The search:
It started back in 2022. We'd been researching Lanna-style houses for ten years by that point, so we knew what we wanted — we just needed the right piece of land to build it on. We found this plot almost by accident. But it had everything: a great location, the perfect size, and a price that made sense. Over the following year, we cleared it down to bare soil — it had been virgin jungle before that.

​

Choosing a builder:
Ten years of research had narrowed our shortlist to three contractors — one in Bangkok, one in Kanchanaburi, and one in Phrae: Rong Yang Home (RYH). We spent a week visiting each of them in person. RYH came out clear winners, and that's when the journey really began.

​

Getting to a design:
We went through five contract variations before we landed on the final design. RYH were instrumental through that process — genuinely supportive, not just executing a brief.

​

Clearing, one last time:
After what felt like an age of planning, we cleared the land one final time. Jungle waits for no man — and it certainly doesn't care about your impending construction.

 

Survey and signing:
Khun Tem and Khun Oil, the owners of RYH, came out to do the land survey. We signed the contract that same day and submitted the plans to the Tessaban (municipal office).

 

Approval:
Being of Lanna design, the Tessaban seemed almost more excited about it than we were — there's nothing else like it in Khao Lak. They approved the plans within a week.

 

Underway:
Two months later — the delay came down to selecting an auspicious date — we held the pole raising ceremony, and construction was truly underway. (The pole raising ceremony deserves its own entry — more on that separately.)