels good again. The hot tub eases the heat. In April, town hosts Songkran on Kwan Phayao — water play, processions and lakeside concerts, half an hour away.
Green season
The greenest the fields get all year, and Champa Thong waterfall at full flow. Rain usually comes in the afternoon and then stops, leaving clean evenings. You can soak through a light shower, and anyone who likes rain on a roof will like this season.
The village
Ban Tam is a farming subdistrict west of Phayao town. People here grow rice and look after forest as a matter of course. There are no souvenir shops and no café on every corner, which is exactly why it is still quiet.
The watershed forest above the village is community forest, managed by the villagers themselves for decades — it has a name locally as one of the most strongly protected in the province. The streams that rise in it run down into Kwan Phayao. Some of the water you see in the lake in town comes off the hills behind this village.
On the road up toward the waterfall there are old temples — Wat Tam Mon and Wat Tam Klang — worth stopping at. No entrance fee, nobody selling you anything. They are working village temples.
One thing worth knowing: people here genuinely rise early and sleep early. That is why we ask about noise after ten. It is not a rule we invented — it is just what being a decent neighbour looks like.
Nearby
Phayao has enough to fill several days. The good places sit close together — most within half an hour to an hour and a half.
Same subdistrict as the house · Doi Luang National Park
Six tiers fed from Doi Luang, running all year, with pools to swim in — the second and third tiers are the best of them. There is a 2.2 km nature trail through dry evergreen forest for anyone who wants a real walk. Open 08:00–16:30.
In town · half an hour
The freshwater lake at the heart of the province. In the evening the whole town comes out to walk, run and sit along the water. Restaurants on the shore, boat rides on the lake, and cycling around the edge. Most of the fish you eat in Phayao comes from here.
On the lake · in town
The principal temple of the province, home to Phra Chao Ton Luang — the largest and oldest Buddha image in Lanna. The back of the temple meets the lake, and it is the finest place in Phayao to watch the sun go down behind the Phi Pan Nam range.
On Doi Busarakham
A hillside temple with a panoramic view over the lake and the town below. Plenty to walk around once you are up there. Go in the morning, when the air is at its best.
Phu Sang district · Thailand's only warm waterfall
Warm water from underground, around 35°C — a soak in the forest. Inside Phu Sang National Park, about one and a half to two hours from the house. Worth a half-day if you are staying several nights.
About half an hour's drive
Worth the trip if you intend to use the kitchen. Seasonal local vegetables, fish from the lake, dried goods, and northern breakfast food, at genuine provincial prices.
For serious walkers
A summit with a full 360-degree view taking in the whole lake. It is a hike with an overnight at the top, with a camping area near the summit. Contact the national park ahead and go with a guide.
Placeholder · The lane in, or fields along the wayFurther afield
Phayao sits halfway between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, which makes it a good base if you have a car and a few days.
About 90 km · an hour and a half
An easy day out. The White Temple, the Blue Temple, tea plantations, and no shortage of good coffee. The best single-day trip from here.
About 70 km · an hour and a half
A teak assembly hall built in Shan style by Burmese craftsmen — old, and genuinely beautiful. Chiang Kham is a Tai Lue town, with a culture and a kitchen noticeably different from Phayao town.
About 110 km · two to three hours
One of the finest places in the north to watch a sea of mist, at around 1,700 metres. If you want the morning mist, stay a night nearby rather than driving up at dawn.
On the Chiang Rai border · about three hours
The best-known mist viewpoint in northern Thailand, and very busy in the cool season. To catch sunrise you would be leaving the house in the middle of the night.
About 150 km · around three hours
Easy to fold into a longer trip on the way in or out. Plenty of people use Phayao as the stop between the two big northern cities.
Getting here
Phayao sits on the main road north to Chiang Rai. Driving is easiest, but you can get here without a car.
We send a Google Maps pin by email before every stay. The last stretch is village road, but the pin takes you to the door — no guesswork at the end of a long drive.
Before you pack
The basics are all here — including mosquito repellent, so you do not need to pack that. These are the things people forget and then wish they had.
November to February, the nights are colder than most visitors expect — some drop below fifteen degrees. You will want them in the morning and any time you sit outside.
The tub is outdoors behind the house and private. Packing swimwear just makes it easier.
There is a garden, a concrete deck, and wet rock if you go to the waterfall. Sandals alone may not be enough.
Bank transfer works nearly everywhere in town, but the morning market, small shops and some park entrance gates are still easier with cash.
Pharmacies and the hospital are in town, about half an hour away. If you take something regularly, bring enough with you.
Who it suits
The whole house is yours — quiet, with neighbours close enough to feel easy, and town close enough for dinner or Songkran when you want them.
Rates
The price changes with how many bedrooms we open, not with how much of the house you get. Kitchen, bathroom, tub, garden and parking are yours in full, every time. Nothing is shared.
One bedroom · two guests
2,000THB / night
Two bedrooms · four guests
3,000THB / night
Longer stays
By the week
Stay seven nights, pay for five — under ฿1,500 a night. For remote workers, or anyone who wants to stay long enough to settle in.
The price you see is the price you pay. No cleaning fee added at the end, no service charge, nothing appearing at checkout.
One night minimum, any day of the week
How it works
No booking engine, no third-party app. Use the form on this page, or email us directly. No deposit. Five steps and it is done.
Use the form below, or email stay@tamafield.com — arrival, departure, how many of you, and whether you want one bedroom or two.
Usually within the day. If the dates are free we confirm straight away; if not, we will suggest the nearest ones that are.
We send payment details by email, along with the dates and the total written out again so there is no confusion.
A Google Maps location, a phone number, and directions for the last turn, all before your arrival day.
Check in from three in the afternoon. Give us a rough arrival time and we will be there to let you in.
Getting here
The lane in from the village road is lit the whole way, and you park at the house — set your bags down and it is a few steps to the door.
If you arrive after dark and are not certain you have taken the right turning, call. We will come out and meet you at the top of the lane. Please do ask; we do it for anyone who wants it.
Placeholder · Seating out front at duskBefore you come
Please keep smoking away from the house and the tub deck. There is a lot of timber inside and the smell never really leaves. The front garden is fine.
We cannot look after them properly at the moment, so we would rather not take them. Our apologies.
Have one out front or beside the tub for as long as you like. Just bring the volume down after ten — the neighbours are up at five.
Two for one bedroom, four for two. If you want to bring someone extra, tell us beforehand and we will sort it out.
Photos
Every frame below is a reserved crop for a real photograph. Empty for now so the layout and shot list are already in place.
Common questions
You get the whole house. Kitchen, bathroom, tub, garden and parking are all yours. The only difference is how many bedrooms we open and how many people can sleep. There are never other guests in the house.
Yes. It sits on the deck behind the house, which is enclosed and part of the property — no public path runs past it. The side facing the neighbour is screened by the ficus wall.
Yes, in the bathroom and for the tub out back. If you plan to use the tub, start the water a while before you want to get in.
Absolutely. Gas stove, fridge, pots, pans and full crockery. Most guests stop at the market in town on the way in, shop once, and cook for the whole stay.
We can arrange it — just tell us before check-in. Or cook yourself; you have a coffee machine and a kitchen that works.
Yes. Fast Wi-Fi throughout the house — fine for video calls, streaming and uploading files.
Of course — children usually take to it, with a garden to run in and fields to look at. Do bear in mind the tub sits outdoors behind the house, so young children need watching closely while it is filled.
Yes. Just give us a rough time. The lane is lit the whole way and feels safe after dark, and we live in this village ourselves — if you cannot find it, call and we will come out straight away.
Use the form on this page, or email stay@tamafield.com with your dates and how many of you there are. No deposit. We check availability and send payment details. The person replying is the owner.
None. The price you see is the price you pay. Cleaning, water, power, air-conditioning, linen, towels and parking are all in it. Nothing gets added at checkout.
Yes — stay seven nights and you pay for five, which works out under ฿1,500 a night. If you want longer than that, message us and we will work something out.
Talk to us. If you let us know in advance we will always understand — reply to our email or send another form message as early as you can.
From the owner
We did not build this house to rent out. We built it to live in, and every decision came down to one question: would it be good to actually be here? That is why the kitchen works properly, and why there is a tub out back — we wanted one to soak in ourselves through the cold months.
When we opened it to guests, we had no interest in turning it into a hotel. There is no counter and no staff standing by all day. There is a house that is ready, someone who answers the phone themselves — and if you want breakfast, tell us and we will arrange it.
If you are looking for the whole house to yourselves, quiet enough to rest, with fields close by and town close enough for a day out, we think you will like it here.
Book
Use the form, or email stay@tamafield.com — dates, how many of you, and one bedroom or two. We read every message and write back ourselves.